Next Step Challenge startup competition and accelerator launches its latest class
Europe’s largest startup competition Next Step Challenge sponsored by Accelerace & SE has launched its latest international class of startups that includes 7 startups from the US, 2 from United Kingdom and startups from Israel, Germany and Sweden. The companies will compete for the largest entrepreneurial prize in Europe of 250,000 Euro. The class includes companies developing products ranging from an app that instantly translates blurred speech into understandable speech, a smart-home company that delivers a complete home monitoring and automation solution in one display device and two smartphone-based sensors that enables you to detect and report available parking spaces in cities. The Denmark-based startup competition and accelerator operates a six-month program focused on smart energy, smart home, digital health and communication. Each company in the Next Step Challenge receives 30,000 Euro in seed funding and the opportunity to win the first prize of 250,000 Euro. So here are the 12 elected participants for the upcoming Next Step Challenge.
WordUp started in Provo, Utah (USA) in 2013 and is the world’s first global gaming platform for language learners, where students play games that are designed to teach them a new language while engaging and having fun with others students in other countries.
www.wordupgames.comParkTAG started in May 2014 in Germany. ParkTAG can crowdsource curbside parking occupancy purely based on Smartphone sensors. Data from 2-6% of the drivers in a city is enough for the advanced algorithm to predict available parking spaces. www.parktag.mobi
TableGrabber is a Silicon Valley based startup that provides restaurants with software that allows the restaurants to forecast their demand and allow them to change their prices dynamically to increase their utilization and maximize their revenue potential.
www.rezguru.comInsticator is a New York based company founded in 2014. Insticator is a platform that empowers the engagement of fans of TV content by syncing gamification, social validation and a reward system into one experience where users can interact around the content. www.insticator.com
Unified Intents is a Swedish company founded in 2010 that provides you with the Unified Remote app for your computer. This app allows you to turn your Smartphone into a wireless remote control for your computer, anything from video players and Netflix like apps to basic control www.unifiedremote.com
iNovar is a company from Great Britain launched in 2013. They provide an app that allows you to access all of your corporate content regardless of vendor or format on your choice of mobile device with 100% data security and 0% re-engineering. http://www.2gomobilenow.com/CloudGrid was founded in February 2014 in Great Britain. CloudGrid is an open cloud-based platform for energy analytics and control of electrical networks by clicking onto existing electrical wiring and enables wireless data collection and circuit control from any web enabled device allowing you to save up to 30% energy expenditure.
www.cloudgrid.orgAdmetsys is a Boston, MA (USA) based company. Admetsys has developed the first fully-automated blood glucose control system (i.e. artificial pancreas) for hospital care, optimizing a procedure that have remained unchanged for 30 years.
www.admetsys.comRapidSOS is based in Boston, MA and New York, NY (USA) and founded in 2012. They deliver a service with the ability to deliver requests for help directly to emergency dispatch centers while bypassing the conventional and cumbersome phone call. Furthermore they offer a platform to distribute geofenced alerts to users on a given network.
www.rapidsos.comNwave Technologies is based in Great Britain. Nwave provides a low-power, high-range, and cost-efficient to deploy and communicate with IoT devices. The technology has many applications opportunities, the first of which to be implemented by Nwave, is a parking system. This allows you to detect and report available parking space in a city.
www.nwavetec.comVoiceitt from Israel started in 2014. They provide you with an app that enables people with speech disabilities to speak clearly with nothing but with their own voice. The application functions as a translator of blurred speech into understandable speech.
www.talkitt.comSentri is a Silicon Valley startup that started in April 2014. Sentri is a complete home monitoring and automation solution in one display device. The Sentri device adapts to your home, and delivers personalized alerts along with a video feed of your home to your Smartphone. www.sentri.me
For more information go to www.nextstepchallenge.com or watch this video of the Next Step Challenge program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA79hCTZPOQ
About Next Step Challenge Next Step Challenge is Europe’s largest and most ambitious startup competition and based on a partnership between the energy company SE & Accelerace – Scandinavia’s largest accelerator. The aim of Next Step Challenge is to make use of the unique digital infrastructure in the Region of Southern Denmark. Next Step Challenge want to put it to work by letting businesses with big ideas and visions discover how cutting-edge technological possibilities can help them achieve their goals. www.nextstepchallenge.com]]>