The Adjacent Possible

What The Adjacent Possible does

The Adjacent Possible is a Helsinki-based, founder-owned Open Innovation Studio founded in 2021 by William Carbone (CEO) and Nick Sgobba (CTO, a former IBM Senior Inventor). The firm positions itself as an 'idea factory' that uses AI combined with proprietary methods to turn ideas into patents, products, and companies, operating with a team of 1-10 across a Helsinki headquarters. The core technical offering is built around the proprietary 'Exploratorium' methodology for cross-industry technology re-engineering, supported by AI-driven discovery pipelines that use ML and neural networks to correlate signals across global patent, legal, licensing, litigation, valuation, finance/corporate, and chemical/drug/food databases. The firm holds one granted international patent (WO 2023/118642) protecting the Nearby X 'Information Location' theory and a Cluster Verification consensus protocol, and maintains a portfolio of named ventures (Aviogel, Evalify, Quasy Tech, Nearby X, PatScribe, FIFI) plus additional stealth projects.

The commercial offering is structured as three professional-services categories (Patent Intelligence, Innovation Consulting, Academy Services) augmented by a set of fixed-price, self-service packages aimed at the startup ecosystem: Early Novelty Search (€395), Deep Novelty Search (€795), EIC Accelerator IP Strategy Readiness (€695), Pre-Seed IP and Governance Stress Test (€2,795), and Agentic AI Ops Architecture (€1,950). Distribution is exclusively through direct, discovery-call-led sales with no self-service product or marketplace channel beyond the priced packages, and primary customer segments are early-stage startup founders, EIC Accelerator applicants, pre-seed/seed startups preparing for due diligence, lean-operations founders, and enterprise innovation teams. The firm also operates a B2B API/licensing channel for the Nearby X 'Live Layer' engine targeting platform incumbents such as Uber, Google Maps, TripAdvisor, and DoorDash.

The company is privately held, with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or equity funding rounds. Capital inflows to date consist of two non-dilutive grants: a Business Finland innovation grant in December 2021 and an EUSPA (backed by ESA) award in February 2022 for the Quasy Tech space-debris venture. Strategic recognition includes graduation from the KIUAS accelerator and the inaugural 90 Day Finn program (selected from 5,000+ applicants), a flagship partnership with Nobody Studios to co-build Evalify, and disclosed LinkedIn presence for the founders, Quasy Tech, and two stealth projects. Reported operating geographies are limited to Europe/Finland despite the firm describing its underlying data fabric as global.

Name

The Adjacent Possible

Legal name

The Adjacent Possible Oy

Website

https://adjacentpossible.studio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Adjacent Possible is a Helsinki-based Open Innovation Studio that uses AI and proprietary methods on global patent and market data to turn ideas into patents, products, and companies, serving early-stage startup founders, EIC Accelerator applicants, and enterprise innovation teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation & IP Consulting Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Software Publishers (51321), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Patent Owners & Lessors (6794), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

IP Management, Patents & Trademark Software (BPAEAPAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ), Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures) (FSANAHAC), Corporate Deep Tech / R&D Commercialization CVC (FSANAHAL), Industry-Specific Low-Code Platforms (Vertical App Platforms) (HDAEAKAL)

Keywords

• Patent intelligence services
• Innovation consulting
• Patentability search
• Technology re-engineering
• Open innovation studio

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Patent Intelligence Services: Portfolio analytics, competitive dashboards, FTO analysis, and prior art searches sold as consulting engagements.
2. Innovation Consulting Services: Novel ideas generation workshops, patent discovery workshops, portfolio optimization, and technology re-engineering viability assessments delivered as bespoke consulting packages.
3. Academy Services: Training programs for aspiring inventors and co-creation workshops for technology leveraging across industries.
4. Patentability Search Services: Fixed-price prior art search packages (€395-€795) for software-centric startups, delivered in 3-5 business days with novelty reports and claim direction advice.
5. EIC Accelerator IP Strategy Readiness: €695 package for EIC Accelerator applicants providing IP strategy, FTO documentation, and investibility narratives for application evaluation.
6. Pre-Seed IP & Governance Stress Test: €2,795 'Mock Due Diligence' audit for early-stage startups covering IP ownership integrity, competitive novelty scan, AI/code governance, and remediation roadmap.
7. Agentic AI Ops Architecture: €1,950 roadmap package for designing autonomous AI agent systems, including operational bottleneck analysis, custom agent blueprints, multi-agent topology design, and governance architecture.
8. Nearby X B2B API Integration: Licensing the Nearby X engine (Live Layer API) to existing platforms (Uber, Google Maps, TripAdvisor, DoorDash) as a real-time data integration. Commercial model: B2B API Integration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Adjacent Possible is a cross-industry Open Innovation Studio that uses AI-native proprietary methods and global patent and market data to turn ideas into new patents, products, and companies. Its core offerings are Patent Intelligence Services (portfolio analytics, competitor dashboards, FTO, prior-art searches), Innovation Consulting Services (cross-industry re-engineering, novelty workshops, portfolio optimization powered by the "Exploratorium" method), and Academy Services (inventor training and co-creation workshops). The studio also builds portfolio ventures (Nearby X, Quasy Tech, Aviogel, Evalify, PatScribe) and sells fixed-price IP readiness packages to startup founders.

Product overview

The Adjacent Possible is a studio that uses AI + proprietary methods on global patent and market data to turn ideas into new patents, products, and companies. The core offering consists of Patent Intelligence Services, Innovation Consulting Services, and Academy Services, all powered by the proprietary 'Exploratorium' methodology for technology re-engineering and novel patent generation. The service portfolio includes distinct priced packages: Patentability Search (Early Novelty Search at €395 and Deep Novelty Search at €795), EIC Accelerator IP Strategy Readiness (€695), Pre-Seed IP & Governance Stress Test (€2,795), and Agentic AI Ops Architecture (€1,950). The company also maintains a portfolio of venture companies including Aviogel (aerial firefighting), Quasy Tech (space collision avoidance), Nearby X (offline world search), Evalify (IP assessment), PatScribe (patent drafting), FIFI (diversity initiative), and Stealth Project (multiple AI ventures under development).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aviogel: A system and method to provide complementary enhancements to existing aerial firefighting solutions, improving the accuracy of water drops, increasing their efficacy and enabling higher deployment altitudes with ballistic precision and reducing risks for pilots and the airplane.
• Evalify
• Quasy Tech
• Nearby X
• FIFI (Female Inventors of The Future Initiative)
• PatScribe
• Exploratorium

Products and services

• Patent Intelligence Services Bespoke patent intelligence engagements delivering portfolio analytics, competitor dashboards, preliminary FTO analysis, and prior-art scans to map risk and opportunity for clients ranging from startups to enterprise innovation teams.
• Innovation Consulting Services Consulting engagements that identify patents which can be re-engineered for use in different industries, run patent discovery and novel ideas generation workshops, and optimize existing patent portfolios, all powered by the proprietary Exploratorium method.
• Academy Services Training programs for aspiring inventors and co-creation workshops for Invention Thinking and Novel Ideas, designed to entangle international ecosystems and co-create technology across industries.
• Early Novelty Search Fixed-price €395 patentability search package for SaaS and software-defined startups in ideation, providing 2-4 hours of expert-led search, the top 3 closest match patents, a 3-5 slide novelty report, and rapid TRL claim verification, delivered in under 3 business days.
• Deep Novelty Search Fixed-price €795 deep patentability search package for pre-seed/seed startups, providing 10 hours of exhaustive investigation, mapping of 10+ patents and products, an 8-10 slide landscape and strategy deck, defensive moat mapping, and detailed claim direction advice, delivered in under 5 business days.
• EIC Accelerator IP Strategy Readiness Package Fixed-price €695 package for EIC Accelerator Part B applicants, providing an EIC-compliant Preliminary FTO, an Excellence IP Strategy Narrative, a prior art and novelty sanity-check, and ad-hoc evaluator Q&A preparation with quick post-submission support.
• Pre-Seed IP & Governance Stress Test Fixed-price €2,795 "Mock Due Diligence" audit for pre-seed/seed startups preparing for VC diligence, covering IP Ownership Integrity, Competitive Landscape, Code & AI Governance Scan, FTO Risk Signals, and a Clean Data Room Roadmap with a 1:1 remediation strategy call, delivered in 5-7 business days.
• Agentic AI Ops Architecture Package Fixed-price €1,950 Agentic Architect Package for founders and lean operators, providing operational bottleneck analysis, three custom agent blueprints, multi-agent topology design, safety and micro-friction governance, implementation-ready tech specs, and a "workforce of one" strategy call.
• Nearby X B2B API Integration B2B API integration of the patented Nearby X "Live Layer" engine (patent WO 2023/118642) into platform partners such as Uber, Google Maps, TripAdvisor, and DoorDash, enabling verified real-time physical-world data retrieval via a geofenced cluster verification consensus protocol.
• PatScribe Generative AI tool that turns draft patent claims into full, attorney-grade patent drafts fast, keeping human experts in control; built for patent attorneys, agents, patent engineers, and professional drafters.

Quantifiable outcome

• Patent search turnaround: <3 business days for Early Novelty Search, <5 business days for Deep Novelty Search
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability9 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Nobody StudiosflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with Nobody Studios to bolster their mission to create 100 compelling companies in five years. The Adjacent Possible provides IP-based initiatives from research on IP protectability of early-stage ideas to intellectual property market information. Together, they are building and scaling Evalify.
• KIUAS AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Adjacent Possible emerged from KIUAS, Finland's leading startup accelerator. Selected from 5,000+ applicants for the accelerator program that provided mentorship, resources, and ecosystem access.
• Nearby X Platform Partners (Uber, Google Maps, TripAdvisor, DoorDash)flagshipTechnology or IntegrationNearby X positions itself to sell the 'Live Layer' API engine to existing platforms (Uber, Google Maps, TripAdvisor, DoorDash) as B2B API integration. The proposition is to transform static maps into live, interactive interfaces and enable real-time inventory audits without expensive IoT sensors.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PatSnap: Global patent analytics and IP intelligence platform offering prior-art search, FTO, and portfolio analytics. Directly comparable to AP's Patent Intelligence Services, with broader scale and incumbent positioning.
• Wazoku (formerly InnoCentive): Open innovation and crowdsourced idea-management platform. Closely comparable to AP's cross-industry Innovation Consulting and 'Novel Ideas Generation Workshop' offerings.
• Nobody Studios: Venture studio with a stated mission to launch 100 companies. Strategic partner of AP and co-builder of Evalify, making it both a peer (same venture studio model) and a customer-distribution channel.

Broad incumbents

• Questel (Orbit Intelligence): Established IP and patent analytics suite (Orbit Intelligence) serving corporate IP teams and patent attorneys worldwide. Overlaps with AP's FTO and prior-art search offering at the enterprise end of the market.
• Clarivate (CPA Global / IPfolio): Large IP management and analytics provider (Derwent, IPfolio, PatentSight) with end-to-end IP workflow tooling. Competes indirectly with AP's Patent Intelligence and IP Governance Stress Test offerings.
• Anaqua: IP management software platform for corporations and law firms, providing portfolio analytics and IP workflow tools. Comparable to AP's portfolio and governance offerings but at enterprise scale.
• Betaworks: Operating venture studio investing in and building early-stage technology companies. Comparable model to AP's portfolio-venture approach, though with substantially more capital and longer track record.

Emerging players

• IdeaScale: Innovation management software for crowdsourcing ideas inside enterprises. Adjacent to AP's Innovation Consulting and Academy services, focused on enterprise innovation pipelines.
• PatentBot: AI-assisted patent drafting and prosecution tool for attorneys. Direct competitor in the emerging AI-patent-drafting category where AP's PatScribe portfolio venture also plays.

Others

• Cambashi: Industry analyst and consulting firm covering PLM, engineering, and innovation software markets. Adjacent to AP in providing research and advisory on innovation tooling ecosystems.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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 The Adjacent Possible