Collective Intelligence Firm Crowdcast Acquired

In the US, 'social innovation' software firm Spigit has acquired business intelligence platform Crowdcast for an undisclosed sum.

San Francisco-based Crowdcast provides a platform to enable a company's employees, customers and partners to find ideas that drive growth. Through this platform, team members anonymously share their opinions using a betting system, which aggregates these inputs into a crowd forecast and offers analysis of possible outcomes.

CEO and founder Paul Pluschkell (pictured) says the deal will help clients use crowdsourcing to develop 'disruptive' products, generate new revenue streams, build an innovation culture, reduce costs and improve employee and customer engagement.

As part of the agreement, Spigit will add all Crowdcast's patents to its portfolio, while the firm's leadership team - which includes founder/CEO Mat Fogarty and Chief Scientist Leslie Fine - will join Spigit's executive team.

Fogarty adds: 'By combining our visions around innovation and collective intelligence, we have the knowledge and technologies to power Social Innovation 2.0 and fundamentally change the way products move from idea to success.'

Web site: www.spigit.com and www.crowdcast.com .