ConnectM Wins SmartCamp Bangalore, Also to Compete in SmartCamp World Finals
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced ConnectM as the winner of the IBM SmartCamp Bangalore 2011, an exclusive networking and mentoring event for entrepreneurs in India. ConnectM creates machine to machine technology that links analytics from disparate systems to provide business intelligence for the Telecommunications, Utilities, and Transportation industries, among others.
The IBM SmartCamp that was held in Bangalore, India on April 27th 2011 was the first among the series of such initiatives to be undertaken by IBM globally this year. This is an exclusive program, part of the IBM Global Entrepreneur initiative, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and experienced mentors with innovative ideas that can help build a Smarter Planet. These initiatives help IBM to work with the new generation of entrepreneurs tackling some of the world’s most pressing issues like water, transportation, healthcare and the environment that impact the way people live and work.
ConnectM was the winner among five IBM SmartCamp Bangalore start-up finalists with innovative solutions and offerings that can help businesses transform their industries. The five finalists presented their plans and discussed them with coveted mentors and business leaders, and ConnectM was chosen as the winner for its Smarter Energy Concept. ConnectM will next compete in the SmartCamp World Finals with winners of SmartCamps from other countries, for the honor of IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year.
Through this initiative, IBM wants to help the next generation of entrepreneurs capture emerging business opportunities in fast-growing industries such as energy, utilities, health care, and telecommunications Hence SmartCamp brought together world-class advisors plus assistance to provide a direct route to seed and venture capital. The panel of judges included investors and business leaders including:
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- Darren Bibby, Program VP, IDC
- Venkat Raju, Country Head & MD, ACI WorldWide
- Ravindranath.P, Executive Director, TiE
- Shalini Pillay, Partner, Performance & Technology, KPMG
- Dr. Ponani Gopalakrishnan, VP, India Software Labs, IBM
- Madhusudan Atre, President, Applied Materials India P Ltd
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- Laura Parkin, CEO & Co-founder, NEN
- Prof. Sekhar Babu, Chairperson, Amirta Institute of Management
- Jeby Cherian, Director, Strategy, IBM India South Asia
- Prof. Sadagopan, Director, IIIT Bangalore
- Uma Reddy, CEO, HiTech Magnetics
- Rahul Chowdhri , VP, Helion Advisors P Ltd
- Ashish Sinha, Founder Pluggedin
- Capt. V.Sivakumar, Associate Director - IT, Metlife India
- Vish Narayan, IBM Distinguished Engineer & CTO, IBM Industry Solutions
- Ajay Hattangdi, Managing Director, Silicon Valley Bank India Finance
- Ramasubramaian, CMD, BioPure
- Priya Chetty Rajagopal, VP & Client Partner, Stanton Chase International
- RamPrasad Moudgalya, Telecom/Wireless Intrapreneur
- Ankur Gulati, Analyst, DFJ
- Mauricio Sucasas, Director, IBM ISV & DR, Growth Market Units
- Mohan Kumar, Executive Director, Norwest Venture Partners
- Girish Venkatachaliah, Director, Information Management and BA, IBM
- V. Ravichandar, Chairman, Feedback Consulting
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Sudhir Sethi, Founder, Chairman & Managing Director, IDG Ventures, along with Mike Riegel, vice president, IBM ISV and Developer Relations, and Ajay Hattangdi, Managing Director, Silicon Valley Bank India Finance were on the panel of judges for the IBM SmartCamp Contest held in Bangalore on 27th of April 2011.
“ConnectM is proud to win IBM SmartCamp Bangalore. The high-quality mentoring that IBM’s SmartCamp process exposed us to was very rewarding, and strengthened our out-of-the-box thinking. We are happy about the positive feedback and validation we received from industry captains, tech-investors and academia alike. We thank IBM for this recognition that is important for young companies and we look forward to a fruitful partnership between us towards the Smarter Planet initiatives,” said Murali Ramalingam, Managing Director, ConnectM.
"The SmartCamp participants are all excellent examples of the kind of next-generation entrepreneurs we need to help build a Smarter Planet. This is a very practical approach to connect the best start-ups with leading investors. It is directed for entrepreneurs with global ambition and our aim is to find ways to connect them to mentors, capital, and markets on a completely international basis," said Mike Riegel, vice president, ISV and Developer Relations, IBM. "We congratulate all the participants and ConnectM, our IBM SmartCamp Bangalore winner."
Besides ConnectM, the other four finalists for IBM SmartCamp Bangalore included:
Adiro Systems Private Ltd — builds sensor-based enterprise mobility solutions including automatic identification and data collection for manufacturing industry.
Indrion Technologies India Pvt Ltd – an intelligent automation provider based on embedded sensor and actuator network technology.
Infobotique Services (P) Limited – creates solutions for compliance and risk management for Oil and Natural Gas industry.
Quantama Mobile Solutions Pvt. Ltd – allows you to find places of interest, promotions and events nearby.
Under the IBM Global Entrepreneur initiative, start-ups receive no-charge access to IBM’s software portfolio, through a cloud computing environment. Selected start-ups also have the opportunity to work side-by-side with scientists and technology experts to develop new technologies, and they receive support from a team of dedicated project managers who assist them connecting with IBMers who can support them as they go to market or with product development through the global network of 40 IBM Innovation Centers.
The criteria for start-ups to participate are 1) the company must be privately-held; 2) in business less than five years; and 3) actively developing software aligned to IBM’s Smarter Planet focus areas.
More information about the SmartCamp is available at www.ibm.com/isv/startup/smartcamp and on the SmartCamp blog at www.ibmsmartcamp.com.
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