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Wellspring Announces $5 Million Capital Raise Led By MK Capital

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Chicago, IL (PRWEB) February 12, 2014

Wellspring, the leader in enterprise software to manage research and innovation, today announced it has raised $ 5 million in capital led by MK Capital, a $ 250M venture capital firm focused on building category leading companies in the software and digital media industries. The capital will be used to strengthen Wellspring’s product and technology position within the R&D and product innovation markets and for expansion in the corporate R&D, clinical, and academic research markets.

The Chicago-based Open Innovation software company was founded in 2003 as a spin-out of Carnegie Mellon University, initially providing technology transfer software solutions to universities and hospitals. Today, Wellspring’s Sophia software platform is used in universities across the world, in hospitals such as University Hospitals/Case Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and by corporations such as Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products. With the closing of the capital round, Wellspring has already secured contracts with Education Development Center Inc, University of Illinois system, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Wellspring has the great fortune to work with companies and universities at the forefront of innovation. We are at an exciting time. We’re transforming how R&D is done across the innovation value chain.” said Dr. Robert Lowe, Chief Executive Officer. “We’re excited to tap MK Capital’s experience in enterprise software and phenomenal investment track record.”

“Wellspring addresses the most pressing strategic issue confronting corporations today—the need to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and velocity of innovation activities” noted Mark Koulogeorge, managing general partner of MK Capital. “Well run organizations will increasingly insist on having a software platform to manage innovation activities, just as they rely on sales or marketing automation software for those functional areas of the business. We are excited to be an investor in the leading company in this burgeoning sector.”

“We are excited to welcome Wellspring to Chicago, where it sees the city’s top technical and product talent plus headquarters to innovative multinationals as key to its continued growth,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Fueled by MK Capital’s investment, Wellspring’s move demonstrates the city’s ability to attract and support world-class technology firms.”

Unlike other Open Innovation platforms, Wellspring’s Sophia software enables organizations to innovate faster by accessing knowledge quickly and optimizing investments in research and innovation, all by managing and harnessing the organization’s Knowledge Supply Chain. By managing their Knowledge Supply Chain, companies, universities, and hospitals optimize their research programs to effectively spur new innovations.

In addition to the Sophia platform, Wellspring also acquired Flintbox in 2010, an intellectual property exchange originally founded by the University of British Columbia. With this capital raise, Wellspring will be strengthening its existing products and providing new technologies in Open Innovation for all sectors of R&D.

Wellspring is the leading provider of software systems to unify the processes of open innovation, from technology scouting to corporate venturing to in/out-licensing to intellectual property management. The company’s Sophia Knowledge Supply Chain Software enables companies, foundations, government agencies, and universities to identify and capture value from knowledge assets and their network of collaborators. For more information, please contact Sara Kronenberg at (312) 643-5100 or visit http://www.wellspringworldwide.com.

MK Capital invests in early and growth stage companies in the software and digital media industries. The firm’s partners, who average over fifteen years of venture capital experience, partner with entrepreneurial management teams to build leading companies in emerging markets. MK Capital has deep domain expertise in the marketing, education, and cloud infrastructure industries. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and has offices in Los Angeles and Ann Arbor. MK Capital manages over $ 250 million in capital and is actively seeking new investment opportunities. For more information, visit http://www.mkcapital.com or call (312) 324-7700.







Chicago Cloud IT Services Company Announces $2.4 Million Series A Funding

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Chicago, IL (PRWEB) February 04, 2014

ADAR IT, a Chicago-based cloud computing company has secured $ 2.4 million in Series A funding from MK Capital and engaged BOSI Global as an operating partner to build on 84% compounded annual growth and 97% customer retention.

ADAR IT is an innovative cloud IT services company bringing enterprise-level cloud solutions to small to medium-sized businesses. Each customer is set up with their own ADAR Private Cloud™ – so their entire IT infrastructure gets virtualized. Power outages and disasters affecting an office infrastructure no longer affect productivity or data security. Individuals can access their entire virtual desktop from anywhere with a high-speed connection – using even a tablet or smartphone. Customers pay a flat monthly fee to access this end-to-end technology on demand—from desktops, servers, and data storage—to unlimited technical support and IT consulting.

“We are a next-generation managed service provider that cares deeply about the customer experience,” says CEO and co-founder Vadim Vladimirskiy. “We bundle all of the IT services a business owner needs into a secure, sophisticated and reliable solution. One fixed monthly price covers all things IT.”

ADAR’s innovative delivery of IT services and fanatical customer service has led to rapid growth, customer churn of under 3%, and evangelist-like customers in the US, Europe and Asia.

“When I first met Vadim I was quite impressed with how he had built ADAR IT, with essentially no paid in capital, into a managed services provider with over 100 customers around the globe” says Bret Maxwell, General Partner at MK Capital, “and his vision for providing a state-of-the-art, cloud-based offering serving the small and medium-sized marketplace that was both cost effective and of high quality. As we learned more and conducted due diligence, we were even more impressed at the level of customer satisfaction – with many customers being almost evangelical in their praise for the solution. ADAR is offering a solution today for small and medium size enterprises that historically was only available to much larger entities at a significantly higher price point.”

“Vadim is a smart, driven entrepreneur,” says Charlie McClary, CEO of BOSI Global – ADAR’s operating partner. “In a world where entrepreneurs chase Series A funding with marginal revenues and no profits, it is refreshing to see someone like him build a thriving high-growth company with substantial profits first. We’re energized to partner with him to take ADAR IT to the forefront of the managed services space.”

About ADAR IT

ADAR IT provides cloud-based IT solutions for small and mid-size businesses. IT services include server hosting, desktop hosting, network design and implementation, software licensing, network security services, local and off-site backup, ongoing network maintenance and support, disaster recovery systems, and consulting services. In addition, ADAR IT provides customers with a fully managed network migration service from traditional in-house IT systems to the cloud-based platform, giving small to mid-size businesses the same IT advantages enjoyed by Fortune 500 enterprises. For more information, visit http://www.adarit.com or call (877) 860-0700.

About MK Capital

MK Capital invests in early and growth stage companies in the software and digital media industries. The firm’s partners, who average over fifteen years of venture capital experience, partner with entrepreneurial management teams to build leading companies in emerging markets. MK Capital has deep domain expertise in the marketing, education and cloud infrastructure industries. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and has offices in Los Angeles and Ann Arbor. MK Capital manages over $ 250 million in capital and is actively seeking new investment opportunities. For more information, visit http://www.mkcapital.com or call (312) 324-7700.

About BOSI Global

BOSI Global serves as Operating Partner to venture-backed and privately held companies. The company is made up of successful entrepreneurs and corporate leaders with strong pedigree in high-growth operations across all areas of business. BOSI Global has offices across the US as well as in Singapore, Europe and Canada. For more information, visit http://www.bosiglobal.com or call (877) 264-2674.

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