Paris - 08 nov. 2013: Des start-ups basées en Autriche, France, Allemagne, Israël, Italie, Espagne et au Royaume-Uni vont se mesurer en final d’IBM SmartCamp Europe à Vienne le 8 novembre 2013. Pendant l’événement, des chefs d’entreprises « néotechnologiques » auront à leur disposition des capital-risqueurs, des spécialistes du secteur et des experts de chez IBM avec lesquels ils vont pouvoir échanger et leur demander conseil. À terme, les deux entreprises désignées comme gagnantes de SmartCamp Europe seront invitées à briguer la finale mondiale de IBM SmartCamp Global en février 2014 au coeur de la Silicon Valley en Californie.

Élément essentiel de IBM Global Entrepreneur Program, les sessions SmartCamps sont tenues partout à travers le monde dans le but de repérer des start-ups développant des solutions novatrices en matière de Smarter Planet via le cloud, les technologies mobiles, l’analytique et le big data. Ce forum rassemble des capital-risqueurs locaux, des « serial entrepreneurs », des universitaires et des experts du secteur NTIC qui mettent leur science et expérience à disposition des entrepreneurs en lice.

 Les exposés des entrepreneurs candidats constituent le moment clé des SmartCamps. Un jury composé d’experts reconnus désigne les deux meilleures start-ups à se mesurer en finale mondiale de IBM SmartCamp Global pour briguer le titre de « IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year » avec, à la clé, le droit de bénéficier de la technologie IBM et du conseil de ses experts, possibilité d’élargir son carnet d’adresses à travers l’écosystème d’IBM, ses partenaires, clients, universitaires et capital-risqueurs.

 Le dispositif IBM Global Entrepreneur Program s’est avéré être un accélérateur convoité des start-ups « néotechnologiques ». À l’échelle mondiale, le programme a permis à plus de 1.500 entreprises d’enrichir le marché de nouvelles solutions dans les domaines incontournables de la santé, de l’énergie et du transport. Par ailleurs, les participants des sessions SmartCamp des années passées ont réussi à engranger plus de 115 millions de dollars auprès des capital-risqueurs et « business angels ». Aujourd’hui, nombre de ces entreprises-là restent partenaires d’IBM et continuent à développer des produits innovants. 

Les sept start-ups participant à IBM SmartCamp Europe cette année font partie de la fine fleur du secteur des nouvelles technologies de la région « Europe ». 
« Cette année, la compétition a été plus rude qu’auparavant, mais les sept finalistes des sessions SmartCamp régionales représentent véritablement le domaine des technologies innovantes de la région », se félicite Alessandro la Volpe, directeur du développement de l’écosystème chez IBM Europe.

Parmi les sept fleurons de la région « Europe », un bijou français.

·        MIRAKL / www.mirakl.com

Mirakl fournit à ses clients – les e-commerçants, les distributeurs, les grandes marques et les médias – un plan de développement en matière de stratégie, technologie et mise en oeuvre pour doper les ventes et les bénéfices de leur fonds de commerce en ligne. Parmi les clients actuels de Mirakl il y a Galeries Lafayette et la Fnac.com.

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 Vienna: Seven Start-ups compete for place in IBM SmartCamp Global Finals

Regional event supports entrepreneurs with mentoring and networking opportunities

 Vienna – November 8th. On November 8, 2013 start-ups from Austria, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Spain, and the UK will compete in IBM SmartCamp Europe finals. During the event technology entrepreneurs will network with and receive mentorship from venture capitalists, industry experts and IBM. Ultimately two start-ups will be selected the SmartCamp Europe winners and be invited to participate in IBM SmartCamp Global finals in February 2014 in California’s Silicon Valley.

The cornerstone of IBM's Global Entrepreneur Program, SmartCamps are events held around the globe to identify start-ups bringing innovative Smarter Planet solutions to market using cloud, mobile, analytics and big data. The events bring together local venture capitalists, serial entrepreneurs, professors and IT industry experts to provide advice to participating entrepreneurs.

SmartCamps culminate with participants pitching their business to a panel of expert judges who select the best start-ups to attend SmartCamp Global Finals and vie for the title of “IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year” as well as access to IBM technology, experts and expanded partnership with IBM and its ecosystem of partners, clients, academics and venture capitalists.

  The IBM Global Entrepreneur Program has proven to be a valuable accelerator for technology start-ups. The program has helped more than 1,500 businesses globally bring new solutions to market in key areas including healthcare, energy and transportation. Additionally, previous SmartCamp participants have raised more than $115 million in venture capital and angel investment funding. Several companies have gone on to bring new offerings to market with IBM.

 The seven start-ups participating in this year's IBM SmartCamp Europe represent some of the best and brightest technology start-ups from the region.

“This year, the competition has been tougher than ever, but the seven regional SmartCamp finalists really represent innovative technologies in Europe. Social business, enterprise mobility, smarter analytics and big data, security, smarter commerce and cloud computing are becoming more important than ever for businesses. Our vast experience and expertise in these areas makes IBM the right partner for these companies. By working closely with them to help bring their solutions to market faster, our aim is to build a Smarter Planet together,” says Alessandro la Volpe, Director Ecosystem Development, IBM Europe. 
Participating start-ups include:

·        Austria: LineMetrics / https://linemetrics.com/en/

LineMetrics provides manufacturing analytics-as-a-service. It develops hardware and analytics cloud service to provide a do-it-yourself/one-stop-shop solution for customers. It is enabling manufacturing companies to record and analyze sensor and machine data.

 ·        France: MIRAKL / www.mirakl.com

Mirakl supports its customers – e-tailers, retailers, brands, and media– in creating a strategic, technological, and operational plan for their online marketplace to increase sales and profits. Mirakl is already working with companies, such as Galeries Lafayette and Fnac.com. 
  
·        Germany: MAD / www.mad.ai

Augmentation Industries has developed Mobile Assisted Driving (MAD), a hardware device that can be plugged into any car around the world and that connects to a WiFi device, such as a smartphone. The MAD adapter is capable of extracting any data a car produces, like the number of seatbelts fastened, fuel level, odometer reading and the CO2 exhaust.

·        Israel: Nova Lumos / www.nova-lumos.com

Nova Lumos brings affordable energy to 1.5 billion people in the off-grid world by providing a “home power station in a box” a new type of solar panel that allows users to purchase electricity on demand using their mobile phone.

 ·        Italy: Vivocha / www.vivocha.com/

Vivocha provides an online customer interaction platform that enables businesses to seamlessly communicate with prospects and customers directly on the website, using any combination of VoIP, video, chat, callbacks and collaboration tools.

 ·        Spain: BiiCode / www.biicode.com

 BiiCode analyzes code, finds missing dependencies on its platform, and downloads only the required sources.  It looks for the best matching version, according to customers’ policies, ensuring compatibility among all dependencies of projects. Biicode automates project configuration and building.

·        UK: Shopa / www.shopa.com

Shopa is a shopping network where members are incentivised to promote products to friends in return for cash. The creative solution highlights a new stage in word-of-mouth marketing on digital platforms and offers higher cash rewards for members with large followings. 
 

The People’s Vote Award

The public is encouraged to vote for their favorite start-up.* To vote please visit: www.bit.ly/1ggQ92r  (page available from Nov 6).

 *Voting is purely for participation. Online voting does not determine overall competition outcome. 
  
Live blogging of the event will be available at http://ibmsmartcamp.com/.

 Join the conversation on the event, entrepreneurs and technologies that make the planet work better on Twitter at #IBMSmartCamp.

 For more information about the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program visit:

http://ibm.co/dU2R5c.