Cambridge, UK - August 12th, 2013.
Aspiring tech start-ups from across the UK have until 19 August to win the opportunity to showcase their technologies to a panel of 22 industry-renowned judges and investors. Organised by Cambridge Wireless and Silicon South West, and supported by London Tech City, Discovering Start-Ups 2013 (DS13) aims to recognise and support future high flyers and is open to start-ups and early-stage companies, design groups in established businesses looking to exploit new technologies, as well as students or academics. Details to enter can be found at http://www.cambridgewireless.co.uk/dsu.
Now in its fourth year, DS13 is run by Cambridge Wireless – a leading wireless industry membership organisation with close to 400 members – and Silicon South West, which provides networking events, news and national and international promotion for the South West of England’s technology cluster. The competition is sponsored by Qualcomm Ventures, along with, Google, Rohde & Schwarz, SETsquared, Microlease/Agilent Technologies and Taylor Wessing, who will host the pitching event at its London headquarters on Monday 30th September.
The winning organisations of last year’s DS12 included a mobile phone based service to detect skin cancer; silicon carbide power semiconductors; a new software design automation system; and a web-based service that finds and shares information and resources. Smart Antenna Technologies won with its compact single-antenna for portable devices. CEO, Rick Hillum, says of his Discovering Start-Ups experience, "For Smart Antenna Technologies, the competition was a great opportunity to promote an early stage business within a forum that naturally facilitates engagement with both customers and investors, along with an exciting, friendly and competitive environment."
Julian Hall, Director of Cambridge-based 2012 winner, Skin Analytics says, “Discovering Start-Ups was a great experience for us at Skin Analytics. We learnt a lot through the process and got to interact with other start-ups – not to mention the PR exposure we got which has been very helpful as we tell our story and launch our product.”
“D-RisQ entered the Discovering Start-Ups competition to test whether our business proposition was sound. The judging panel was from a wide range of businesses and as such gave us a great opportunity to pitch our business to a divergent set of experts,” says Nick Tudor, Business Director of DS12 winner D-RisQ. “Since we won, we have managed to land further business, which has further assured our future in a number of sectors.”
The five winners of DS13 will each receive a £500 cash prize sponsored by Qualcomm Ventures along with a prestigious Discovering Start-Ups Trophy and a further opportunity to pitch to 400 global wireless delegates in the Innovation Hothouse at The Future of Wireless International Conference 2014 run by Cambridge Wireless, the not-for-profit industry forum with a network of over 400 members involved in the development and application of wireless technologies. The winners will also get one year’s free virtual membership to Cambridge Wireless and SETsquared, including a business MOT, networking and mentoring support, investor readiness training and the opportunity to be selected for various investor showcases in London and the US.
Qualifying start-ups are urged to enter this week to avoid missing out on the substantial prize fund and opportunity to pitch to 22 investors and industry leaders. Enter to pitch today at www.cambridgewireless.co.uk/dsu
About Cambridge Wireless:
Cambridge Wireless is a leading industry forum and vibrant community with a rapidly expanding network of companies actively involved in the development and application of wireless technologies. In addition to high level networking dinners and events, a strong educational programme and business development activities, Cambridge Wireless runs the annual Future of Wireless International Conference along with the prestigious Discovering Start-Ups programme and competition to support emerging, innovative wireless companies. Over 15 Special Interest Groups focused on specific technologies and market sectors, also provide opportunities for members to meet, form partnerships to exploit new commercial opportunities, and share knowledge and information about the latest industry trends and hot topics. Cambridge Wireless has partnerships with other leading industry clusters and organisations around the world to extend its international reach and to keep members up to date with the latest global developments and business opportunities. For more information, please visit www.cambridgewireless.co.uk.
About Silicon South West:
The Silicon South West network provides regular networking events, news and national and international promotion for the South West of England’s world class microelectronics design cluster. Over 100 companies connected to the microelectronics sector are concentrated in a region which includes the key towns & cities of Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Plymouth, and Southampton & Swindon. For further information please visit www.siliconsouthwest.co.uk.
For more information, please contact:
Peter Rennison or Allie Andrews – PRPR – + 44 (0)1442 245030 – pr[at]prpr[dot]co.uk / allie[at]prpr[dot]co.uk
Simon Bond – Silicon South West – simon.bond[at]siliconsouthwest[dot]co.uk
Lily Cheng – Cambridge Wireless – lily.cheng[at]cambridgewireless[dot]co.uk
Distributed on behalf of Cambridge Wireless by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com)