A system for wireless brain sensing, a web-based travel management service, new speech recognition products, a personal travelogue app and ultra-low power mobile sensors, along with advanced contactless mobile marketing technology are just some of the innovative early entries to the Cambridge Wireless Discovering Start-Ups competition.
All the budding entrepreneurs entering the prestigious competition, now in its second year, will get the chance to pitch their ideas and business plans to a line-up of 25 of the world’s leading venture capitalists, angel investors and industry leaders from the likes of Microsoft, RIM, Nokia, Vodafone Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Innovacom, Broadcom, Orange and ARM.
Supported by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), the Discovering Start-Ups competition aims to find the very best in new cutting-edge technologies. In addition to getting the opportunity to present to a dream panel of investors and business experts, the winners will also get a kick-start with cash prizes and free business and consultancy services.
“It appears that innovation is alive and kicking,” said Dr Soraya Jones, CEO of Cambridge Wireless. “Early entries reflect an exciting and diverse range of new technologies and business ideas but we want to encourage more start-ups and early-stage companies to put themselves forward as well as design groups in larger companies with new technologies and students or academics in education.”
“The opportunity for start-up companies to get in front of some of the world’s leading investors in new technologies is an unparalleled opportunity,” said Kevin Coleman, Project Director for Discovering Start-Ups. “With free entry and the chance to network and showcase their ideas, participation in Discovering Start-Ups should be a ‘no brainer’ for any budding technology entrepreneur!”
“Start-ups are the life blood of the wireless industry and are responsible for some of the best innovative ideas and disruptive technologies,” said Kumi Thiruchelvam, Director, Strategic Business Development at Broadcom and one of this year’s judges. “We are looking forward to a diverse range of pitches and presentations and I am sure it will be a valuable experience for all those entering.
“Participating and winning Cambridge Wireless Discovering Start-Ups 2010 was a great experience for us,” said Emmanuel Carraud, CEO MagicSolver. “We got great feedback from world class investors and industry leaders on our mobile apps business model and it opened several doors for us to promote our latest app Free App Magic worldwide. I would warmly recommend fellow start-ups to apply for this competition.” www.magicsolver.com
Entries so far include…
Ellexus:
University of Hertfordshire:
Range of application including applying wireless brain sensing computer games for helping people with health difficulties such as ADHD. www.gamesforlife.co.uk
Voyage Manager:
Web-based travel tracking, management and security service that provides businesses with an easy to use and cost efficient platform for managing and monitoring employee travel. www.voyagemanager.com
Job Hop:
Gives jobseekers an active and passive window to showcase their skills and expertise across the online networks. www.jobhop.co.uk
Skrybot:
Speech recognition products ranging from specialist dictation for legal and medical purposes, through general dictation, automated telephone call centres, to complex server automated speech recognition systems. http://skrybot.pl/en/
GoSense Wireless:
Ultra-low power contactless sensors and loggers for temperature, pressure, light, humidity, motion, carbon monoxide and force. www.gosense-wireless.com
Proxama:
Near-field communication and contactless technology for proximity and mobile marketing. www.proxama.com
Jasper Apps:
The My Vacation travel app for iPhone and iPad allows users to quickly and easily create a personal travelogue on their device for planning and journalling trips. www.jasperapps.com
Sponsors
Supported by EEDA, Discovering Start-Ups is also sponsored by Microlease, Neondrum and S-Tech Insurance Services. Other organisations backing the Cambridge Wireless Discovering Start-Ups initiative include: Business Link, Cambridge Network, Cambridge University, CamtechNet, Connected Cambridge, Enterprise Europe Network, Google, IdeaSpace, Innovation Martlesham, Nesta, One Nucleus, St John’s Innovation Centre and Survive & Thrive.
For more information, please visit www.cambridgewireless.co.uk/discoveringstartups and follow @cambwireless on Twitter or #DS11 for all the latest on Discovering Start-Ups 2011.