Hola Internet of Things! Startupbootcamp, the pan-European accelerator based loosely on the Techstars model, has opened applications for a new program in Barcelona dedicated to accelerating IoT and related ‘Big Data’ startups.
Teams can apply from anywhere in the world but must be willing to move to the Spanish city for the three-month bootcamp-styled program, which doesn’t kick off until early next year and provides the usual mix of mentoring, product and business development, and pitching in front of investors — as well as €15,000 in funding in return for 8 per cent equity.
Specifically, Startupbootcamp’s new program is targeting consumer and business-focussed startups that are taking advantage of the huge increase in connected devices — citing a recent forecast from Cisco that 25 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2015, rising to 50 billion by 2020 — as well as the platforms that are enabling IoT-based services.
The 10 startups who are accepted into the program will work out of the “iconic” Media-TIC building, in the heart of the 22@Barcelona high-tech district, which already claims to host several hundred startups. Barcelona also has some decent IoT and data tech chops — the city is home to Yahoo Labs’ data competence centre and Telefonica’s Internet Of Things and data centre of excellence.
Meanwhile, Spain’s Caixabank plans to open a ‘Big Data’ centre together with Oracle, and I’m told Cisco is due to open a global “Internet of Everything” innovation centre on the same site as Startupbootcamp’s new accelerator.
Startupbootcamp’s Barcelona-based IoT and data accelerator is backed by entrepreneurs Angel Garcia, who takes the role of managing director, and Marcos Cuevas, who will act as program manager. Aldo de Jong (co-founder of the innovation consultancy Claro Partners) is cited as a co-founder of the new accelerator, too.
We’re also told there are a number of “high profile” corporate partners set to be announced in the coming months.
