INSIGHTS / News

Thirty of the UK’s most exciting technology start-ups from the health, digital and mobile sectors are set to showcase to big name corporates including Dyson, Microsoft and GE Healthcare for the chance to have their product adopted by the business giants.

The event, the Open Innovation Showcase, is organised by SETsquared, the global number one university business incubation programme run by a partnership of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. Earlier in the year, SETsquared announced a record-breaking £90m had been raised in investment in 2015 by the start-ups it supports, with last year’s Open Innovation Showcase contributing towards this figure.

The aim of the programme is to broker mutually beneficial partnerships, with the corporates finding new technologies and products while the start-ups get the chance to seal deals with business giants that they would never normally be able to access.

The showcase builds on the Open Innovation Programme which, over the last year, has successfully presented selected SETsquared member companies to corporates including Sony, Huawei and Schlumberger and has further such presentations scheduled later this year with Italy’s number one bank Intesa Sanpaolo and Ford. Through these meetings, corporates are offered unprecedented access to a diverse range of innovation from SETsquared member companies.

As well as exhibiting, the start-ups will also have the chance to pitch for five minutes each, to over 200 registered delegates, to explain how their technology could feed into the corporates’ own product and services, increase their speed to market with new innovations or help streamline internal processes and systems.

The results also provide a boost for the economy as big corporates get value straight out of university research bases and bring products and technologies to market faster.

Among the businesses showcasing are:

• Fourth State Medicine – which has developed a revolutionary new medical device to eradicate resistant bacteria such as MRSA and improves skin condition, lending itself to applications such as cosmetic wrinkle reduction and treating diabetic ulcers and wounds.
• Bioinduction Ltd – has developed the only general purpose deep brain stimulator small enough to skull mount, halving surgery time and reducing associated risks of invasive surgery.
• NquiringMinds – which develops secure Internet of Things solutions and secure data processing and analytics for smart cities and industrial markets.
• iGeolise Ltd – which analyses location in minutes instead of miles to improve business decision-making and boost conversion rates

Simon Bond, Innovation Director at SETsquared, said: “The Open Innovation Showcase has always been a vital event for both corporates and start-ups, and this year is no different. We’re proud to bring the cream of the crop of health, digital and mobile innovators to the showcase for 2016 and I have no doubts that the corporates attending will find technologies worth adopting into their business.

“It’s no surprise that we’re seeing such a high calibre of corporates registered to attend, as well as the businesses we’ve arranged meetings with. SETsquared combines the research strengths of five incredibly successful universities and a track record for developing the companies that are producing some of the most promising innovation in the South of England and to be able to open that up to corporates.”

Among the success stories so far is Bath SETsquared member Green Running, which is made up of experts in domestic energy monitoring and analysis. Last year the company secured investment of £750k from Ignite, a social enterprise investment fund backed by Centrica, owners of British Gas.

Over the last 14 years SETsquared has helped more than 1,000 businesses raise over £1bn in investment, as well as contributing over £3.8bn in GVA (Gross Value Added) to the UK economy with £8.6bn GVA estimated over the next 10 years – figures that have contributed to it being named by UBI Gobal as the top university business incubator in the world.

What: SETsquared’s Open Innovation Showcase 2016
Where: University of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine, Daphne Jackson Road, Guildford, GU2 7AL
When: 22 June from 10am-7pm
Contact: [email protected]