SAP did not create Hana in-memory database. They wrote a check to buy it. I don't think that qualifies as innovative.
It came out of the TREX project, that is an SAP project.
Hana came from a company founded in 2000 by Sang Cha, a Stanford University professor, that spent 5 years developing this and was acquired by SAP in November 2005. This acquisition then formed the basis of SAP R&D Korea.