From Research Project to Cutting-Edge Solutions Provider

In the 1990s, the World Wide Web revolutionized how we share information. The University of Illinois' National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) played a key role in the birth and growth of the Web; NCSA Mosaic was the first widely used graphical Web browser whose offspring include both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

Today, sharing data is easy, and data generated by Web logs, email messages, RFID tags and other devices and processes is growing exponentially. The second information revolution will be realized through technologies that help us manage the information overload. RiverGlass, launched out of NCSA, is at the forefront of the revolution, bringing data analytics solutions that are accessible, proactive and adaptable to the constantly changing landscape of data.

RiverGlass formed in December 2003, when Michael Welge, head of NCSA's Automated Learning Group, worked to transform the D2K software environment into a commercial venture. The goal was to offer data analytics solutions to help organizations gather, organize, merge and analyze data from disparate sources, including unstructured textual and visual data.

To help launch the business, the company turned to IllinoisVENTURES, the start-up services firm that works with University of Illinois researchers to turn university research projects into viable commercial ventures. With their help, a software solution for a select group of researchers was transformed into a dynamic startup. As capital was acquired, collaborations began with major corporations on early-stage projects. Many of these built on past NCSA collaborations using the D2K framework.

In April 2004 Kirk Dauksavage came on board as Chief Executive Officer. In November 2004 the company officially named itself RiverGlass, and by December 2004, RiverGlass had secured additional funding from IllinoisVENTURES, RPM Ventures and the Illinois Finance Authority.