Wazoku

Wazoku

Wazoku was founded in 2004 by Simon Hill and George MacRae in London, UK. The firm began as a spinoff from the innovation consultancy WhatIf! and has since developed an enterprise software platform for open innovation and idea management. Wazoku's core product, the Idea Spotlight platform, enables organizations to capture, evaluate, and implement ideas from employees, customers, and external partners. The company serves over 100 enterprise clients globally, including Cisco, Procter & Gamble, and the UK National Health Service. Its technology applies AI to prioritize ideas and match them to business needs, spanning sectors from healthcare to consumer goods. The firm has raised venture funding from investors including Beringea and the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, 2021). Wazoku employs approximately 60 people and operates from its London headquarters. In January 2024, the company announced a partnership with IdeaScale to expand its reach into the US market. Wazoku's structural differentiator is its hybrid model — part software vendor, part innovation consultancy — that embeds its team directly into client innovation processes rather than simply licensing a tool. This consulting-embedded approach has given it a deeper integration into client R&D workflows than pure-play idea management platforms.