Innovation capital is a form of intellectual capital that refers to the resources and processes that an organization uses to foster innovation. It includes anything that helps the organization to develop and implement new ideas beyond the creativity and talent of its employees. Innovation capital can take many forms, including intangible assets such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights. It may also include processes and systems that support innovation, such as research and development (R&D) programs, design thinking methodologies, and collaboration tools.

Innovation capital is important because it helps organizations to stay competitive and adapt to changing market conditions. By investing in innovation capital, organizations can create new products and services, improve existing ones, and find new ways to solve problems and meet customer needs. To effectively leverage innovation capital, organizations should have a clear understanding of their innovation goals and priorities, and should allocate resources appropriately. They should also ensure that their innovation processes are well-designed and aligned with their overall business strategy. The following are illustrative examples of innovation capital.

Brand
Launching an innovation under a strong brand can be a significant advantage as it may dramatically increase adoption.

Trade Secrets
Competitive advantages that are defended using secrecy. For example, a firm may have superior manufacturing processes that allows a new innovation to be manufactured cheaply at high quality.

Knowledge
Documented knowledge that can be leveraged by innovation teams such as a guide to setting up a business experiment.

Data
Data sets that can be used for experiments, validations or ideas.

Intellectual Property
Legal rights such as patents that prevent the competition from copying an innovation.