Innovate UK, Tech City UK and Cambridge Wireless (CW) today announced the seven winners of their flagship £1m Internet of Things Launchpad competition.

The winners represent some of the most exciting early stage companies in the Internet of Things space. Based in London and Cambridge, the companies will share grant funding of up to £1m.

The Internet of Things (IoT) describes automatic ‘smart’ communications between objects – rather than between people using computers and mobiles – through the internet. Market projections suggest the industry will comprise of 26bn devices by 2020, rising to a trillion by 2025. It is predicted to become a $500bn global technology market by 2019, supporting an even more extensive market for products and services.

Innovate UK’s Launchpad competitions target investment and support at existing business clusters to have emerged in particular areas, in this case digital industries in London and Cambridge.

During the selection process the panel looked for pioneering projects, taking Internet of Things activity into innovative new areas. The winning projects are:

• Digital Shadows Limited – A project to identify, enumerate and attempt to mitigate some of the IoT-related security risks facing businesses, cities and individuals

• Product Health Limited – A new service for connected batteries, representing a step change in the way batteries are managed in the off-grid energy sector

• ThinkInnovate Ltd – An IoT defence scanner, consisting of a portable scanning device, a mobile app and a web app and designed to increase confidence in IoT

• Arjun Technology Ventures Ltd – (KisanHub) working with NWave – Wireless remote collection of data from multiple in-field sensors to make digitised farming enterprises a commercial reality

• 1248 Ltd – A project to encourage and improve cycle journeys in London and Cambridge, by discovering, processing and providing relevant sensor data

• OpenTRV Limited – A venture to work out the optimum combination of sensors to use inside buildings and outdoors to detect environmental information, such as the presence of people and the weather
  

• Superflux Ltd – A compact air quality monitoring and GPS tracking sensor that can be easily fitted to child’s pushchair

Announced by Prime Minister David Cameron at the CeBIT conference earlier this year, Innovate UK organised this competition in conjunction with Tech City UK and CW. Tech City UK was launched in 2010 to support the growth of the technology sector in East London, which has become Europe’s largest digital cluster. Cambridge Wireless is a leading and vibrant community with global networks, interested in the development and application of wireless and mobile technologies to solve business problems.

In addition to the funding grant, the winners will benefit from access to expertise and business support from the programme’s private sector partners: EE, John Lewis, Unilever, Bosch, Seedcamp, Red Gate, Cisco, Hive by British Gas, RPD and Fab Lab London. These partners will offer the winning companies the opportunity to access a range of support, from investment, and access to markets and mentorship, to retail for showcasing products to consumers.

The Rt. Hon Ed Vaizey MP, Digital Economy Minister, said: “It is an exciting time to be a tech business in the UK. Our digital economy is already one of the strongest markets in the world, valued at more than £100 billion.

“Investing in growth areas such as the Internet of Things is a key part of our long-term economic plan to back business, create jobs and secure a brighter future for Britain. “We have already put coding into the school curriculum and our rollout of superfast broadband has now passed more than 1.5 million homes and businesses and is reaching 40,000 more each week.”

Matt Sansam, Lead Digital Technologist for Innovate UK, said: “Innovate UK has designed Launchpads to help businesses take advantage of being part of a developing cluster to realise their potential for growth. We’re delighted to be supporting the London-Cambridge IoT cluster and the finalists and winners in this competition represent some excellently innovative ideas, right at the heart of the emerging IoT space.”

Gerard Grech, Tech City UK CEO, comments: “With a critical mass of world-class expertise in both hardware in Cambridge and software in London and other cities, the UK is in a strong position to lead the way in Internet of Things. These competition winners are some of the most innovative early stage businesses in the UK’s IoT space and I’m excited to see how they will develop with the funding and mentorship from the initiative’s partners such as Seedcamp, Cisco, RedGate and Unilever.”

Winners will have up to six months to start their projects and up to 12 months to complete the work they’ve set out to do. Innovate UK’s Monitoring Officers will observe the process.

ENDS

Spokespeople are available for interview. Please contact Krissy Koslicki for Tech City UK (0207 7199 2208 or [email protected]). Please contact James Harper for Innovate UK (07867 140481 or [email protected]) to arrange.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Innovate UK is the new name for the Technology Strategy Board – we’re the UK’s innovation agency, accelerating economic growth. We know that taking a new idea to market is a challenge. We fund, support and connect innovative businesses through a unique mix of people and programmes to accelerate sustainable economic growth. For further information visit our website at www.gov.uk-innovate-uk

About Tech City UK: We started life in 2010, with a mission to support the emerging Silicon Roundabout tech cluster in East London. Anchored in Shoreditch, we’ve grown into an organisation which delivers programmes focused on accelerating the growth of digital businesses, in London and cities across the UK, at all stages of their development. Examples include Future Fifty, Digital Business Academy and the Tech City UK Cluster Alliance.

A publicly funded organisation with a private sector mentality, we also provide a voice of advocacy for digital entrepreneurs. We feed back our findings to policy-makers to influence change and we are dedicated to fostering the right conditions to start, grow and scale a digital business in the UK. We aim to make life better for digital entrepreneurs.

www.techcityuk.com | @TechCityUK

About Cambridge Wireless (CW): CW is the leading international community for companies involved in the research, development and application of wireless & mobile, internet, semiconductor and software technologies. With 400 members from major network operators and device manufacturers to innovative start-ups and universities, CW stimulates debate and collaboration, harnesses and shares knowledge, and helps to build connections between academia and industry. CW’s 19 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) provide its members with a dynamic forum where they can network with their peers, track the latest technology trends and business developments and position their organisations in key market sectors. CW also organises the annual Future of Wireless International Conference and Discovering Start-ups competition along with other high-quality industry networking events and dinners. With headquarters at the heart of Cambridge, UK, CW partners with other international industry clusters and organisations to extend its reach and remain at the forefront of global developments and business opportunities. For more information, please visit www.cambridgewireless.co.uk | @cambwireless

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Internet of Things Partners: The following partners offer the winning companies the opportunity to access a range of support, from investment, and access to markets and mentorship, to retail for showcasing products to consumers:

• John Lewis
• EE
• Tech City UK
• Unilever
• Seedcamp
• Redgate
• Technology Strategy Board
• Cambridge Wireless
• Cisco
• Bosch
• Hive
• RPD International
• Fab Lab London