Accelerating the Future of Intelligent Enterprise in the heart of Silicon Valley
On March 8th, the SAP.iO Foundry in San Francisco announced its 2018 Spring Cohort, comprised of 10 innovative enterprise software startups building the future of the Intelligent Enterprise. The startups span industries from Pharmaceutical to Manufacturing, and address critical business problems leveraging emerging technologies including AI, Machine Learning and Blockchain.
Kicking off the evening, at SAP.iO’s offices in SoMa, was Ram Jambunathan, MD SAP.iO, followed by a lively panel discusion moderated by Chief Strategy Officer, Deepak Krishnamurthy. On his panel — Franck Cohen, Chief Commercial Officer & President Cloud ERP, Bhaskar Ghosh, Partner and CTO 8VC and Evangelos Simoudis, Founder and MD Synapse Partners.
Why Intelligent Enterprise?
Over the last several years we have seen enterprises transforming to become digital enterprises — investing in their IT landscapes to improve their data ingestion, data storage, and data management capabilities, as well as increasing intra-enterprise data veracity and authenticity. These enterprises are now beginning the shift to becoming “Intelligent” Enterpises — combining this data with machine learning to discover new insights, accelerate decision-making, and dramatically enhance enterprise processes leading to better customer outcomes.
During Deepak’s panel, underlining the need to focus on Intelligent Enterprise, Franck noted how the promise of AI was recognized even in the 1980’s when he was a tech entrepreneur, but only now the convergence of GPUs, algorithms, and clean data was enabling that promise to become a reality. In addition, Bhaskar highlighted the criticality of “unsexy tech” like Data Management for Intelligent Enterprise, and Evangelos addressed the transformation happening with CRM where organziations are, for the first time, able to leverage cross organization data sets to drive real time decision making.
The Cohort
Following the panel was the main event: the startups, introduced by Balaji Gopinath, Global VP of SAP.iO Foundry and Ron Yerkes, Director SAP.iO Foundry.
API Fortress — Enterprise Testing for Today’s Architectures
Contract Wrangler — Machine Learning to Uncover Hidden Business Insights in Contracts
Autit — AI to Harmonize Material Master Data for Spare Parts in Manufacturing
Cultivate — AI-powered Workforce Analytics via Natural Communication
Blendoor — Augmented Intelligence & People Analytics to Mitigate Unconscious Bias
Myagi — The “Knowledge Supply Chain” Powering Sales Intelligence
Britehealth — AI Technology for Patient Engagement & Compliance in Pharmaceutical Clinical Trials
Qualified — Quantifying the World’s Technical Talent
Centrifuge — The Protocol for Global Commerce on Top of a Public Blockchain
Slync — Enterprise Blockchain Platform for Supply Chain
About SAP.iO Foundries
SAP.iO invests in and incubates startup innovation to strategically expand the SAP ecosystem around SAP data, platform technologies, APIs, and business content. The SAP.iO Foundries are a global network of top-tier programs, including accelerators, to help early-stage startups build innovative software and deliver value to SAP Customers. Startups in SAP.iO Foundries can have access to SAP APIs, SAP technologies, and opportunities for exposure to SAP customers. In addition, they receive support from a Mentor network that includes SAP executives and professionals as well as leaders in the startup and investor ecosystem. Programs are operated in key startup hubs, including New York, Tel Aviv, Berlin, San Francisco, and the newly announced SAP.iO Foundry in Paris. Of note, SAP.iO Foundry programs, including in San Francisco, are primarily zero-equity ask.
In April, the SAP.iO Foundry in New York City, housed at SAP’s offices in Hudson Yards, will kick off its next 4-month program, focused on Women-Led B2B Tech startups.
