INNOVATIVE PATHWAYS TO INNOVATION
Today over $1.4 billion is invested annually in ABB’s global research and development (R&D) organization. The courage to look for solutions is a fundamental part of ABB’s success, its customers’ successes, and continuous contributions to the scientific community. Long-term and high-stakes, R&D delivers breakthroughs that define the future of industrial technology.
But innovation today moves faster than ever. New technologies emerge overnight and markets shift rapidly. Customer expectations evolve continuously and some of the most transformative ideas are being developed outside the walls of large corporations.
That's why ABB created SynerLeap.
HOW DOES ABB CREATE A SAFE INNOVATION SPACE?
ABB’s innovation ecosystem includes traditional R&D, the Accelerator program with hackathons and SynerLeap: part of the Open Innovation space which also includes ABB Ventures and M&A.
SynerLeap’s mission is simple: help ABB innovate faster by leveraging external partnerships. These partnerships allow us to solve challenges that exist right now (cost, efficiency and speed) and prepares us for the future to operate with new technologies, business models and operations.
SynerLeap connects ABB businesses with promising startups, scaleups, venture capital firms, universities, research institutions, and ecosystem partners to accelerate innovation and create new opportunities for growth.
The goal is to help us solve real business challenges, explore emerging opportunities, and stay ahead of technology shifts, market disruption, and evolving customer needs.
ABB's R&D prioritizes high impact investments. These are long-horizon, high-complexity programs where the cost of failure is substantial, and the potential stakes are considerable. While this rigorous approach is essential for managing risk and ensuring disciplined capital allocation, it necessarily limits the scope of initiatives that can proceed through this process.
ABB's Accelerator hackathons serve a different purpose: generating energy, sparking creativity, and rapidly prototyping ideas from across the organization. They are intense, time-bound, and valuable for building culture and momentum.
This innovation ecosystem is how ABB distinguishes between emerging technologies that are truly ready for deeper investment, and those which need more time.
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