Following the announcement of the £1m Internet of Things (IoT) Launchpad competition, start-ups and SMEs in London and Cambridge have been racing for £150K in funding.
Supported by the Technology Strategy Board and Cambridge Wireless, these have the deadline of 3 September, before judges decide which IoT projects to dish out funding to from the £1m pot.
Since the competition launch the IoT has become the tech buzzword of the moment – as we covered in our article What is IoT and what it means for designs and engineers – and now other companies are getting involved.
Multiple partners have come onboard with the IoT Launchpad competition to show their support for driving innovation in this space.
Launch partners EE, John Lewis, Unilever, Seed Camp and Red Gate have now been joined by Bosch, Cisco, Hive by British Gas, RPD International and Fab Lab London.
These companies will offer the winning applicants anything from investment to a route to market, mentorship and retail space.
For instance, London-based supply chain company RPD International will offer marketing, mentoring and business support as well as the design and manufacturing of the winner’s products.
RPD’s CEO, 19-year-old Josh Valman, who we wrote about in DEVELOP3D’s June feature Bright Young Thing), is keen to do whatever the company can to speed up the pace of global innovation.
“Supporting initiatives like this we can help ideas move forward that might not otherwise get the facilities, cash or exposure to change the world,” says Valman.
Whilst Fab Lab London is supporting the competition by providing winners with the opportunity to build their projects onsite within Fab Lab London.
“The winners will be working alongside a global community of experts and mentors, whilst taking advantage of the latest tools in digital fabrication,” comments Ande Gregson, co-founder Fab Lab London.
There are only a few days left to apply, so if you’re interested you better get your skates on as the closing date is 3 September 2014.
The competition is open to all European entrepreneurs, as long as your company is registered in the UK and has a working connection with either the London or Cambridge tech clusters.
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