Global Startup Success Stories, BIND 4.0 Startups Keep Booming
For the 4th edition of the program, we received more than 570 applications from all over the world. From there, the BIND 4.0 Team and collaborating Corporate Partners selected 38 extraordinary Startups to develop state-of-the-art technology projects in Energy, Health, Food, and Industry sectors. Today we will focus on 4 of those incredible Startups to share how the BIND 4.0 Open Innovation & Acceleration Program attracts Internacional Startups in key industries and supports them in their immersion into the Basque Industrial Ecosystem.
Year after year, BIND 4.0 has proven to offer the connections, collaborations, contracts, and support services to young companies. Allowing them to put disruptive solutions into use in the marketplace and established companies to improve processes and their competitive edge.
Bleenco: Fruitful Networking & New Multinational Clients for German AI Startup
German Startup
Bleenco builds human-centered artificial intelligence software that detects human behavior and actions from video via any given camera. A great example of German ingenuity, they develop occupational safety solutions such as; personal protective equipment detection, body temperature detection, workplace ergonomics analysis, and virtual check-ins.
During the 4th edition of the program, Bleenco worked with two BIND 4.0 Corporate Partners, CAF and Unilever, and helped implement a large variety of virtual activities for them. CAF is one of the leading global providers of railway solutions and they value adaptability and flexibility to stay competitive in Industry 4.0. In factories, Bleenco monitors workers and alerts them before a potentially hazardous situation occurs.
Unilever is a key player in the food industry and home to over 100 well-known brands, they are focused on quality, digitization, sustainability, and safety in their processes. Working through their contract with Unilever, Bleenco was able to use existing hardware to help the company quickly and easily automate manual safety processes. Business Development Director, Julian Hettich, expressed how BIND 4.0 was able to help Bleenco successfully enter the Basque region marketplace and expand their clientele.
“Together with BIND 4.0 and the Basque Government we got access to an entirely new and powerful market. This allowed us to expand our business portfolio to better serve and gain multinational clients in the Basque region.” Hettich goes on to say “The program gave us a deep understanding of the dynamics within the Basque Industrial Ecosystem. Throughout various networking sessions, we had direct touchpoints and exchanges with high-class industry leaders.”
Special Acknowledgement: During the COVID outbreak, because of their flexibility and ingenuity, Bleenco was able to develop a prototype within 3 days and go to production in 10 days for a remote thermometer system to check the temperature of each employee before entering the workplace. By using existing cameras they drastically reduced the setup and implementation phases, allowing a preventative measure to be put into place quickly and effectively.
Inovako: Computer Vision Technology Experts Establish Positive Reputation and Growth in Basque Country
Turkish Startup
Inovako are experts in detecting defects via complex surface inspection tests in the manufacturing industry using AI and deep learning methods as well as computer vision with AR/VR support. Inovako was established in 2018 in Turkey and because of the access to new marketplaces via the BIND 4.0 program, have opened an office in Vitoria to work with their clientele in this region.
“BIND 4.0 increased our company reputation, plus it increased the motivation of our team and provided us with a very good marketing opportunity in Spain” said Emin Eksi, Managing Director of Inovako. “While speaking with the new potential clients in Basque Country we always had the power of BIND 4.0 behind us, which enabled us to create trust very fast. Speaking with investors and understanding their expectations was a very valuable aspect of the BIND 4.0 Program.”
Working alongside their collaborative Corporate Partner Maier Group, Inovako was responsible for implementing faster and high precision inspections of glossy chrome parts using artificial intelligence and deflectometry. Maier Group is one of the largest manufacturers of automotive components in the world, they are always seeking new ideas and businesses to innovate with. Due to their successful output at Maier, Inovako is in discussions regarding scaling up the solutions in their various plants, proving the benefits of BIND 4.0 continue to boost and positively impact international startups even after the program.
Meanwhile, at the Tubacex plant, Inovako was responsible for the detection of tiny imperfections and welding defects of large tubes using x-ray inspection methods. Tubacex is a leading company in the supply of stainless steel and nickel alloy tubular products, in our program they are focused on digitalization and smart engineering solutions. The ability to implement their precision detection technology and deep learning solutions allows Inovako to be scalable and applicable across industries.
Inovako is one of the many startups from the BIND 4.0 program who earned more than one contract during their participation. These contracts, along with the support of the BIND 4.0 Community and Basque Government officials, allow young companies like Inovako to establish trust and grow their business in our thriving Industry Ecosystem.
Nordo Robotics: Corporate Collaboration Enables Valuable Customer Relationships and Product Development
Danish Startup
In the 4th Edition of BIND 4.0, Nordo Robotics worked with ITP Aero focusing on robotic as well as human and cobot solutions to perform more sustainable surface finishing solutions. ITP Aero is one of the biggest aircraft engine and components companies in the world and is always seeking state of the art technology.
Nordbo Robotics enables flexible manufacturing by developing customized robotic solutions for end users, offering both complexity and flexibility. Their solutions add value to automation by making robots intuitive, intelligent, and flexible utilizing unique sense technologies, motion tracking, computer vision and artificial intelligence.
Collaborating with established companies allows BIND 4.0 Startups the opportunity for immediate customer input allowing them to make adjustments and develop in a real customer-client setting.
Bob Rijs, Business Development Manager for Nordo Robotics shared “Being a part of the BIND 4.0 Acceleration Program with ITP Aero has been an extremely positive experience for us as the program facilitates workshops and networking sessions with companies from the Basque region. Also, being able to collaborate with a corporate organization like ITP Aero enables us to continue our development with direct and valuable customer feedback.”
Neurolabs: Artificial Vision Technology Provides Real-Time Data for Food & Retail Industries
British Startup
Neurolabs develops computer vision technology for object recognition across Hospitality, Grocery, Manufacturing, and Health Tech settings. Neurolabs worked with world leaders in retail and food distribution, Grupo Uvesco, in a retail setting to use real-time visibility to prevent shelf-gap, in order to monitor and maintain products on the shelves. Through their participation in BIND 4.0, Grupo Uvesco is investing in digital transformation and innovation to continue to provide excellent customer service and quality products.
Neurolabs is pioneering the use of synthetically generated data to develop object recognition models in a drastically cheaper and faster way than the traditional approach. Because their solutions are adaptable, use real data and an existing catalog of data, Neurolabs is scalable, flexible, and accurate.
Chris Burleigm, Head of Digital Transformation & Innovation at Grupo Uvesco explained their challenge and how Neurolabs helped them implement accurate machine vision and flexible object recognition solutions.
“At Grupo Uvesco the main issue we had was regarding the visibility of our products and our shelves in our shops. We didn’t have real-time visibility and this sometimes would cause gaps in the products on the shelves, meaning they would not be available to our clients. Thanks to the artificial vision technology that Neurolabs provided we were able to monitor in real-time the shelves and this increased the visibility and awareness of what was happening in real-time in our shops. We were very happy with the results of the project and also with the collaboration with our partners at Neurolabs.”
Neurolabs are yet another example of a successful Startup acceleration. They validated their product, clarified their product to market strategy and in turn, received VC funding thanks to the collaborative partnership, mentoring, and support services they received in the BIND 4.0 Acceleration Program.
“We started the BIND 4.0 collaboration while we were still in an exploration mode as a startup in terms of product-market fit (PMF). The collaboration helped us validate as well as invalidate some of our core PMF assumptions, eventually cementing our PMF. This was reflected in us being able to convey a clearer go-to-market message to potential investors, which eventually helped us secure our first VC-funded fundraising (totaling €1M).” Remus Pop, Co-Founder & COO Neurolabs.
The success of the program speaks for itself, from the Startups to the Corporate Partners, we hear the same message: The program is working!
BIND 4.0 has over 50 large collaborating companies, such as CAF, Ferrovial, EDP, Sarralle, Arcelor, ABB, Iberdrola, ITP Aero, Michelin, Quirónsalud, Siemens Gamesa, Mercedes-Benz, Unilever, Uvesco and Coca-Cola European Partners, among others, ready to review project proposals via BIND 4.0.
Do you have technology you think would be interesting to any of our 57 Partner Companies looking to hire Startups during the 5th edition of BIND 4.0?
Join In: The call for Applications is now open thru September 11, 2020
