Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
ORBIT MEDIA STUDIOS
Web Design, Development and Optimization with Deep Roots in the City of Chicago
They both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and met in high school. When Barrett Lombardo and Andy Crestodina graduated, they headed off to the University of Iowa together. They shared a dorm room and one of those boxy Macintosh computers. It was the early 1990s. Most people...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
BASTIEN LLAMAS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND READER INHUMAN GENETICS, AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR ANCIENT DNA AT THE UNIVERSITY
Who are we? Where do we come from? The history of humanity is a complex affair full of twists and turns that shaped our genetic diversity and cultural identity. To unveil or rewrite some of that history, I use ancient DNA extracted from the skeletons of long-dead ancestors as a...
INNOVATION Quebec
CIMEQ
IS THE COLLEGE CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (CCTT) IN THE MICROELECTRONICS SECTOR.
Innovation and technology are at the core of the Centre d’innovation en microélectronique du Québec (CIMEQ) with a service offering that includes electronics, Internet of things, software engineering and artificial intelligence. Since 1983, the Centre supports companies of all sectors with technical product development counselling, work process innovation using existing...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
SC Thrive
Celebrating 15 Years of Leadership, Impact, and Innovation.
Over the past 15 years, SC Thrive has served as our state’s leader in linking South Carolinians with community and essential resources. In partnership with the Palmetto Institute, the BlueCross BlueShield of SC Foundation, and The Duke Endowment, SC Thrive began as a program of the SC Office of Rural...
INNOVATE® Georgia
CONSTRUCTION CHECK
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATING
In the bustling landscape of the construction industry, a new player has emerged with a vision to revolutionize the way professionals estimate costs. Construction Check, founded in Atlanta, Georgia, by Leanda Thomas, the former CEO of Project Cost Solutions, Inc., is poised to become the leading platform for construction cost...
INNOVATE® Northern Virginia
FALKEN INDUSTRIES
SECURING THE MISSIONS THAT PROTECT A NATION
Behind secured doors and controlled access points, construction teams move through classified workspaces while analysts handle sensitive information inside systems supporting national security operations. In these environments, security teams operate with discipline and precision every hour of every day. From its headquarters in Warrenton, Virginia, Falken Industries LLC supports these...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation
THE WISTAR INSTITUTE
TODAY’S DISCOVERIES, TOMORROW’S CURES
More than 130 years after its founding, The Wistar Institute, the nation’s first independent biomedical research institute, is in the midst of its most consequential chapter yet. In December 2025, the National Cancer Institute awarded Wistar’s Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center an “Exceptional” rating, recognizing the Institute’s role as...
INNOVATION Quebec
RQIS
THE BEATING HEART OF QUEBEC’S SOCIAL INNOVATION SYSTEM
The Réseau québécois en innovation sociale (RQIS) is a space for sharing and mobilizing knowledge and experience, helping to make social innovation an essential lever for sustainable development in Quebec. Created in 2005 as part of the Université du Québec network, RQIS first focused on gaining a better understanding of...
INNOVATION Quebec
INO
INNOVATION AS A DRIVING FORCE
INO is the largest center of expertise in optics and photonics in Canada and is among the best technological research centres in the world. For the past 35 years, it has created and developed innovative and valuable solutions to meet the needs of businesses in Quebec and throughout Canada. Through...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
SPLASH
A RIPPLE IN INNOVATION, A WAVE OF COMMUNITY.
A sustainably minded hub for entrepreneurship, start-up life, innovation, and community – leading the start-up world – that is Splash. Splash Coworking (Splash) the model of a shared work space and business resource center where entrepreneurs, independent professionals and creatives connect, collaborate and make business happen. Located in downtown San...
INNOVATION Quebec
CATALIS QUEBEC
A leader in both accelerating clinical trial approval processes and fostering patient engagement in clinical research, is committed to positioning Quebec on the world stage of clinical research.
Mandated by the government and supported by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy and the Ministry of Health and Social Services, CATALIS is a seedbed of innovation in clinical research. Created in 2017, the NPO is carrying out a bold mandate to optimize Quebec’s clinical research environment and promote...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
DEVCO
A POWERFUL ENGINE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH
New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco) was established in 1976 as a nonprofit development company to initiate redevelopment projects and to serve as the vehicle for public and private investment in the City of New Brunswick. Under the leadership of Christopher Paladino, DEVCO has initiated, developed, and managed 8.3 million square...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Gresham Smith
Pioneering Innovation in Design
Gresham Smith, a leading architecture, engineering, design and consulting firm that has called Nashville home for more than 50 years, is an industry leader in innovation. At Gresham Smith, innovation is not just about adopting emerging technologies—it’s about transforming the design and planning process to create healthier, more connected communities....
INNOVATE® Nashville
CELERO COMMERCE
WAS FOUNDED WITH ONE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVE: TO HELP SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES WIN
We know that we can deliver that by leveraging our investment in FinTech and our commitment to partnerships with community /regional banks. It is this combination that truly empowers local businesses in a way that enables them to compete and win in this ever more complex and competitive market. ...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
DELTACORE CAPITAL
A HEDGE FUND FOR DIGITAL ASSETS - CRYPTO INVESTMENT FUND AND CONSULTING FIRM
Deltacore Capital was established in 2018, after finding success in the very popular 2017 crypto bullrun. Since then their focus has been on consulting, educating on financial crypto literacy as well as being the General Partner for Deltacore Digital Assets LP, a multi strategy investment fund focused solely on digital...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
Curevo Health
With AI and smart automation, we believe the healthcare crisis is solvable.
Strengthening Primary Care Through Smarter Digital Collaboration Healthcare systems worldwide are under growing pressure. Ageing populations, strained primary care infrastructure, and rising patient expectations on accessibility and digital care are driving urgent demand for scalable solutions. At the same time, technology, especially AI, is unlocking new levels of efficiency and...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
GLOBEDRY
SOLAR-DRIED FOODS FOR A RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
In many rural regions, fresh harvests are lost before they ever reach a market — not because of poor quality, but due to heat, humidity, and lack of proper preservation. GlobeDry, a family-owned Estonian company, is tackling this challenge with solar-powered food dryers that allow communities and food entrepreneurs to...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
FUNDERS & INVESTORSUnderstanding that early-stage companies have particularly unique challenges when it comes to securing capital, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) offers a suite of resources to support them throughout their lifecycle. As the State’s principal agency for driving economic growth, the Authority plays a pivotal role in...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ENGEFOTO
COMPANY SPECIALIZED IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND GEOTECHNOLOGY, OPERATING IN BRAZIL SINCE 1980.
Through the years, the company has not only established itself as a leader in the sector but has also actively shaped the field of territory mapping and modeling with a series of groundbreaking technologies. In 1990, Engefoto began developing software for georeferencing, aiming to master new geolocation technologies such as...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
BALANCE
SECURES BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF DIGITAL ASSETS
Balance is Canada’s largest digital asset custodian. Our solution powers financial services companies such as over-the-counter trading desks, exchanges, lenders, and ATM networks. The assets are kept secure on specialized hardware, kept fully offline in geographically distributed bank grade vaults that are access controlled, monitored, and guarded 24/7. Our internal...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
GW - George Washington University
Technology Commercialization Office and Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Technology Commercialization Office and Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship Inspire, Innovate, Impact The George Washington University (GW) GW is a vibrant hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. At the core of this dynamic institution are two offices founded in 2010: The Technology Commercialization Office (TCO), a powerhouse dedicated to transforming groundbreaking...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
INTERNSHIP ON DEMAND
HOW INTERNSHIP ON DEMAND IS REDEFINING THE PATH TO CAREER SUCCESS
Every year, millions of college students graduate without ever having experienced the workplace firsthand. Employers demand experience, but when only 30% of college students complete an internship on an annual basis, what do those left on the outside looking in do? That’s where Internship on Demand comes in. Launched in...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
MIFUNDO
THE VERIFIED AND PASSPORTABLE FINANCIAL IDENTITY CONNECTING EUROPE’S CREDIT MARKETS
EUROPE’S FIRST INTEGRATED CREDIT INFRASTRUCTURE Mifundo provides European banks with cross-border credit data that allows consumer credit histories to move between countries. This technology removes one of the last remaining barriers to financial mobility in the European Union: fragmented data locked within national borders. For millions of people who live,...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
ORBIT MEDIA STUDIOS
Web Design, Development and Optimization with Deep Roots in the City of Chicago
They both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and met in high school. When Barrett Lombardo and Andy Crestodina graduated, they headed off to the University of Iowa together. They shared a dorm room and one of those boxy Macintosh computers. It was the early 1990s. Most people...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
BASTIEN LLAMAS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND READER INHUMAN GENETICS, AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR ANCIENT DNA AT THE UNIVERSITY
Who are we? Where do we come from? The history of humanity is a complex affair full of twists and turns that shaped our genetic diversity and cultural identity. To unveil or rewrite some of that history, I use ancient DNA extracted from the skeletons of long-dead ancestors as a...
INNOVATION Quebec
CIMEQ
IS THE COLLEGE CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (CCTT) IN THE MICROELECTRONICS SECTOR.
Innovation and technology are at the core of the Centre d’innovation en microélectronique du Québec (CIMEQ) with a service offering that includes electronics, Internet of things, software engineering and artificial intelligence. Since 1983, the Centre supports companies of all sectors with technical product development counselling, work process innovation using existing...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
SC Thrive
Celebrating 15 Years of Leadership, Impact, and Innovation.
Over the past 15 years, SC Thrive has served as our state’s leader in linking South Carolinians with community and essential resources. In partnership with the Palmetto Institute, the BlueCross BlueShield of SC Foundation, and The Duke Endowment, SC Thrive began as a program of the SC Office of Rural...
INNOVATE® Georgia
CONSTRUCTION CHECK
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATING
In the bustling landscape of the construction industry, a new player has emerged with a vision to revolutionize the way professionals estimate costs. Construction Check, founded in Atlanta, Georgia, by Leanda Thomas, the former CEO of Project Cost Solutions, Inc., is poised to become the leading platform for construction cost...
INNOVATE® Northern Virginia
FALKEN INDUSTRIES
SECURING THE MISSIONS THAT PROTECT A NATION
Behind secured doors and controlled access points, construction teams move through classified workspaces while analysts handle sensitive information inside systems supporting national security operations. In these environments, security teams operate with discipline and precision every hour of every day. From its headquarters in Warrenton, Virginia, Falken Industries LLC supports these...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation
THE WISTAR INSTITUTE
TODAY’S DISCOVERIES, TOMORROW’S CURES
More than 130 years after its founding, The Wistar Institute, the nation’s first independent biomedical research institute, is in the midst of its most consequential chapter yet. In December 2025, the National Cancer Institute awarded Wistar’s Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center an “Exceptional” rating, recognizing the Institute’s role as...
INNOVATION Quebec
RQIS
THE BEATING HEART OF QUEBEC’S SOCIAL INNOVATION SYSTEM
The Réseau québécois en innovation sociale (RQIS) is a space for sharing and mobilizing knowledge and experience, helping to make social innovation an essential lever for sustainable development in Quebec. Created in 2005 as part of the Université du Québec network, RQIS first focused on gaining a better understanding of...
INNOVATION Quebec
INO
INNOVATION AS A DRIVING FORCE
INO is the largest center of expertise in optics and photonics in Canada and is among the best technological research centres in the world. For the past 35 years, it has created and developed innovative and valuable solutions to meet the needs of businesses in Quebec and throughout Canada. Through...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
SPLASH
A RIPPLE IN INNOVATION, A WAVE OF COMMUNITY.
A sustainably minded hub for entrepreneurship, start-up life, innovation, and community – leading the start-up world – that is Splash. Splash Coworking (Splash) the model of a shared work space and business resource center where entrepreneurs, independent professionals and creatives connect, collaborate and make business happen. Located in downtown San...
INNOVATION Quebec
CATALIS QUEBEC
A leader in both accelerating clinical trial approval processes and fostering patient engagement in clinical research, is committed to positioning Quebec on the world stage of clinical research.
Mandated by the government and supported by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy and the Ministry of Health and Social Services, CATALIS is a seedbed of innovation in clinical research. Created in 2017, the NPO is carrying out a bold mandate to optimize Quebec’s clinical research environment and promote...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
DEVCO
A POWERFUL ENGINE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH
New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco) was established in 1976 as a nonprofit development company to initiate redevelopment projects and to serve as the vehicle for public and private investment in the City of New Brunswick. Under the leadership of Christopher Paladino, DEVCO has initiated, developed, and managed 8.3 million square...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Gresham Smith
Pioneering Innovation in Design
Gresham Smith, a leading architecture, engineering, design and consulting firm that has called Nashville home for more than 50 years, is an industry leader in innovation. At Gresham Smith, innovation is not just about adopting emerging technologies—it’s about transforming the design and planning process to create healthier, more connected communities....
INNOVATE® Nashville
CELERO COMMERCE
WAS FOUNDED WITH ONE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVE: TO HELP SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES WIN
We know that we can deliver that by leveraging our investment in FinTech and our commitment to partnerships with community /regional banks. It is this combination that truly empowers local businesses in a way that enables them to compete and win in this ever more complex and competitive market. ...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
DELTACORE CAPITAL
A HEDGE FUND FOR DIGITAL ASSETS - CRYPTO INVESTMENT FUND AND CONSULTING FIRM
Deltacore Capital was established in 2018, after finding success in the very popular 2017 crypto bullrun. Since then their focus has been on consulting, educating on financial crypto literacy as well as being the General Partner for Deltacore Digital Assets LP, a multi strategy investment fund focused solely on digital...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
Curevo Health
With AI and smart automation, we believe the healthcare crisis is solvable.
Strengthening Primary Care Through Smarter Digital Collaboration Healthcare systems worldwide are under growing pressure. Ageing populations, strained primary care infrastructure, and rising patient expectations on accessibility and digital care are driving urgent demand for scalable solutions. At the same time, technology, especially AI, is unlocking new levels of efficiency and...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
GLOBEDRY
SOLAR-DRIED FOODS FOR A RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
In many rural regions, fresh harvests are lost before they ever reach a market — not because of poor quality, but due to heat, humidity, and lack of proper preservation. GlobeDry, a family-owned Estonian company, is tackling this challenge with solar-powered food dryers that allow communities and food entrepreneurs to...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
FUNDERS & INVESTORSUnderstanding that early-stage companies have particularly unique challenges when it comes to securing capital, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) offers a suite of resources to support them throughout their lifecycle. As the State’s principal agency for driving economic growth, the Authority plays a pivotal role in...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ENGEFOTO
COMPANY SPECIALIZED IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND GEOTECHNOLOGY, OPERATING IN BRAZIL SINCE 1980.
Through the years, the company has not only established itself as a leader in the sector but has also actively shaped the field of territory mapping and modeling with a series of groundbreaking technologies. In 1990, Engefoto began developing software for georeferencing, aiming to master new geolocation technologies such as...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
BALANCE
SECURES BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF DIGITAL ASSETS
Balance is Canada’s largest digital asset custodian. Our solution powers financial services companies such as over-the-counter trading desks, exchanges, lenders, and ATM networks. The assets are kept secure on specialized hardware, kept fully offline in geographically distributed bank grade vaults that are access controlled, monitored, and guarded 24/7. Our internal...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
GW - George Washington University
Technology Commercialization Office and Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Technology Commercialization Office and Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship Inspire, Innovate, Impact The George Washington University (GW) GW is a vibrant hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. At the core of this dynamic institution are two offices founded in 2010: The Technology Commercialization Office (TCO), a powerhouse dedicated to transforming groundbreaking...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
INTERNSHIP ON DEMAND
HOW INTERNSHIP ON DEMAND IS REDEFINING THE PATH TO CAREER SUCCESS
Every year, millions of college students graduate without ever having experienced the workplace firsthand. Employers demand experience, but when only 30% of college students complete an internship on an annual basis, what do those left on the outside looking in do? That’s where Internship on Demand comes in. Launched in...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
MIFUNDO
THE VERIFIED AND PASSPORTABLE FINANCIAL IDENTITY CONNECTING EUROPE’S CREDIT MARKETS
EUROPE’S FIRST INTEGRATED CREDIT INFRASTRUCTURE Mifundo provides European banks with cross-border credit data that allows consumer credit histories to move between countries. This technology removes one of the last remaining barriers to financial mobility in the European Union: fragmented data locked within national borders. For millions of people who live,...