Nosco HQ

What Nosco HQ does

Nosco ApS is a Danish privately held software-and-consulting company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Copenhagen. The company sells the Nosco Platform, a SaaS-based innovation management system that supports enterprise clients in running structured innovation challenges, idea campaigns, continuous improvement programs, open innovation initiatives, and incubation sprints across the full lifecycle from ideation through investment decision. Around this platform, Nosco operates a consulting practice offering six named services: Innovation Challenge, Continuous Improvement, Open Innovation, License to Innovate (training), Innovation Roadmap, and Incubation. The business operates a dual revenue model combining recurring SaaS subscriptions with professional services revenue from consultants who facilitate and design client engagements.

The company's go-to-market is enterprise-led, combining direct sales with content-driven demand generation via webinars, an Academy, the Inside Innovation magazine, and an Innovation Glossary, plus a free trial entry point at trial.noscoapp.com. Notable enterprise customers include Danfoss, Maersk, Ørsted, Linde, Diageo, Husqvarna, Bühler, Covestro, KUKA, Stabilus, VELUX, WIDEX (now WS Audiology), and DSM, spanning energy, manufacturing, materials, building products, robotics, food, and consumer goods. Nosco has also positioned itself as an orchestrator of multi-party industry consortia, managing open innovation challenges for groups such as Bühler, Cargill, Givaudan, and Puris (Scale It Up! plant-based proteins) and Bühler, Covestro, and Evonik (Carbon Footprint Challenge).

Ownership and financials are founder/management-controlled, with no disclosed institutional investor beyond Heartwood Partners' 2007 seed round; total disclosed funding is approximately $1.35M across two rounds. The company is led by CEO & Partner Jesper Müller-Krogstrup, COO & Partner Sebastian Cadell, and CCO Morten Benn, with a team size reported in the 11–50 range. AI/ML is not a publicly disclosed pillar of the product, and the company's competitive narrative rests on methodology, facilitation expertise, and referenceable enterprise outcomes rather than proprietary AI capability.

Name

Nosco HQ

Legal name

Nosco ApS

Website

https://nos.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nosco ApS is a Copenhagen-based software and consulting firm that provides an enterprise innovation management SaaS platform alongside consultancy services (challenges, incubation, open innovation, training) to large multinational corporations seeking to systematize employee-driven innovation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Management Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital & Technology Transformation Consulting (BPAHACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

eSignature, Forms & Digital Workflow Platforms (HDAEAHAJ), Technical Enablement & Adoption Services (Change Management, Adoption, Champions) (BPAEANAC)

Keywords

• Innovation management software
• Idea management platform
• Corporate innovation consulting
• Innovation challenge campaigns
• Continuous improvement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Platform Subscription: SaaS-based innovation management platform delivered via subscription model. Customers access the platform to run innovation challenges, campaigns, and manage innovation workflows. The platform supports ideation, screening, incubation, and community features.
2. Consulting Services: Professional services including strategic clarity and hands-on execution to design innovation initiatives, facilitate implementation, and strengthen teams. Services include Innovation Challenge, Continuous Improvement, Open Innovation, License to Innovate, Innovation Roadmap, and Incubation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Nosco combines a SaaS-based innovation management platform with hands-on consulting services to help enterprises run innovation challenges, collect and evaluate employee ideas, incubate promising concepts, and build innovation culture. Their offering integrates digital tooling (idea submission, screening, incubation workflows, open innovation portals) with strategic consulting across six service lines: Innovation Challenge, Continuous Improvement, Open Innovation, License to Innovate, Innovation Roadmap, and Incubation.

Product overview

Nosco is an innovation management platform combined with consultancy services. The core offering is the Nosco Platform—a digital innovation management SaaS that enables organizations to run innovation challenges, collect and evaluate ideas, facilitate team collaboration, and manage the innovation pipeline from ideation through incubation. Around the platform, Nosco offers six distinct consulting services: Innovation Challenge (competitive campaigns for new ventures), Continuous Improvement (employee-driven operational enhancements), Open Innovation (external collaboration with partners/startups), License to Innovate (training programs), Innovation Roadmap (strategic planning), and Incubation (sprint-based idea maturation). Additional educational resources include the Academy with courses like 'Intro to Idea Campaigns,' the Inside Innovation interview magazine, and an Innovation Glossary. Together, the platform and services form a comprehensive innovation management ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nosco Platform

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BühlercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBühler is a global industrial solution provider for processing foods and manufacturing advanced materials. They partnered with Nosco for the 'Scale It Up!' open innovation challenge targeting plant-based protein startups. Bühler is part of a consortium including Cargill, Givaudan, and Puris, all leaders within the food system value chain.
• CargillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCargill partnered with Nosco as part of the 'Scale It Up!' consortium focused on finding and collaborating with startups working on plant-based proteins to accelerate innovation in the food industry.
• GivaudancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGivaudan, a leader in the food system value chain, partnered with Nosco for the 'Scale It Up!' open innovation initiative targeting plant-based protein innovations and startup collaboration.
• PuriscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPuris joined the 'Scale It Up!' consortium managed by Nosco, focused on accelerating plant-based protein startups through proof-of-concept development at partner facilities.
• WavemakersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWavemakers created awareness of the Diageo Social Tech Startup Challenge across South Africa as part of the collaboration to support South African entrepreneurs in solving social problems using technology.
• UrbianminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerUrbian hosted workshops to assist entrepreneurs in the development of pretotypes, prototypes, and MVPs for the Diageo Social Tech Startup Challenge, providing technical expertise in entrepreneurship development.
• Gordon Institute of Business Science (University of Pretoria)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGordon Institute of Business Science instructed the educational program in entrepreneurship for the Diageo Social Tech Startup Challenge, providing academic expertise and training to selected entrepreneurs.
• EvonikcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvonik joined Bühler and Covestro in the Carbon Footprint Challenge, an industry collaboration led by Nosco inviting students worldwide to submit ideas for reducing environmental impact of manufacturing and industrial processes.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HYPE Innovation: HYPE Innovation offers an enterprise innovation management platform covering ideation, idea campaigns, and innovation portfolios, with a similar target buyer (large corporations) and similar feature set to Nosco.
• Planview (Spigit): Planview's Spigit product is one of the longest-standing enterprise innovation management platforms, serving Fortune 500 customers with idea management, challenges, and innovation portfolios. Directly comparable to Nosco on the software layer with stronger scale and capital base.
• Qmarkets: Qmarkets provides innovation management software including idea campaigns, open innovation, and continuous improvement modules for global enterprises. Directly comparable product portfolio and customer base to Nosco.
• IdeaScale: IdeaScale provides innovation management software for idea collection, evaluation, and implementation across enterprise and government clients. Closely comparable to Nosco's platform for innovation challenges and idea campaigns.
• InnovationCast: InnovationCast is an innovation management platform focused on idea campaigns, challenges, and crowdsourcing for mid-market and enterprise customers. Comparable feature set with a primarily software-led GTM.
• Brightidea: Brightidea is a leading innovation management SaaS platform offering idea campaigns, challenges, and innovation pipelines to enterprise customers. It is the most direct competitor to Nosco's core platform, targeting the same large-enterprise innovation programs with a software-led (rather than hybrid) model.

Broad incumbents

• ServiceNow: ServiceNow provides a broad workflow and digital transformation platform used by large enterprises (including several of Nosco's named customers) for process automation. As a broad incumbent, it competes with Nosco's workflow angle via internal IT-built innovation tools and could expand into dedicated innovation management.
• Atlassian: Atlassian's Jira and Confluence platforms are widely used as the underlying workflow and collaboration backbone for corporate innovation programs. While not a dedicated innovation management product, large enterprises often assemble DIY innovation pipelines on Atlassian, displacing platforms like Nosco.

Emerging players

• Viima: Viima offers an innovation management and idea board platform with both free and paid tiers, often adopted by mid-market and innovation teams. Overlaps with Nosco on innovation challenges and idea campaigns, but typically serves smaller deployments and SMBs.

Others

• Boston Consulting Group (BCG) — Bright House / Innovation practice: BCG's innovation and corporate venturing practices serve the same large-enterprise innovation agenda as Nosco's consulting arm, often competing for the same strategic innovation roadmap and incubation mandates. Comparable at the consulting layer though not on the SaaS layer.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/noscohq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nosco_2
• Xx.com/noscohq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nosco HQ