Idealab

When entrepreneur Bill Gross wanted to coddle his Internet-related brainchildren, he created Idealab. The company, which once teetered on the brink of bankruptcy amid the flame-outs of its erstwhile dot-com progeny, nurtures business ideas (several generated by Gross) with the hopes of growing them into full-fledged companies by providing money, office space, strategic advice, and other resources. Idealab is increasingly involved in emerging technologies such as renewable energy (eSolar, Energy Innovations), automation (Evolution Robotics), and electric and hybrid vehicle development (Aptera Motors), in addition to its traditional focus on Internet companies.