Starter Acceleration Program selects startups for Latin American module
10 companies were selected for the LATAM module of EDP’s acceleration program, which will be carried out in São Paulo. The initiative gained three extra partners
EDP, company present in all sectors of the Brazilian electric market, has announced which startups will participate in the Latin American module of its acceleration program, the Starter Acceleration Program. The 10 elected companies hailing from Brazil and Mexico will develop artificial intelligence solutions, big data, renewable energy sources and smart grids (see the list below).
“The startups selected act on emerging technologies capable of uplifting and transforming the electrical energy segment. With the Starter Program’s globalization, we wish to reinforce our support of the Brazilian entrepreneur ecosystem and expand our presence in open innovation in Latin American countries, pushing for new solutions aimed at our business”, highlights Livia Brando, Head of Innovation and Ventures at EDP Brazil.
Since the program went global this year with modules in three regions - Europe (in Madrid, Spain), Latin America (in São Paulo, Brazil) and North America (in Houston, USA) – it has had approximately 500 entries. Ten startups were chosen for each module, all scheduled to go through a week of immersion to develop proposals for pilot projects alongside EDP, with the support of the company team of specialists, as well as the mentors of the accelerators.
At the end of the process there will be a Demoday, in which the Startups will give their pitches. After this stage, that, in Brazil will take place on July 19th at Unibes Cultural in São Paulo, those deemed the greatest potentials will participate in the big finale in November, in Lisbon during the Web Summit, one of the biggest events for innovation, entrepreneurship and technology in the world. The selected will have a stand at the event, being able to present their solutions to the market and prospect new business opportunities at the congress. The winning startup will be awarded 50 thousand euros.
Since 2008 the channel through Venture Capital of the EDP group have already applied globally over 30 million euros in 26 startups, that together amass over 750 employees and have over 100 million euros in revenue per annum. Locally, EDP ventures Brazil is the first Corporate venture capital targeting the energy sector, launched in 2018 and already counting on two startups invested that underwent the EDP acceleration programs.
New partners
Athree international partners joined this first edition of the Starter Acceleration Program: American Elertic Power, utility company with over five million clients in 11 American states; Turning Tables, an innovation company owned by the Spanish group Cuerva; and Verbund, the larges electrical supplier in Austria, with over half a million clients. The program also counts on L Marks and Ace, two specialists in innovation and entrepreneurship around the globe.
Meet the profile of the selected startups:
Loud Voice – São Paulo (Focus on Customer Service): communications platform that allows a real conversation between humans and bots, generating a high end experience. |
Neras – São Paulo (Smart Grids): IoT solution aimed at energy consumption efficiency management in comercial and industrial establishments. |
ColabApp – São Paulo (Focus on Customer Service): platform that connects consumers to public administration or companies aiming to improve the quality of services rendered. |
BLU365 – São Paulo (Focus on Customer Service): platform of debt negotiation that yields value to creditors and debtors through a combination of Science data, CRM and marketing targeting performance and support for creditors. |
Fhinck – São Paulo (Artificial Intelligence): utilizes IoT technology for workforce effectiveness and productivity, providing real-time analysis to improve processes and increase team performance and efficiency |
Rio Analytics – Rio de Janeiro (Artificial Intelligence): company focused on the application of artificial intelligence to predict industrial asset failures. The digital platform that promotes increasing production efficiency through learning algorithms. |
Já Entendi – Paraná (Innovation in internal processes): educational intelligence startup that offers a methodology that can turn any training content such as books, manuals and brochures into video classes through the use of cameras and smart devices. |
Thermo-Off – Santa Catarina (Clean energy): has a nanotechnology-based coating (as a paint) with a high power of infrared reflection, helping large companies reduce costs and save energy. |
Pix Force – Rio Grande do Sul (Artificial Intelligence): develops solutions using computer vision, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies for the treatment and interpretation of images and videos. |
Trato – México (Innovation in internal processes): Noffers a platform for managing and interfacing legal contracts using blockchain technology. |
About EDP in Brazil
With over 20 years in the market, EDP is one of the largest private companies in the Electricity sector to operate in all aspects of the supply chain. The company has more than 10 thousand collaborators between direct and third-party employees working with Energy Generation, Distribution, Transmission, Sales and Customer Service. It has six hydroelectric and one thermoelectric generating units and reaches around 3,5 million customers through its distribution grid in the states of São Paulo and Espírito Santos. Recently it became the main stock-holder of CELESC in the state of Santa Catarina. In Brazil, EDP is seen as a benchmark in Innovation, Governance and Sustainability, featuring for 13 consecutive years on the B3 Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE).
