Cisco kicks off second Innovation Grand Challenge for startups

To further demonstrate its ongoing commitment to drive IoT innovations, Cisco is kicking off the second Innovation Grand Challenge for startup businesses.

This global competition aims to promote and accelerate the adoption of breakthrough technologies and products created by startups that will contribute to the growth and evolution of IoT in applications, analytics, management, security and connectivity.

“In the past year, the industry has made significant progress in addressing key IoT technology challenges, use-cases and architectures,” said Maciej Kranz, vice president, Cisco Corporate Technology Group. “Now more than ever we need to focus on accelerating innovations across the globe for a safer, sustainable, and more connected world. Which is why, we are very excited to bring back for the second time the Innovation Grand Challenge and would like to strongly encourage innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs to submit their ideas and solutions. ”

Applications for this year’s Innovation Grand Challenge can be submitted starting Monday, June 22 and will be accepted through Friday, September 4th. Winners will be at the 2015 IoTWF. Judges will award $250,000 in prizes to help winners further develop their startups. In addition, Cisco will provide winners with executive and expert mentoring and training. They will also be provided with the opportunity to develop, test and pilot new technologies in Cisco’s labs, plus potential investment and partnering opportunities in the future.

Last year, the 2014 IoT Innovation Grand Challenge brought in nearly 1,000 submissions from over 100 countries and awarded Berlin-based Relayr the grand prize.

“Winning the Innovation Grand Challenge last year gave us credibility and market acceptance right out of the gates,” said Jackson Bond, co-founder and head of product, relayr. “Since winning, we have landed new customers and partners who are now using our technology to rapidly innovate and launch their own IoT products, literally within months. Even after the competition, Cisco has been super supportive presenting us with many opportunities. This kind of outreach and support has been unprecedented in my experiences and shows that Cisco prioritizes its work with the start-up ecosystem as an efficient way to accelerate their own innovation by going beyond their corporate walls and taking risks on small agile companies, and giving them a forceful stamp of approval.”

The competition was announced at Cisco Headquarters in San Jose, California, by Internet of Things World Forum Steering Committee, a global event created to unite industry leaders and drive discussions around the impact of the Internet of Things on the global economy, society, and the environment.

At the end of 2015, the IoTWF will bring together the best and brightest minds and innovators from business, government, and academia in Dubai to lead discussions in setting a new global standard for an Internet of Things powered world.