Six South West-based startups have pitched to huge corporates including EDF Energy, Rolls-Royce and Samsung for the chance to have their products adopted.
The pitching event, the Open Innovation Showcase, took place just last month at KPMG in Canary Wharf, London and was organised by SETsquared, the global number one university business incubator, to develop mutually beneficial partnerships and investment deals.
“We’re seeing more and more investment successes for our startups as a result of attending investment programmes like this”
With corporates discovering new technologies and products, and startups having the chance to seal deals with businesses that they might never normally have access to, the programme has real potential to fast track some of the South West region’s biggest high-tech talent.
Ali Hadavizadeh, Deputy Head of Enterprise and Innovation at the University of Bath Innovation Centre (pictured left), says: “Each year the entrepreneurial talent we see at the Open Innovation Showcase raises the standards. We’re seeing more and more investment successes for our startups as a result of attending investment programmes like this, and by bringing the very best new companies together from across the South we’re set to see that happen once again.”
Pitching for success
Check out the six startups from Bristol and Bath that pitched at the Open Innovation Showcase below:
Vaccines Without Refrigeration – @UniofBath
Vaccines Without Refrigeration has created a method for preserving vaccines to avoid high amounts of medicine wastage.
Verv (pictured in main image above) is an advanced home energy monitor built by Bath-based startup Green Running. Despite being a simple self-install device, the monitor turns all your appliances into smart appliances by applying artificial intelligence to electricity data.
BOXARR (pictured right) is the only systems management solution specifically designed to combat complexity, allowing people across organisations to collaboratively model, simulate, visualise, analyse and optimise complex systems.
KETS Quantum Security’s enhanced quantum security system enables the strongest digital communications encryption in a practical and deployable platform.
LuJam Security has created an easy-to-install sensor to audit, report and alert on network activity, provide visibility of unauthorised devices and block access to high-risk areas of the internet.
Perceptual Robotics – @Perc_Robotics
Perceptual Robotics maximises the use of autonomy and intelligence in robots and has created Dhalion – an industry-leading autonomous aerial platform for wind turbine inspection.
Changing lives
As well as exhibiting, the startups had the chance to pitch for five minutes each, to over 200 registered delegates, to explain how their technology will impact the market and change people’s lives.
With angel and venture capitalists also attending, the entrepreneurs had the chance to raise investment too.
Monika Radclyffe, SETsquared’s Centre Director in Bristol (pictured left), explains: “We saw a real mix of tech sectors exhibiting and pitching at the showcase event this year, all of whom have the potential to grow and make a real difference. After 2016 was such a massively successful year of raising investment for our companies, we’re aiming to beat that this year – and the Open Innovation Showcase is one of the ways to do that.”
Feedback from the Rolls-Royce defence innovation team, who attended the Open Innovation Showcase, has also been positive: “For Rolls-Royce it’s an excellent opportunity to see a wide range of technologies in one room. Rolls-Royce is continuously seeking out emerging technologies that link to our future development areas, with this event identifying a number of areas of interest.”
To find out more about SETsquared and the Open Innovation Showcase, check out the SETsquared website or follow them on Twitter here: @setsquared.
