Ideas Inc Competitors

A studio of thinkers and makers, creating Aotearoa icons through design that moves people, businesses and communities forward. Brands people care about. Experiences that matter. Design that works.

Bill Gross started Idealab in 1996 to create and operate pioneering technology companies. The structure of Idealab has allowed us to test many ideas at once and turn the best of them into companies, attracting the human and financial capital necessary to bring them to market. Many of these companies were among the first to introduce new business ideas to the market. CitySearch, now a part of IAC, established the category of local online community directories. eToys demonstrated the tremendous potential for online consumer retail and became one of the most recognized brands during the early days of e-commerce. Overture Services, which began life as GoTo.com, was the first company to introduce the concept of paid search — the business model that powers the multibillion-dollar online search market. Idealab continues to explore a range of technology frontiers. New models for improving the search experience are at the core of several companies currently growing inside of Idealab. Moving beyond the Internet, we have spawned companies with breakthrough technologies in robotics, renewable energy and automotive design and production among others. Idealab also continues to partner with leading venture capital firms and other strategic investors to provide the resources to maximize the potential of these companies. In addition to capital, Idealab provides a full range of resources to infuse start-ups with the support they need to rapidly introduce innovative products and services. Resources include office space and the accompanying office services, development and technology, product and graphic design, marketing, financial advice, human resources, competitive research, legal, accounting and business development support and services. In addition, Idealab provides advice on strategy, branding and corporate structure.

Digital Foundry is a boutique software engineering firm headquartered in Tiburon, California. For more than 30 years, we have partnered with enterprise organizations and government agencies to design, build, and modernize complex digital systems. We specialize in the software that off-the-shelf tools can't solve and that large consulting firms struggle to deliver: mission-critical enterprise platforms, AI-enabled product systems, and the modernization of aging infrastructure that organizations depend on every day. What We Build Our core work spans five areas: custom enterprise software development, AI-enabled platform and agent system development, legacy system modernization, cloud-native platform engineering, and technical strategy and architecture consulting. We build enterprise web applications, data platforms, API ecosystems, operational tools, LLM-powered interfaces, AI copilots, agentic software systems, and complex workflow automation platforms. We are increasingly focused on practical AI — building systems designed for production, not experimental settings. How We Work We operate with senior-led teams. Every engagement is led by experienced engineers and architects who take direct accountability for outcomes. Projects range from focused 4–12 week discovery and architecture engagements to multi-year platform development programs. Who We Work With Our clients are Fortune 1000 enterprises and government agencies across financial services, healthcare, energy and utilities, logistics, manufacturing, and the public sector. Representative clients include JPMorgan Chase, GEICO, Blue Cross Blue Shield, General Electric, National Grid, Comcast, Disney, American Express, and Visa. We are typically engaged when programs are high-stakes, technically complex, or when prior efforts have stalled. Digital Foundry: trusted engineering for complex digital systems.