Startups selected by the Starter Acceleration Program present their projects
Companies chosen for the Latin American module of the global acceleration program for startups presented their projects to specialists in the sector
Last Friday, EDP, company present in all sectors of the Brazilian electric market, carried out at the Unibes Cultural venue in São Paulo the first Demoday of the Starter Acceleration Program. The event presented the initiatives brought forth by each selected startup, and gathered 120 people amongst companies, supporters and external guests. The first Demoday happened in June in Madrid, with startups representing the European module, and the next step will be the North American module, scheduled for August at Houston, in the United States.
At the projects selected for the final bring forth innovative solutions involving different areas, including focus on customer service, Smart Grids, Artificial Intelligence, clean energy and innovation for internal projects.
In the next phase, startups will focus on developing their projects, whereupon 3 companies will be selected to the grand finale that will take pace in November, in Lisbon during the Web Summit, one of the largest events of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology in the world. The selected companies will have a stand at the fair, allowing to present their solutions to the market and prospect new business opportunities during the congress. The winning startup will be awarded a total of 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).
