Intel, Cisco and Deutsche Telekom today announced the twelve startups selected to join the next phase of the Challenge Up! Program, a joint startup initiative organized by the three companies. The twelve teams will participate in a 4-month incubation program designed for young innovative companies building Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
The winning teams were selected after five days of intensive mentoring sessions, workshops and pitching during the Challenge Up! Acceleration Week at hub:raum Krakow, from July 5 – July 10. Out of more than 300 applicants, twenty startups from 13 countries were invited to meet over 100 international mentors, experts and entrepreneurs. The sessions were designed to help early-stage companies scale their business ideas for faster market entry.
Participants spent close to 40 hours in workshops refining their pitching skills, product development, business modeling, user experience (UX) design and sales strategy. The startups invited to join the Challenge Up! Incubation program are:
- Admetsys (Denmark) www.admetsys.com
Admetsys developed Smart PancreasTM, a solution that measures and helps maintain blood sugar levels of diabetic patients. The Admetsys Smart PancreasTM attached to a patient’s intravenous line automatically measures blood glucose concentration in real time with no blood loss. - ComfyLight (Switzerland) www.comfylight.com
It is a smart LED light bulb, enhanced with a presence sensor and connectivity which helps to protect homes. The device learns movement schemes and switches the light on and off in a natural rhythm. - Devicehub.net (Romania) www.devicehub.net
Devicehub offers a Platform as a Service (PaaS) through which users can connect easily and remotely manage multiple devices and create services on top of them. The platform significantly decreases effort and time to enter the market for IoT services. - Hi-Park (Israel) www.hi-park.co
Hi-Park’s technology uses crowd-sourced data and images to provide information on parking vacancy. As a result, it significantly reduces the time spent on searching for parking. - Ifinity (Poland) www.getifinity.com
Ifinity provides beacons based tailor-made technology to cities, public spaces and commercial clients around the world. The solution lets people digitally interact with reality through their mobiles. - n-Join (Israel) www.n-join.com
n-Join leverages the rapid advancements in the Internet of Things to make production facilities more flexible, maximize their output and reduce their environmental signature. - OORT (Poland) www.oort.in
OORT is a unique patent-pending technology that allowed to build an open ecosystem consisting of smart devices, sensors, mobile software & cloud platform. Base upon it, the company developed first Bluetooth Smart specialized Smart Home system that can be controlled via any device with an internet access regardless of its producer and used OS. - ProGlove (Germany) www.proglove.de
ProGlove is a smart glove that enables its users to scan handsfree and provides them with an instant feedback. The device unlocks a new level of business intelligence through additional data point. - Senic (Germany) www.senic.com
A universal dial for the Internet of Things, able to control smart lights, locks, thermostats or speakers with simple gestures rather than browsing through apps on a smartphone. - SEMSEYE (Lithuania) www.semseye.com
A unique solution for monitoring people flows. It is built on the most advanced algorithms for intelligent video processing, and can be used, among others, in retail areas. - Taggalo (Italy) www.taggalo.co.uk
iTunes for real world analytics. Open platform integrating video analytics, wifi tracking and Beacon, all in a single, plug & play sensor. It allows to collect contextual data (footfall, viewers, dwell time, length of stay, frequency of returns, demographics) accessible directly (custom dashboards) or via APIs in real time. - Waylay (Belgium) www.waylay.io
Waylay is a real-time automation platform that integrates the Internet-of-Things (IoT) with enterprise IT systems and online services.
The incubation program will take place in Krakow, Berlin and London from July to November 2015. Startups that successfully complete the program will be eligible for potential co-investment from Intel, Cisco and Deutsche Telekom, as well as other leading corporate venture funds. More details will be announced in December during the Challenge Up! Summit, part of the unBoundDigital tech conference to be held in London, between November 30th and December 1st 2015.
Challenge Up! is designed to help IoT startups enter the market faster by combining access to corporate resources and joint projects with mentoring and high-value networking. The program unites resources and experience from the startup initiatives of the individual companies, including Cisco, Intel® Business Challenge Europe and hub:raum powered by Deutsche Telekom. (see infographic).
Supporting quotes:
"We are impressed by the high quality of teams and ideas of the startups and we are looking forward to work with them intensely and welcome them in September in hub:raum Berlin – when the teams will come together next time", says Elias Drakopoulos, Senior Vice President responsible for Europe B2B at Deutsche Telekom.
"This program provides Cisco the chance to support early-stage startups and work with energetic entrepreneurs. We are excited to be part of this community and to support entrepreneurs in open innovation," adds Mike Flannagan, Vice President and General Manager of Data & Analytics at Cisco.
"Combining the industry expertise and network of Intel, Cisco and Deutsche Telekom provides European IoT startups with unique opportunities to test and verify their ideas. The Challenge Up! Competition has attracted some highly interesting innovations, addressing real market needs, with some of them already getting business traction. The programme proves that the European startup ecosystem is a source of pioneering developments in the IoT segment." said Marcin Hejka, Vice President of Intel and Intel Capital EMAR Managing Director.
About Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies with around 151 million mobile customers, 30 million fixed-network lines and more than 17 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2014). The Group provides fixed network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in more than 50 countries and has approximately 228,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 62.7 billion in the 2014 financial year – more than 60 percent of it outside Germany.
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.
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About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. As a leader in corporate responsibility and sustainability, Intel also manufactures the world’s first commercially available “conflict-free” microprocessors. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com, and about Intel’s conflict-free efforts at conflictfree.intel.com.