Bonn, Germany and Wilmington, Delaware 27.02.2024 – In a groundbreaking move, HYPE Innovation and Planbox, two trailblazers in the field of innovation management, proudly announce their merger today. This dynamic union creates an unparalleled platform, solidifying their commitment to empowering organizations to conquer the ever-evolving challenges of the business world, ensuring they are not merely current but future-fit.
“Our journey began with a vision to transform the way businesses innovate. Merging with Planbox solidifies this vision by combining over two decades of insights, technology, and passion. As the boundaries between regions and markets blur, our combined expertise stands as a beacon for innovation management systems built on AI and ISO 56000, ensuring that our clients don’t just adapt but thrive in this dynamic landscape. We’ve witnessed how tectonic market shifts can redefine entire sectors. With this merger, we’re set to ignite a new era of innovation management leadership for the world”.
- Frank Henningsen, CEO of HYPE Innovation
About HYPE's Previous Acquisitions
Over the past decades, HYPE Innovation has built a reputation for no-nonsense, customer-focused innovation projects. Catering to a diverse clientele, including Fortune Global 500 companies and hidden champions alike, HYPE specializes in dedicated innovation software and consulting. Despite the volatility of innovation endeavors, HYPE clients report billions of ROI, underscoring the tangible value derived from its platform and services. In 2020, HYPE made waves by acquiring HLP, their primary competitor in the idea management market within the DACH region. Building on this momentum, 2021 saw the strategic additions of Viima, a prominent player in agile, self-service innovation processes, and INNOSPOT, offering AI-based startup engagement. Adding to its accolades, HYPE Innovation has been recognized as the Customers’ Choice 2023 with the highest rating in the latest Gartner Peer Insights Voice of the Customer for Innovation Management Tools, a testament to its unparalleled commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction in the innovation management sector.
HYPE and Planbox Join Forces
Now, with the integration of Planbox, HYPE enters a transformative chapter. Planbox, a pioneer from its inception, has pushed the market through agile innovation solutions. Since its merger with Brainbank software in 2015, Planbox has consistently topped analyst reports, including the prestigious Forrester Wave in 2020. Noteworthy acquisitions of Imaginatik and IdeaConnection have endowed Planbox with unparalleled depth and breadth. Together, HYPE and Planbox establish a commanding presence in the market.
HYPE Innovation has been an imposing success story in the DACH region, consistently demonstrating its robust presence across Europe for the better part of the last two decades. Simultaneously, Planbox has risen to prominence as the go-to platform for innovation management in North America, further strengthened by a formidable local team in the United Kingdom. Today’s strategic merger forges a collaborative powerhouse that offers clients and global organizations seamless access to world-class innovation management software, expertise, and services.
“Our combined strengths represent more than just a strategic merger — it’s a commitment to our clients. Together, we’re creating an environment where businesses are poised to be future-fit by preemptively adapting to market trends and capitalizing on them rather than reacting. With our enhanced capabilities, we envision a future where an innovation management system built on AI and ISO 56000 becomes the cornerstone of every successful enterprise,” said Ludwig Melik, CEO of Planbox.
Together, HYPE Innovation and Planbox aim to revolutionize the innovation management industry, delivering unparalleled value to organizations worldwide and igniting new levels of growth and achievement. With the emerging ISO 56000 global standard for innovation management and Generative AI on the rise, the merger sets new industry standards for innovation management systems. Much like how ISO 9001 revolutionized quality management and ISO 27001 set the gold standard for information security, ISO 56001 is poised to fundamentally redefine the realm of innovation management. This standard, which builds upon the ISO 56000 standards series, has been in development for the past decade and is expected to be finalized next year.
HYPE’s AI capabilities, such as the innovation network graph, AI-based data research and management, are now extended and enriched with robust features from Planbox. The resulting best-in-class platform represents a transformative shift in the innovation management landscape, marking the beginning of a fresh chapter human creativity, artificial intelligence, and governance converge to unlock unprecedented potential for innovation. It simplifies processes, enables efficient resource utilization, and bridges gaps between front-end innovation work and back-end processes and systems.
“While many see mergers as a culmination, for us, it’s a new beginning. The tools and expertise we bring are comprehensive, but what excites us most is the untapped potential between us. This merger isn’t just about tools or platforms — it’s about cultivating a mindset of perpetual evolution. We aim to equip organizations with the foresight to not only foresee change but to architect it in order to excel at innovation,” concluded Henningsen.
Beyond the tremendous opportunities, the acquisition safeguards the clients’ investment: With the HYPE Group nearing a significant milestone of €30 million in revenue, the union of these companies now boasts a more robust financial standing, offering clients enhanced confidence in the longevity and sustainability of their innovation management partner. Additionally, customers benefit from an expanded network of partners, collaborators, and experts that the merged entity provides, promoting opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing, and accelerating their innovation efforts.
About HYPE Innovation
HYPE Innovation is a leading provider of software and consulting in the field of innovation management, offering a comprehensive platform for the entire lifecycle of your innovation program. Our solutions encompass end-to-end Ideation, Technology and Trend Management, Startup Scouting, Innovation Partner Management, and Ecosystem Engagement. As a top-tier player in the innovation management landscape, we enable our clients to uncover opportunities, foster collaboration, and drive strategic goals, from growth to cost-saving and sustainable transformation, enabling them to excel at Innovation. For more information, visit www.hypeinnovation.com.
About Planbox
Innovation is at the heart of becoming Future-Fit. Built on ISO 56002 and AI, our end-to-end agile innovation management platform and services empower medium and large-sized organizations to become more adaptive, creative, and resilient. Planbox helps you turn creative ideas into winning projects and integrate everyday tools to collaborate smarter with your community of employees, customers, partners, startups, governments, academia, and expert solvers. Planbox has offices in Canada, the UK, and the USA, with customers around the world in over 140 countries. For more information, visit www.planbox.com.
About Main Capital Partners
Main Capital Partners is a leading software investor active in Northwestern Europe and North America. Main has over 20 years of experience in software investing and works closely alongside management teams to achieve profitable growth. The company has 70 employees operating out of its offices in The Hague, Stockholm, Düsseldorf, Antwerp, and an affiliated office in Boston. Main has over EUR 2.2 billion in assets under management and maintains an active portfolio of over 45 software groups. The underlying portfolio employs over 12,000 employees. For more information, visit www.main.nl.
Contact Information
Michel Meisterjahn
Director of Marketing
marketing@hype.de | +49 228 22760
HYPE Innovation
Trierer Str. 70-72
53115 Bonn, Germany
