South Summit 2018 - Open Innovation

There is a business strategy based on collective intelligence, which drives companies beyond their own limits by supporting innovation and developing collaborative networks with external agents, organizations and professionals. It is about the so-called Open Innovation.

South Summit is the leading platform for innovation and business development that connects the most disruptive startups with investors and corporations around the world that seek to improve their competitiveness through innovation.

South Summit is held on 3-5 October in 2018 in Madrid (Spain). In its latest edition, it hosted more than 450 speakers of recognized international prestige, more than 12.500 attendees, 6.700 entrepreneurs and 650 investors with an investment portfolio that exceeded the 34.000 million dollars.

The meeting, organized by Spain Startup and IE University in collaboration with BBVA, Endesa, Wayra, Sabadell and Google, will gather more than 175 international investment and venture capital funds, which together bring together an investment portfolio of over 55.000 million of dollars, an 60% higher than that of South Summit 2017. Among the funds that will visit Madrid for the first time are BlackFin Capital Partners, Thrive Capital, Target Global, Beringea or Atlantic Bridge Partners.

One of the main events of South Summit is to know what is the start of the moment, and simply being one of the 100 finalists who present their ideas at South Summit already have much merit. The finalists of previous editions have already achieved more than 1,7 trillions of dollars in funding rounds.

The 100 startups will participate from the 3 to the 5 of October at the South Summit Madrid 2018. They will be able to enhance their visibility as well as access new business opportunities by connecting with investors and corporations in an active search for innovation. The winning startup of this edition will compete for a million dollars in funding in the Startup World Cup of Silicon Valley and will have the opportunity to carry out a crowdfunding campaign in Seedrs.

A committee formed by 120 experts from the world of investment and corporate has been responsible for selecting the hundred startups of this edition among the most 3.000 projects submitted, from 84 countries. Among the most important criteria for the selection has been taken into account the innovation of the project, economic viability, scalability, equipment and if it arouses interest for investment.

A virtual reality application to overcome stage fright, a device for diagnosing cancer, a wireless system that provides information in real time about what happens on the road or a new transport of goods and passengers that circulates at 1.200 km / h , are just some of the ideas developed by the 100 startups selected to participate in the next South Summit Madrid 2018.

Among the hundreds of projects chosen are disruptive initiatives that respond to the innovation demands of the main industries in the market: Fintech, Smart Mobility, Energy & Sustainability, Travel & Tourism Healthcare & Biotech, Content & Channels, B2C projects or software solutions and hardware for companies. Regarding the level of development of the projects, 39% of these initiatives are already in a growth phase. Among the 100 finalists, the presence of female entrepreneurs stands out, leading 24% of the selected projects.

An 52% of startups that entered the competition come from all over the world, including countries such as the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Chile, Lebanon, India and Singapore. And at a national level, in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, the Basque Country or Andalusia, among others.

The 100 startups finalists will have the opportunity to participate in South Summit 2018 with their own space in the meeting to gain visibility, access new business possibilities and make their projects known to investors and corporations around the world in active search for innovation. In addition, they will have training, mentoring and personalized meetings.

 

The winning startup of this edition will be able to carry out a crowdfunding campaign in Seedrs, leading equity crowdfunding platform, and will compete for a million dollars in funding in the Silicon Valley Startup World Cup, a competition in which the winner of South Summit Madrid 2017 already participated, Wallbox,  who won a bronze prize among the 28 startups at the international level.

 

In addition to this success, finalist startups from previous editions of South Summit as Cabify, Typeform Glovo o Spotahome they have become benchmarks of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and have already managed to raise more than 1,7 trillions of dollars in important rounds of financing led by the most leading international investment firms.

 

As a novelty this year, in the month of September, the finalists of the vertical education will be announced who will opt for the prizes enligthED Awards 2018 promoted by Fundación Telefónica, IE University and South Summit.