25 Lessons in 25 Years, by Bill Gross > 25 Lessons in 25 Years >

From Ideas to Successful Companies

Founded in 1996, Idealab is the longest running technology incubator. We have created over 150 companies with more than 45 IPOs and acquisitions.

Great Ideas. Great Companies.

We believe that entrepreneurship can unlock human potential and make the world a better place. We look for big problems in the world that have technology solutions and test many ideas in parallel. When one shows great promise, we recruit a great team, spin it off into a company, and help them grow a successful business.
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Innovator Bill Gross presents at VERGE 16
Ground-breaking solar technologies and why clean technology is a trillion dollar opportunity
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Idealab founder Bill Gross speaks at TED 2015
Bill's talk on the single biggest reason why startups succeed
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2014 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
Bill speaks about regulation designed to foster technology-driven growth
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Bill kicks off Entrepreneurship Week at Stanford
An informative and inspiring talk on innovation and starting companies
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Bill Gates' blog goes behind the scenes at Idealab
A look at what it takes to bring ground-breaking companies to market

Our Current Companies

IPO and M&A Activity

IPO; Acquired by Yahoo!
IPO; Acquired by IAC
IPO; Acquired by Hellman & Friedman
Acquired by Google
Acquired by iRobot
IPO; Merged with Juno Online
Acquired by Target
Merged with The Knot
IPO
Acquired by VeriSign
Acquired by Taboola
Acquired by PetSmart
IPO; Acquired by Compaq
Acquired by Datalogic
Acquired by First Solar
IPO
Acquired by CitySearch/IAC
Acquired by Suntech Power
Acquired by 3D Systems
Acquired by ValueClick
IPO; Acquired by eMachines
Acquired by eBay
Acquired by TNS
Acquired by Aruba Networks
Acquired by WebEx
Acquired by SolarReserve
Acquired by NetShepard
Acquired by Twilio
Acquired by Trapeze Networks
Acquired by AOL
Acquired by Kik
Acquired by Airbnb
Acquired by Yahoo!
Acquired by PlaceMark
Acquired by Oversee.net
Acquired by Filestack
Acquired by GoDaddy
IPO
Acquired by HomerLearning, Inc.
IPO
Acquired by Near Pte. Ltd.
NYSE:HLGN
NYSE:NRGV

Idealab

130 W. Union Street
Pasadena, CA 91103

626-585-6900 phone
626-535-2701 fax

If you have a question or comment regarding Idealab or one of our companies, please get in touch. Since we generate ideas internally, we do not accept submissions of business plans.