First Lublin, then Madrid… What’s next for IMPACT Connected Car startups?

IMPACT Connected Car wrapped up its second and final call in October with the participation of over 200 startups and SMEs from 39 countries. In February, 24 projects were chosen to enter the three-stage acceleration program. A month later, these selected startups traveled to Madrid to participate in the IMPACT Connected Car Digital Bootcamp, a week-long event that gathered startups, consortium partners, superstars from previous IMPACT programs, and experts from all around the globe.

The program kicked off in February with a three-day Disruptive Bootcamp held in the Polish city of Lublin, and organized by LPNT, one of the partner organizations in charge of connecting IMPACT Connected Car startups to the ecosystem at large.

In total, 37 pre-selected startups from among over 200 applicants attended the bootcamp,  where they participated in various training sessions and workshops, and had the chance to meet with consortium partners for the first time. The event concluded with a jury day. You know the drill: founders pitched in front of a jury composed of representatives from IMPACT Connected Car partners, and at the end of the day 24 startups were selected to enter the second phase of the program, a two-month acceleration led by ISDI and CTAG.

Here’s a list of the 24 startups selected to participate in IMPACT Connected Car’s second batch of acceleration. Check them out!

• 25ways (Germany): A provider-independent mobility platform that encourages behavioral changes towards sustainable mobility options.
• 2hire (Italy): 2hire’s technology acts as a gateway enabling the interaction and both standard parameters and non-standard parameters reading.
• Anadue (Ireland): An analytics platform to help Connected Car Service Providers to maximize the value of their real-time data.
• Ainomaly (Sweden): RoboTest enables software developers to deliver high quality code quickly.
• BeNomad (France): A navigation software tailored to helping companies manage their mobile resources as effectively as possible.
• Better World (France): Better World collects feedback from customers, analyzes the data and shares it with car-making businesses.
• Capricode (Finland): Cyber security of connected vehicles in form of automated updates and configurations.
• Discoperi (Spain): Discoperi develops System Eye, able to prevent roads accidents and monetize automotive data, thanks to its built Discoperi Blockchain Protocol.
• Drive Buddy (Turkey): Drive Buddy is a mobile solution that analyzes driver’s driving habits and detects car accidents by just using sensors on the smartphones.
• Drivvisor (Spain): An app-based driving monitoring system that uses the front camera of a smartphone to perform driver distraction and fatigue detection while driving.
• Eiver (France): Eiver is based on Al algorithms and big data analytics, and has been designed to improve the user’s driving performance and inspired by popular health and wellness quantified self applications.
• Go To-U (Ukraine): An app for drivers to book the charging EV station at the most convenient time.
• Journify (Spain): A carpooling app for daily commutes, such as going to work or to school.
• Letos (UK / Germany): Real-time monitoring of a person’s heart and respiration rates, all without coming in direct contact with the person under test.
• Make My Day (Israel): A car software system that uses a unique algorithm and big data to provide the optimal route.
• Mappo (Israel): A geo-culture content layer created by an algorithm.The geo-culture content combined of texts, music, TV and AR.
• Micocar (Spain): An app to save 10% to 50% on all taxi rides. An efficient marketplace where ride prices are calculated according to supply and demand.
• Newport IMS (France): A vocal companion providing in-car mobility services and products.
• Ozone Drive (Spain): A tech-based EV car-sharing solutions to address the zero-emissions mobility challenges as an optimized way of transportation.
• Parquery (Switzerland): Parquery analyzes images from any camera to detect objects and provide parking managers with real-time answers.
• Safemode (Israel): SafeMode profiles driver behaviour using Big Data & AI algorithms based on behavioral economics techniques.
• Secmotic Innovation (Spain): An awareness and safety system for work zone invasion that increases safety and controls accessibility in temporary working areas of roads.
• X-Motion (France): An app that leverages artificial intelligence and smartphone sensors to provide predictive analytics for driving behaviour and vehicle management.
• Zify (France): A carpool service that has become an alternative to pre-existing mobility networks.

In March, the 24 selected startups traveled all the way to the Spanish capital to take part in the Digital Bootcamp. The event was held at ISDI, the leading digital business school in Spain, and the partner organization in charge of leading business coaching in IMPACT Connected Car.

The first day was a chance for startups to learn more about the acceleration process and for the IMPACT Connected Car partners to learn more about the startups’ needs. As a result, the event began with partner introductions and live product demos where founders had the chance to show what their startups actually do.

The day closed with an inspirational talk by Talal Benjelloun, CEO and co-founder of Glamping Hub, a startup previously accelerated by IMPACT, that was followed by a networking cocktail, where founders got to meet their peers and chat with consortium partners. As much as we believe in the benefits of remote work, this type of face-to-face activities are also essential to startups’ success in the program.

The following days were packed of classes and workshops led by experienced professional from all around the world with multinational, consultancy or entrepreneurship experience. In the evenings, startups were given the opportunity to meet privately with specific consortium members in order to get to know each other better, discuss next steps in the program, and ask for help and support if needed. Startups got to meet with the coordinator of the program (FundingBox), the business coaching leaders (ISDI), some of the technical coaching providers (CTAG and AUTOKLASTR) and corporate partners (Ferrovial Servicios, PSA Groupe and FIA).

All 24 selected startups are now well into the second stage of the program, during which startups receive customized mentoring from top experts in the mobility and business sectors, as well as technical coaching. At the end of this two-month period, only 18 companies will be selected to remain in the program. These startups will then enter the third and last stage of acceleration, which will last four months and will include two new features: funding coaching (led by FundingBox) and corporate guidance to foster startup-corporate collaboration (led by Ferrovial Servicios). Startups will also have access to an international network of mentors, founders and investors with expertise in the digital sector and the automotive industry, and will have the opportunity to showcase their companies at top international events organized by 4YFN and Mobile World Capital Barcelona.

Don’t take our word for it! Watch this short video and hear directly from startups and consortium partners.

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