Company:Wazoku

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Short description: British innovation management software company based in Bath
Wazoku
TypePrivate
IndustrySoftware, Innovation management, Crowdsourcing
Founded2011; 15 years ago (2011)
FounderSimon Hill, James King, Rosemarie Diegnan
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsIdea management platform / innovation management software
Websitewazoku.com

Wazoku is a UK-based software company headquartered in London.[1] Established in 2011 by Simon Hill, James King, and Rosemarie Diegnan,[2] the company provides cloud-based tools for capturing, evaluating, managing, and implementing ideas, and operates an open innovation network where organisations can engage with external experts.[2] Wazoku works with a range of clients including government bodies,[3] multinational corporations,[4] and non-profit organisations.[5]

As of 2024, the company has secured approximately £18 million in venture funding.[1]

History

Wazoku was founded in 2011 in London by Simon Hill, who previously worked at PwC, Deloitte, and the software company Huddle, James King, and Rosemarie Diegnan.[2] In its early years, Wazoku developed a software platform named Idea Spotlight for structured idea management in organisations.[6][7]

In 2013, it received $520,000 in seed funding from Cambridge Angels and Fig.[1] This was followed in 2014 by an additional £750,000 investment from Cambridge Angels and New Model Venture Capital.[8]

In 2017, the company secured £2.3 million through a combination of equity and venture debt, including funding from Barclays and former investor Cambridge Angels and Fig.[9]

In July 2020, Wazuko acquired the U.S.-based innovation platform InnoCentive. This acquisition brought with it a global network of 500,000 external contributors and expanded Wazoku’s capacity. The company raised an additional £1.25 million from the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Calculus Capital.[10][11]

In 2022, Wazoku completed an £8.5 million Series B funding round led by Octopus Ventures,[12][10] with continued investment from Calculus Capital.[13] The funding was used to support product development, international operations, and the acquisition of Mindpool, a Danish company focused on collective intelligence and behavioural insights. Mindpool collects employee opinions and forecasts to generate insights and suggestions based on aggregated input to assess organisation performance and overall company health.[13][14] Following the acquisition, Wazoku relaunched the dashboard under the name Mindpool SME in January 2023.[2][15]

Between 2023 and 2025, Wazoku expanded its activities through additional acquisitions and partnerships. It acquired UK-based idea management platform Idea Drop in early 2023,[14] and German R&D platform Posterlab later that year.[16] In 2024 and 2025 Wazoku collaborated with organisations including NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator,[17] Norwegian Offshore Wind,[18] Roche[19] and the Abu Dhabi Technology Innovation Institute.[20]

In April 2025, it partnered with the National Innovation Center par Excellence (NICE) to fund innovation initiatives in China’s Yangtze River Delta.[21]

In December 2025, Wazoku partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to start open-innovation challenges,[22] starting with solutions to detect and map underwater mines and unexploded ordnance.[23]

Products

Wazoku Platform

Wazoku Platform is a modular system that facilitates the capture, evaluation, and portfolio management of ideas from employees, teams, or stakeholders. It includes workflow automation, analytics and AI, and integrates with commonly used enterprise collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Google Workspace.[7][24][25]

Wazoku Innocentive (formerly Wazoku Crowd)

In 2020, Wazoku acquired InnoCentive, an open innovation marketplace.[10] The platform was integrated into Wazoku’s innovation management and briefly operated under the umbrella name Wazoku Crowd from August 2022 onwards.[26]

In June 2025, Wazoku officially revived the Innocentive name for its global marketplace, officially renaming Wazoku Crowd to Innocentive.[27] The platform connects organisations with a global network of registered problem solvers, including scientists, engineers, CEOs, startups, and business leaders.[8][28][29]

Awards and recognition

In 2022, the company was named a Silver Stevie Award winner in the “Company of the Year – Computer Software (Medium-size)” category at the 19th Annual International Business Awards.[30] In July, the company was named one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women in 2022.[31]

In 2024, Wazoku received multiple user-based badges from the software review platform G2 within the Strategy and Innovation Roadmapping Tools, and Idea Management categories.[32]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Wazoku 2025 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors | PitchBook" (in en). https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/62253-73. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Wazoku - 2025 Company Profile & Team - Tracxn" (in en). 2025-06-17. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/wazoku/__7AzuudylnTn9sBfGyX-n8usWXR8L3BaEUGA4OySinxI. 
  3. ↑ "One Big Thing initiative seeks to power innovation across the entire UK Civil Service". 2024-10-14. https://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/105831/one-big-thing-initiative-seeks-to-power-innovation-across-the/. 
  4. ↑ "BIG IMPACT, SMALL PACKAGE: DEBIOPHARM LAUNCHES A WAZOKU OPEN-INNOVATION CHALLENGE FOR SMALL ANTIBODY DRUG CONJUGATE TECHNOLOGY" (in en). https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/big-impact-small-package-debiopharm-launches-a-wazoku-open-innovation-challenge-for-small-antibody-drug-conjugate-technology-1031760220. 
  5. ↑ "Wazoku hosts open innovation challenge to address the impact of climate change on food security in low-income countries". Jan 24, 2025. https://www.wric.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/779615119/wazoku-hosts-open-innovation-challenge-to-address-the-impact-of-climate-change-on-food-security-in-low-income-countries/. 
  6. ↑ Victor, Nancy (2019-02-05). "UK MoD selects Wazoku's idea management platform" (in en-US). https://www.army-technology.com/news/uk-mod-wazoku-idea-management/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Wazoku - collaborate on great ideas" (in en-gb). https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-gb/product/office/WA104379848. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 O'Hear, Steve (2014-04-07). "Idea Management Startup Wazoku Raises £750,000, Ex-Huddle VP Joins As COO" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/07/wazoku/. 
  9. ↑ "Wazoku secures funding from Barclays - Private Equity Wire" (in en-GB). 2017-03-13. https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/wazoku-secures-funding-barclays/. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "London-based future of work startup Wazoku grabs £8.5 million from Octopus Ventures, acquires Mindpool" (in en-GB). 2022-09-30. https://tech.eu/2022/09/30/london-based-future-of-work-startup-wazoku-grabs-ps85-million-from-octopus-ventures-acquires-collective-intelligence-platform-mindpool/. 
  11. ↑ "Wazoku Acquires US Open Innovation Leader InnoCentive and Raises Additional £1.25M to Support Global Growth" (in en). https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wazoku-acquires-us-open-innovation-leader-innocentive-and-raises-additional-1-25m-to-support-global-growth-301091294.html. 
  12. ↑ "Future of Work Scale-Up Wazoku Raises £8.5M in Series B Funding From Octopus Ventures and Acquires Collective Intelligence Start-Up, Mindpool". September 28, 2022. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/future-scale-wazoku-raises-8-120000839.html. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Future Of Work Scale-Up Wazoku Raises £8.5M In Series B Funding From Octopus Ventures And Acquires Collective Intelligence Start-Up, Mindpool" (in en). https://menafn.com/1104939034/Future-Of-Work-Scale-Up-Wazoku-Raises-85M-In-Series-B-Funding-From-Octopus-Ventures-And-Acquires-Collective-Intelligence-Start-Up-Mindpool. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Innovation Scale-Up Wazoku Agrees Acquisition of UK Idea Management Platform, Idea Drop" (in en-US). yahoo!Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/innovation-scale-wazoku-agrees-acquisition-140000180.html. 
  15. ↑ "Wazoku Launches New Employee Insights Product: Mindpool SME". January 19, 2023. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wazoku-launches-employee-insights-product-133000961.html. 
  16. ↑ "Wazoku Expands Into Germany With Acquisition of R&D Partnership & Innovation Eco-System Management Platform, PosterLab". https://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2023-12/60928153-wazoku-expands-into-germany-with-acquisition-of-r-d-partnership-innovation-eco-system-management-platform-posterlab-200.htm. 
  17. ↑ "Wazoku partners with NATO DIANA accelerator" (in en-GB). 2024-06-14. https://tech.eu/2024/06/14/wazoku-partners-with-nato-diana-accelerator/. 
  18. ↑ Memija, Adnan (2024-05-02). "Norwegian Offshore Wind, Wazoku Team Up to Adress [sic] Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Emergencies" (in en-US). https://www.offshorewind.biz/2024/05/02/norwegian-offshore-wind-wazoku-team-up-to-adress-floating-offshore-wind-turbine-emergencies/. 
  19. ↑ "Roche partners with Wazoku to overhaul pharma inventory management" (in en). https://www.pharmiweb.com/press-release/2024-05-29/roche-partners-with-wazoku-to-overhaul-pharma-inventory-management. 
  20. ↑ "Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute launches challenge to advance rocket telemetry and citizen space innovation". 2024-12-04. https://www.wsav.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/765836035/abu-dhabis-technology-innovation-institute-launches-challenge-to-advance-rocket-telemetry-and-citizen-space-innovation. 
  21. ↑ "Wazoku and National Innovation Center par Excellence invite global innovators to expand into China's Yangtze Delta". Apr 30, 2025. https://www.wpri.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/807762259/wazoku-and-national-innovation-center-par-excellence-invite-global-innovators-to-expand-into-chinas-yangtze-delta/. 
  22. ↑ "UNDP Call Seeks Innovative Ways to Make Communities Safer from Hidden Underwater Explosives" (in en). https://www.undp.org/press-releases/undp-call-seeks-innovative-ways-make-communities-safer-hidden-underwater-explosives. 
  23. ↑ "Affordable Tools to Find and Mark Underwater Explosive Ordnance". https://undp.community.innocentive.com/challenge/9e7694288643444882cd82bf5b8a8575?utm_source=wazoku&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=Underwater%20Ordnance. 
  24. ↑ "Wazoku Software Reviews, Demo & Pricing - 2025". https://www.softwareadvice.com/idea-management/idea-spotlight-profile/. 
  25. ↑ "Wazoku Platform" (in en-GB). https://www.wazoku.com/wazoku-platform/. 
  26. ↑ "Story of Innocentive" (in en-US). https://www.wazokucrowd.com/story-of-innocentive/. 
  27. ↑ "Wazoku Reintroduces Innocentive Brand As Open Innovation Reaches New Heights" (in en). https://menafn.com/1109640386/Wazoku-Reintroduces-Innocentive-Brand-As-Open-Innovation-Reaches-New-Heights. 
  28. ↑ Wood, Anna. "Wazoku joins Italian Open Innovation Lookout Observatory" (in en). https://startupsmagazine.co.uk/article-wazoku-joins-italian-open-innovation-lookout-observatory. 
  29. ↑ "The Nexus Between Futures Thinking and Innovation" (in en). https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nexus-between-futures-thinking-innovation-wazoku. 
  30. ↑ "Search All Past Stevie® Winners and Finalists" (in en). https://stevieawards.com/search-past-winners-and-finalists. 
  31. ↑ "Wazoku Named as One of the UK's Best Workplaces™ for Women". July 20, 2022. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wazoku-named-one-uks-best-150000538.html. 
  32. ↑ "Wazoku Features | G2". https://www.g2.com/products/wazoku/features. 



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