startupmania

I am proud to announce that IBM has chosen the People & Computers group, StartUpMania and the chief science office as its Israeli partners in its IBM Global Entrepreneur Initiative – a program to locate new, brilliant start-ups who wish to patcitipate in the Smarter Planet initiative. The initiative is a global one, in which IBM strives to make life on Earth more convenient, cleaner, healthier and less costly, all through usage of countless data-mining technologies, data analysis and applications that will integrate into all major computing solutions that run our lives.

Within the Smarter Planet initiative, IBM will run a start-up competition called SmartCamp in seven major cities around the world: Tel Aviv, Boston, London, San Francisco, Paris, Dublin and Stockholm. Through this contest we will try and locate the Israeli start-ups most fitting to join the larger framework of Smarter Planet solutions IBM will offer around the world.

Which start-up solutions fit this program?

The simple answer is – lots. It doesn’t matter if you’re developing photo identification technologies, water saving, electricity consumption, location-based applications or special sensors which are installed under sidewalks to measure pedestrian traffic. Any information applications that can add to the general picture fits within the Smarter Planet framework.

Take into account that every year, consumers waste over 170 billion kilowatts an hour due to inadequate information on global electricity consumption, or that traffic jams in the US are costing the American economy about $78 billion, and this last bit of information does not include costs resulting from air pollution damages. Any technology which thinks outside the box can ease the problem or possibly even fix it.

IBM believes that a piece of software that can collect all this information from all over the planet, and use this information for analysis, improvement and directing both consumers and providers in real time, can make a significant change to the global landscape in how the world is run, as well as many other fields.

If you have an idea, technology or product that can help this large-scoped initiative, or integrate in one of the points on the way, and are a young company (under 3 years) you are eligible to compete within SmartCamp.

When is all of this happening?

Sign-ups for the Israeli phase of SmartCamp are now underway, and you are welcomed to make contact with IBM Israel’s GTU to see if you are indeed eligible for the competition.

The Israeli finals will be held on June 24^th, in a special event attended by stand-out investors, potential strategic partners, managers at IBM, and senior managers of the organizations which require the Smarter Planet solutions.

If you are sensor-developing start-up, or one with advanced analytical capabilities or applications based on real-time information – these are your potential customers: ranging from large government organization, to large companies in the transportation industry, medicine, energy, TelCo and countless other sects. The five companies that will reach the finals will work with 25 senior mentors IBM has recruited to help as much as humanely possible.

On the day of the event, and after the finalists’ presentation, the winning start-up will be crowned, and they will enter an 3-month work period with IBM experts towards the global phase of the competition to be held in Dublin on November. There, the Israeli winner will compete against the winning start-ups from the six other cities chosen for the program.

The company who will win the final in Dublin will be crowned “World’s Smartest Start-Up”. Of course, my end-goal in all this is to have the company who wins the gloabl title be an Israeli start-up. The competition may be stiff, but I believe we have a pretty good shot.

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So, if you are technological entrepreneurs, and think you may have something to offer the program, now or in the future, we are all set to do this. if you run or are set to run to operate an environmental information gathering sensor (video, sound, location, temperature and more) or preform advanced analysis on data with innovative application possibilities on existing software products then you most likely fit the bill.

Please input your prelimanery contact information if you are interested in hearing more details and entering the program, and we will get you in touch with IBM’s start-up locating team.

It should be noted that the collaboration is completely free and will provide plenty of exposure and business opportunities.

I hope to see you on that finalist stage in June 24^th, and may the best Israeli start-up win.