In 2003, IBM co-founded the US-based GridWise Alliance that advocates for grid modernization, and in 2007, IBM formed the Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition (GIUNC), a coalition of players in the energy and utilities market, which is helping accelerate the adoption and use of smart grid technologies and bringing digital intelligence to current systems.

ENGADGET: IBM announces Smarter Energy Research Institute, aims to improve energy grids (video)

Damion Hankejh, an investor in start-ups including CrowdFlower and Etacts, says his background as a consultant at IBM and General Electric Co.

WSJ: 'Angel' Investors Exist Outside Tech Elite, Too

The U.S. Department of Defense requested the project and is co-funding it with IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ).

FORBES: Magazine Article

My co-researchers and I in our IBM Institute for Business Value study, Collective Intelligence: Capitalizing on the Crowd, we have pointed to intrinsic motivation as well as a strong factor to drive not just individual work but collective crowdsourcing.

FORBES: Does Your Job Keep You Up in the Daytime?

Among the largest underlying components of VUG, in trading today Apple Inc ( NASD: AAPL) is up about 1.2%, International Business Machines Corp. ( NYSE: IBM) is up about 0.8%, and Coca-Cola Co ( NYSE: KO) is relatively unchanged.

FORBES: Notable ETF Inflow Detected - VUG, AAPL, IBM, KO