SoftBank And Wellspring Announce Channel Partnership Agreement

CHICAGO, Oct. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellspring today announced the launch of a formal partnership with SoftBank Corp. to deliver software for intellectual property (IP) and innovation management. Wellspring's software products for managing IP, tech scouting, and tech transfer will be distributed through SoftBank. The partnership will transform how companies and universities across the world manage their entire knowledge supply chain of research partnerships, collaborative development, and IP commercialization.

"Annual R&D spend has now reached $2 trillion and the output of research, patent filings, jumped 23% over the past 3 years. This growth is fueled by collaboration across industries, geographies, and scientific fields. Wellspring stands at the forefront of this growth by providing the essential infrastructure to productively and profitably connect companies, universities, and governments," said Hironobu Tamba, Vice President, SoftBank.

"We share SoftBank's vision for the critical importance of open innovation and intellectual property  in fueling technological revolutions," said Robert Lowe, CEO of Wellspring. "SoftBank's commitment to connecting the world aligns perfectly with Wellspring's commitment to empowering organizations that transform research into technology and products. Together, our partnership promises to accelerate innovation across the globe."

Global research and development has expanded 43% since 2011, according to research by Battelle and R&D Magazine. This growth has been experienced across sectors, led by research spend in the ICT, energy, and automotive industries.

A notable change in R&D spend has been expanding industry-university collaboration. Based on a member survey by the Association of University Technology Managers, corporate sponsorship of academic research has grown more than 55% over the same period.

Wellspring's academic software enables universities to manage development, marketing, and commercialization of technologies developed on campus. The company's scouting and innovation management software is used by Fortune 500 and mid-sized enterprises to identify emerging inventions and start-ups, evaluate those opportunities, manage related IP rights, and license or invest in the technologies.

SoftBank will market and deliver Wellspring's cloud software products for universities and companies, starting with clients in Asia, beginning in November 2017.

About SoftBank
SoftBank Corp., a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO:9984), provides mobile communication, fixed-line communication and Internet connection services to customers in Japan. Leveraging synergies with other companies in the SoftBank Group, SoftBank Corp. aims to transform lifestyles through ICT and expand into other business areas including IoT, robotics and energy. To learn more, please visit www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbm/

About Wellspring
Wellspring is the global leader in tech transfer, tech scouting, and innovation management software systems. Organizations rely on Wellspring to manage the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of technologies, partners, and investments. Wellspring software supports the entire innovation process, from defining strategic areas of interest to investigating opportunities to commercializing results.

Founded in 2003 as a spin-out of Carnegie Mellon University, Wellspring works with more than 600 organizations worldwide to support the scouting, commercialization, and licensing of emerging technologies. For more information, please visit wellspring.com.

For more information, contact:
Brad Cain
Wellspring Worldwide
[email protected]
(312) 643-5100

SOURCE Wellspring

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