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Basingstoke: Tech start-ups showcase their products to big-name corporates

7 June 2017
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Two of Basingstoke’s most exciting high-tech start-ups showcased to big-name corporates including EDF Energy, Rolls-Royce and Samsung for the chance to have their product adopted by the business giants at KPMG in Canary Wharf.

 The event, the Open Innovation Showcase, was organised by SETsquared, the university business incubation programme run by a partnership of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey.

 The aim of the programme is to develop mutually beneficial partnerships or investment deals with the corporates discovering 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. With angel and venture capitalists also attending, the entrepreneurs had the chance to raise investment too.

 The Basingstoke businesses showcased were:

  • RazorSecure – which offers an advanced cyber-security solution designed to monitor, detect, report and protect critical infrastructure systems from hackers
  • Trackener – which has developed a 24/7 monitoring technology to improve the health and welfare of horses

Both have been supported through the University of Surrey and SETsquared’s ERDF programme for EM3 Local Economic Partnership which aims to develop 100 digital start-ups across the region.

As well as exhibiting, the start-ups also had the chance to pitch for five minutes each, to more than 200 registered delegates, to explain how their technology will impact the market and change people’s lives. All are looking for investment, corporate partners and connections to accelerate the growth of their business.

During the event Simon Bond, Innovation Director at SETsquared, announced that the incubator’s start-ups had raised a total of £166 million in investment during 2016, greatly surpassing 2015’s record of £90m.

Adrian Braine, entrepreneur in residence at SETsquared’s Basingstoke hub, said: “Each year the entrepreneurial talent we see at the Open Innovation Showcase raises the standards. We’re seeing more and more investment successes for our start-ups as a result of attending investment programmes like this, and, through ERDF programmes like the Digital Business Acceleration Hub, University of Surrey and SETsquared are able to develop entrepreneurial talent across the EM3 Local Economic Partnership region.

“We saw a real mix of tech sectors exhibiting and pitching at the showcase event this year, all who have the potential to grow and make a real difference. After 2016 was such a massively successful year of raising investment for our companies, we’re aiming to beat that this year and look forward to some of these companies being from our new hubs in Basingstoke, Woking and Farnborough.”

Feedback from the Rolls-Royce, Defence innovation team, which attended the Open Innovation Showcase, has been positive: “For Rolls-Royce it’s an excellent opportunity to see a wide range of technologies in one room. Rolls-Royce is continuously seeking out emerging technologies that link to our future development areas, with this event identifying a number of areas of interest.”

Ben McDonald, UK head of KPMG Enterprise, said: “We are delighted to have hosted this event as we know the positive impact that opportunities to collaborate, share knowledge and broaden networks can have on a business’ growth prospects. Because of this, we want to play our part in fostering collaboration between established businesses, investors and SMEs who are looking to scale up their enterprises. Among the OECD nations, the UK has one of the lowest rates of expanding start-ups – so working with organisations like SETsquared and its members is a great way to demonstrate the benefits that collaboration and innovation have as real drivers of growth in the economy.”

Over the past 15 years SETsquared has helped more than 1,000 businesses raise over £1 billion in investment, as well as contributing over £3.8b in GVA (Gross Value Added) to the UK economy with £8.6b GVA estimated over the next 10 years – figures that have contributed to it being named as the top university business incubator in the world.


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