INNOVATION STRATEGY

Innovation Strategy

Innovation Strategy

Company Background

General Electric (GE) is a diversified technology and services company, and among other things, is engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products for the generation, transmission, distribution, control and utilization of electricity. Throughout the years, GE, whose stock is traded on the stock market under ticker symbol GE, has developed or acquired new technologies and services that have considerably broadened the scope of its activities. GE, whose products include appliances, lighting products, aircraft engines and plastics, is a virtual powerhouse of electronics, technology and media.

GE was established in 1878, over one hundred and twenty-five years ago by Thomas A. Edison, who established the Edison Electric Light Company. GE was incorporated on April 15, 1892, the same year a merger was formed between "Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company", to create what is presently known as General Electric Company (http://www.ge.com).

GE is an example of a business that has kept up with the times, economic demands, technology and client demands. Although a colossal company, GE is by no means a monopoly, and it does not have sole control over the worlds of diversified technology, manufacturing and services.

GE operates in more than 100 countries around the world, including 250 manufacturing plants in 26 different nations. GE employs 313,000 persons worldwide, including 168,000 in the United States.

Adoption of cleantech Technology

GE started in the venture capital activity about four years ago in the middle to late 2005. And really, the motivation at first was greed. GE had seen several other investors make relatively small investments in some of the solar companies that had gone public and literally had made about $200 million on as little as a $10 million investment. And so the leadership of our business looked at that, said, "Well, why can't GE do that?" And so it really was a greed factor to start with in saying, "How can GE make more money for GE?"

GE spent a bunch of time looking at opportunities. GE were a little bit concerned about the market fundamentals and that was a period when ethanol companies were very hyped up. And GE were concerned that there was a lot of hype and not a lot of substance there, and so GE started conservatively.

management in this organization studied the market. GE started looking at specific companies to invest in. GE had the very good fortune of the first investment that GE'd made, which really was the first new venture capital investment by GE, and four years at that point was in a company called A123 Systems that recently went public.

I think, in some part of GE, probably there was, but not in our side of the business. So if GE started with the financial motivation, GE really realized and GE put a set of policies in place that allowed us to succeed as an investor but also as a partner with the companies that GE invested ...