Wouldn't medium-sized and large companies benefit a lot from having small but independent (free to hack on whatever they feel like) "skunk works" labs like these? I'm not sure if the research labs at Microsoft, IBM are equivalent.
The Synn Labs folk are cool hackers. They often have their interactive tech projects on display at Mindshare. If you're in LA, Mindshare (http://mindshare.la) is a monthly event that I highly recommend.
I'm trying to create a lab somewhat like this, but actually as a co-operative living situation. The idea is that a huge proportion of the environmental footprint people have comes from their homes, transportation, work, and materials. If a collection of green entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers are then living together under that one roof, then they can use that home as a prototype for the new technologies, products, methodologies, and ways of thinking and living for a future green society. From there, we can spin them out into the world, through journalism or as actual products.
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The main problem with such incubators is that the big ideas are a tiny part of the game. Execution really matters; at least for me, my inventions have to work at scale! I have ideas for technologies and businesses which altogether could supply trillions of dollars worth of market need; but supplying this first million is still going to be a long slog, and that will require focus.
Often they have really cool projects by really competent people.
But big companies, even with good innovation, are still bad at entrepreneurship. It's hard for a cool new innovative idea to get off the ground, and harder since the folks at big companies are less likely to get rich doing them...
Squid Labs (Bay Area): http://www.squid-labs.com/
Applied Minds (LA): http://www.appliedminds.com/
Syyn Labs (LA): http://syynlabs.com/
NYC Resistor (NYC): http://nycresistor.com
Any others?
Wouldn't medium-sized and large companies benefit a lot from having small but independent (free to hack on whatever they feel like) "skunk works" labs like these? I'm not sure if the research labs at Microsoft, IBM are equivalent.
The Synn Labs folk are cool hackers. They often have their interactive tech projects on display at Mindshare. If you're in LA, Mindshare (http://mindshare.la) is a monthly event that I highly recommend.