IBM Peridot
| Company type | Internship program |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology, Software |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | David Grossman, Jane Harper, Ronald Woan, Sean Martin, Morris Matsa |
| Headquarters | Cambridge , United States |
Area served | Global |
| Parent | IBM |
Extreme Blue is an internship initiative by IBM designed for both graduate and undergraduate students. It serves as a critical pathway for recruiting future IBM talent, emphasizing a strong placement-oriented approach.
History
Established in 1999 by David Grossman, Jane Harper, Ronald Woan, Sean Martin, and Morris Matsa, Extreme Blue originated at the Lotus Software facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. By 2003, participants had secured 98 patents.
In 2007, the program attracted 10,000 applications for 92 openings in the United States, alongside over 10,000 applications for 220 positions internationally. The UK branch of Extreme Blue earned the "Over 250 Employees – Short term placement" accolade at the 2008 National Council for Work Experience awards. By 2009, applications exceeded 10,000 for fewer than 50 U.S.-based roles.
Since its inception, Extreme Blue has grown to encompass 15 active sites globally.
Projects
Extreme Blue combines the expertise of IBM engineers, interns, and business leaders to create innovative technologies and business strategies for new offerings. Each summer, teams focus on rapidly prototyping prominent software and hardware solutions. Some notable projects released publicly include:
- AmalgamR (2009) consolidates social data from various platforms such as Twitter to present timely and relevant group-related information.
- BreadCrumbs (2009) is an iPhone application that scans grocery barcodes to deliver ingredient information, manufacturing details, and product recall notifications via IBM’s food RFID traceability technology.
- SMS for Life (2009) addresses malaria control in Africa by leveraging mobile phones, text messaging, and web mapping tools to monitor antimalarial drug inventories.
- exSEL (2007) serves as a marketing platform providing a virtual tour with interactive displays at the IBM Solutions Experience Lab.
- SiSi Say It Sign It (2007) converts spoken English into British Sign Language, illustrated by an animated avatar.
- Peridot (2004) detects broken hyperlinks and aids in their updating; IBM pursued patents related to this innovation.
- GameGrid (2003) created a distributed computing MMOG inspired by the open-source version of ID Software's Quake 2 first-person shooter.
These initiatives highlight Extreme Blue’s dedication to pioneering solutions with practical impacts across healthcare, marketing, accessibility, and web administration.
North America
In 2004, North America supported 44 Extreme Blue teams. In 2002, the program included 101 interns representing 42 educational institutions.
- IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California (2000–present)
- Hosted four teams during 2009
- IBM Silicon Valley Lab, San Jose, California
- Cambridge, Massachusetts (1999–2004)
- The original site of Extreme Blue; no sessions held in 2001
- Raleigh, North Carolina (2002–present)
- Opened in 2002; Ross Grady has served as lab manager since 2006
- Austin, Texas (2001–present)
- Founded in 2001; lab manager since 2015: Marjean Fieldhouse; technical lead since 2015: Matthew Glover
- Montreal, Quebec
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Toronto, Ontario
South America
Asia
- Beijing
- Bangalore (2004–?)
- Initiated in 2004 with a group of 9 students divided into 2 teams
- Delhi (2010–present)
- Operating continuously since 2010
- IBM Haifa Research Laboratory, Haifa
Europe
- Dublin, Ireland
- Cork, Ireland
- Böblingen, Germany
- Comprised of 3 teams in 2002
- Brussels, Belgium
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Uithoorn, Netherlands
- La Gaude, France
- Hursley, United Kingdom
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Rome, Italy