Telefónica’s new Activation Programme will help start-ups in Germany, Spain and the UK develop their businesses with blockchain, big data and AI.
Start-ups and small/medium businesses (SMEs) can now apply to take part and will gain access to several Telefónica platforms free for six months. Companies will also have an opportunity to potentially run a pilot and be considered for investment from Wayra, Telefónica’s innovation arm.
“Collaboration is more important than ever, which is why at Connected Open Innovation we want to help start-ups scale by giving them access to our technology platforms through the use of APIs, which are free, agile and simple,” said Irene Gómez, director of Connected Open Innovation at Telefónica.
Acceptance means access
Accepted companies will get access to the Kite IoT platform; LPWA connectivity; a blockchain ‘welcome pack’ with TrustOS modules; and the AI LUCA Suite, which automates big data processing. A team of Telefónica experts will provide personalised support.
In December, the Telefónica Tech unit was set up to accelerate digital cloud, security and IoT/ big data services, which Telefónica says are in high demand from customers.
At the time, it said it expects the new unit to generate more than €2 billion of additional revenue in 2022.