AI-powered Innovation platform firm Mind the Bridge today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with iLab Collective, a leading innovation consultancy, venture studio, and partner to the hottest, up-and-coming startups in Silicon Valley and international markets, to acquire its operations asset.
The operations of iLab Collective will be folded into Mind the Bridge, where Founding Partner Bobby Amiri will serve as Head of Startup Products and Services. He will lead all global startup programs including portfolio promotion programs for innovation agencies and investors as well as grow the Mind the Bridge Ecosystem, a proprietary AI-powered platform that enables business matching for startups and corporations.
“We are proud to incorporate iLab Collective’s deep experience in innovation consulting and its partner network into our organization. This is another important step in our strategy to serve corporate and government entities along their innovation journey in specific industries and verticals,” shared Marco Marinucci, founder and CEO of Mind the Bridge. “Bobby will be an invaluable asset for our company as he has successfully designed and run many corporate accelerator programs, educating founders in lean startup / agile and connecting international startups to the Silicon Valley ecosystem. We are thrilled to build the next chapter of Mind the Bridge together.”
Bobby Amiri is a Silicon Valley native and emerging market-focused entrepreneur and investor with over 20 years of experience in the tech industry, with roles ranging from IBM to HP. By taking a hands-on approach toward advising founders and by investing in early-stage startups since 2015, he’s helped accelerate more than 150 startups from emerging markets which have gone on to raise over $325M. Bobby co-founded the Pioneer Accelerator with Google Developers Launchpad while with Global Silicon Valley Labs (GSV), one of the largest innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, and has been a Founding Partner for iLab Collective since its launch in 2018.
“I’ve always admired Marco and his team over the years and am excited to join Mind the Bridge to scale the company into new markets and help serve even more customers with the Ecosystem platform – Bobby Amiri adds – The cultural and business synergies align with what we have built at iLab Collective.”
The iLab Collective team has been working in Silicon Valley and many emerging markets collectively for 30+ years. Founded by Bobby Amiri and Joe Vasquez, through their synergistic networks, resources, and capabilities, they have built highly impactful and global innovation ecosystems and programs with leading corporations and governments around the world.
In its deal, the company will join Mind the Bridge global innovation advisory firm which has 15 years of experience in the market with its HQ in San Francisco (CA) and offices in Barcelona, London, Milan, Los Angeles, and Seoul to jointly support corporates, scaleups and government entities through their innovation journey.