Millions in Enterprise Opportunities: Comcast NBCUniversal, Aussie gov, Fannie Mae, Nestle, Volkswagen + Telefonica, Unilever, Cedars-Sinai & more

Think about it: The acquisition of Jet.com has transformed Walmart’s eCommerce business, Unilever is learning about direct-to-consumer from Dollar Shave Club, and auto companies like GM and Ford are partnering with/investing in startups to build their burgeoning mobility businesses.

Clearly, startups are key to activities on the innovation spectrum. Your startup could impact a Global 2000 corporation’s business, a relationship that could start with your participation in an innovation challenge, paid pilot or corporate accelerator. Sky’s the limit in 2018.

Don’t miss any enterprise opportunities this year — check out KITE’s January Startup Newsletter (below) and sign up for our monthly updates.

You can’t read a corporate innovation leader’s mind, but you can get some idea of what they’re looking for (or might want) from this framework.

Now, use that intel to set yourself up for a successful partnership in 2018:

• Apply for I-COM’s Data Startup Challenge with Intro from KITE
• $3MM+ in Challenges: Visa’s Everywhere Initiative Thailand, Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities & more
• 11 Unilever Foundry Pilots for More Sustainable Premiums, Voice Commerce & more ($250k)
• 3 Nestle Pilots for Spreading Nutrition Knowledge, Nurturing Next-Gen Farmers & more ($150k)
• 9 Techstars Accelerators: Comcast NBCUniversal, Cedars-Sinai, MetLife, Target & more
• Corporate Accelerators: Volkswagen + Telefonica, Jaguar Land Rover, Maersk & 7 more

Apply for I-COM’s Data Startup Challenge with Intro from KITE

The I-COM Data Startup Challenge showcases top startups from around the world who leverage value from marketing data & measurement as the central selling point of their product or services.

The Top 10 will have the opportunity for 1:1 meetings with major brands & agency groups like Unilever, Havas, Publicis, WPP.

Meet criteria outlined below? Ping kirin@getkite.co ASAP for personal intro or apply here by January 29.

When/Where: April 9–12, 2018 in San Sebastian, Spain
Who attends I-COM’s Global Summit: Data elite worldwide from companies including Unilever, Aegis, Ogilvy & Mather, Factual, Target, ESPN, Amazon and IPG Mediabrands.
Why apply: Distinguished jury will see your work. Many participants get deals & strong leads.
Criteria: Have product live in the market and at least one client/one case study, be founded in 2014 or more recently, and have annual revenue less than $2.5MM.
Cost: Application fee is €49. If selected for the Top 10, you pay a discounted summit access fee of €1890 (includes the iconic Gala Dinner) and cover your travel/accommodation.
Deadline: January 29

$3MM+ in Challenges: Visa’s Everywhere Initiative Thailand, Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities & more

Visa’s Everywhere Initiative Thailand ($31k)
Seeks Thailand-based startups that can help solve 3 challenges; overall winner receives THB1,000,000 ($31k):

• How can startups innovate to create relevant and rewarding digital payment experiences for international tourists visiting Thailand?
• How can startups leverage social media platforms to accelerate commerce & scale access to financial services?
• How can startups innovate to make digital payments easy to access and capable of adding value for merchants?

Deadline: February 9

Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge (Phase 1) — Fannie Mae ($750k)
2-year, $10MM investment to generate affordable housing solutions over 3 phases. Phase 1 contract awards will be up to $750k total for up to 24 months. Only domestic
(U.S.) projects are eligible for contracts.
Deadline: February 23

Boosting coral abundance on the Great Barrier Reef ($2MM)
Australian government seeks innovative solutions to quickly restore the ecological functions provided by the Great Barrier Reef. Individual contracts not expected to exceed $250k. Additional $1MM available to develop the best solutions.
Deadline: March 6

Combating Terrorism Technology Startup Challenge ($220k)
CTTSC3 is open to anyone w/ a PoC that can help fight terrorism. Prize winners for General Combating Terrorism and Urban Navigation Tech tracks each win $100k; runners up $10k each.
Deadline: March 9

Imagine Chemistry — AkzoNobel Chemicals Startup Challenge
Help solve real industry challenges and create sustainable business opportunities in chemistry. Overall winners will be awarded joint development agreements with AkzoNobel.
Deadline: March 10

LendingTree Innovation Challenge ($25k)
Seeks high-growth companies focusing on innovation within B2C customer acquisition industry. 5 finalists will demo at at LeadsCon Las Vegas March 5–7; 1 winner receives $25k grand prize.
Deadline: January 26

Digital News Innovation Challenge (up to $100k in non-dilutive seed capital)
Canada-wide program seeks early-stage startups driving innovation for journalism and news organizations. Organized by the DMZ’s Sandbox, Ryerson School of Journalism at FCAD in partnership w/ Facebook Journalism Project.
Applications open January 25, 2018

11 Unilever Foundry Pilots for More Sustainable Premiums, Voice Commerce & more ($250k)

More Sustainable Premiums ($50k)
Seeks partners who can incentivize shoppers w/ alternate forms and mechanisms of premiums. Solution will be piloted in Vietnam.
Deadline: February 27

Voice Commerce
Seeks to engage with the best startups working in the voice space that will change the way Unilever interacts w/ consumers.
Deadline: January 31

Making Dishwashing More Efficient
Seeks startups that can enhance the dishwashing activities of consumers across key markets in Southeast Asia (for the Sunlight brand).
Deadline: January 29

Personal Care Digital Services
Seeks partners that focus on digital services related to the personal care industry from diagnostic tools & skin care advice to on-demand hairstylists & dermatologists.
Deadline: January 30

Unlocking New Shopper Insights ($50k)
Unilever Singapore seeks solutions that can extract meaningful shopper insights from both conventional as well as nontraditional sources.
Deadline: January 30

Integrated Data Insights Solution ($50k)
Seeks integrated insights platform/solution that will allow all stakeholders to derive data that will help them make decisions impacting the 6Ps (Product, Pack, Price, Place, Promotion, and Proposition).
Deadline: January 30, 2018

Measuring Packaging Resilience Throughout The Supply Chain ($50k)
Seeks partners to help develop a way of measuring the impact on packaging as it is transported, sorted, labeled, filled and capped.
Deadline: January 27

Global Water Challenge ($50k)
Seeks water innovation; could include consumer access, reduction in use, behavior-change marketing, global cooperation.
Deadline: February 20

Connected Ice Cream Cabinet
Seeks startups that can drive product awareness and support conversion for either in-store solutions or unique experiences relating to the ice cream category.
Deadline: February 11

Humanizing Big Data
Seeks help to make sense of explosion of data sources and data points available to Unilever.
Deadline: February 28

Meal Inspiration In Store
Seeks an in-store meal solution for tonight’s dinner, as neither Unilever nor retailers are providing shoppers with a clearly communicated, inviting in-store solution.
Deadline: February 14

3 Nestle Pilots for Spreading Nutrition Knowledge, Nurturing Next-Gen Farmers & more ($150k)

Sustainable Pouches ($50k)
Seeks to create soft food pouch that leads sustainability gains in the baby food market and helps parents reduce their environmental impact.
Deadline: February 4, 2018

Spreading Nutrition Knowledge & Empowering Better Health ($50k)
Seeks partner to partner to help hone and deliver nutrition info, tools and tips that could save lives in equatorial Africa.
Deadline: February 4, 2018

Nurturing the Next Generation of Farmers ($50k)
Seeks partner to help deliver agripreneurship training in a flexible, scalable way. Must be able to handle regional variations in skills, knowledge, literacy and access to tech.
Deadline: February 4, 2018

Techstars Accelerators: Comcast NBCUniversal, Cedars-Sinai, MetLife, Target & 5 more

All Techstars programs with corporate partners are 12 weeks long and offer $120k for 6% equity.

Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator, Powered by Techstars — Philadelphia
Seeks startups in media, entertainment and connectivity. Selected companies will work with experts from Comcast NBCUniversal.
Deadline: April 8

METRO Accelerator — RETAIL by Techstars — Berlin
Seeks startups building digital solutions for all store sizes (e.g., in-store experiences & analytics, mobile commerce). $120k for 6–10% equity. METRO is a global market leader in wholesale and food.
Deadline: February 2, 2018

Cedars-Sinai Accelerator, Powered by Techstars — Los Angeles
Seeks startups focused on bringing new technology solutions to healthcare.
Deadline: March 25

Stanley+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator — Hartford, CT
Seeks startups in additive manufacturing (tech that builds 3D objects by adding layer-upon-layer of material).
Deadline: April 8

Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator (with Cargill & Ecolab) — Minneapolis
Seeks startups across the entire food value chain (AgTech, manufacturing and supply chains, food safety, waste reduction and traceability).
Deadline: April 8

MetLife Digital Accelerator powered by Techstars — Cary, NC
Seeks startups focused on innovations in insurance, including health & wellness, the gig & sharing economy, benefits marketplaces, underwriting, etc.
Deadline: April 8

Rakuten Accelerator, Powered by Techstars — Singapore
Seeks entrepreneurs advancing social messaging technologies, with a focus on the Viber application.
Deadline: April 8

Techstars Retail, in partnership with Target — Minneapolis
Focused on bringing new technology, experiences, products, and solutions to retail.
Deadline: April 8

The Techstars Sustainability Accelerator, in Partnership with The Nature Conservancy — Denver
Seeks entrepreneurs with commercially viable technologies that can rapidly scale to help sustainably provide food and water and address global issues like climate change.
Deadline: April 8

Corporate Accelerators: Volkswagen + Telefonica, Jaguar Land Rover, Maersk & 7 more

Volkswagen Data:Lab & Wayra DE — Munich
Seek startup in the area of smart city, mobility and/or connectivity to radically innovate both the automotive and telco sectors. Selected co will work on a co-industry project solving a challenge relevant to Volkswagen & Telefónica Germany. €15k & no equity taken.
Deadline: Feb 19

Ubisoft Gaming and Entertainment Program — Paris
6-mo programs seeks startups in mobile AR and blockchain. Program is free to participating companies. Ubisoft creates & distributes interactive entertainment & services.
Deadline: 26 January

Maersk Venture Program — Copenhagen
Seeks early-stage startups to help solve challenges related to cargo safety and security in world trade. Approx 10 teams will participate in a final selection sprint in Copenhagen Feb 7–9; 2–3 teams join 3-mo program to co-create w/ Maersk.
Deadline: January 26

Drive with Belron — London
10-wk program seeks startups that could help improve operations & discover new ways of working. Trial product in an int’l market. Will ensure potential investment is available. Belron is a leading vehicle glass repair & replacement group
Deadline: February 4

Jaguar Land Rover Tech Incubator — Portland
Seeks startups in 5 areas: autonomous driving, connectivity, computing, intelligent interfaces, & 3rd-party services. Up to $250k in direct investment & services. Receive mentorship, office space, engineering support + access to vehicles, labs, electronics.
Deadline: Rolling

VC FinTech Accelerator, Empowered by FIS — Little Rock, AR
12-wk program for 10 early-stage startups in range of fintech areas. $75k initial; follow-on up to $300k. FIS is world’s largest global provider dedicated to banking & payments technologies.
Deadline: February 5, 2018

SKTA Innovation Accelerator — Sunnyvale
10-wk program for pre-seed/seed stage startups in core technology (telecom, semiconductor & systems, more). SKTA is the BD/VC arm of SK Telecom, Korea’s largest wireless operator.
Deadline: Rolling

Sixers Innovation Lab Crafted by Kimball — Camden, NJ
Seeks unique companies (esp those in sports, tech and consumer-facing). Provides office space, housing and food. Equity taken varies. Length of program flexible.
Deadline: Rolling

Microsoft Accelerator — London
4-mo program for scale-ups in enterprise software/ SaaS in industries such as fintech, manufacturing, gaming, public sector, retail and healthcare.
Deadline: January 31, 2018

Honda Xcelerator — Silicon Valley
Seeks startups across all funding stages transforming the mobility experience. Provides funding for rapid prototyping, collaborative workspace, pairing w/ Honda mentors.
Deadline: Open

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