The second cohort of RocketSpace’s Mobility Tech Pilot Program officially kicks off today in San Francisco, bringing together 10 innovative international startups with a value chain of leading global corporate collaborators.
The two-day kickoff event begins with the corporate collaborators sharing their innovation strategies as well as discussing the program goals and expected outcomes. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi has joined the list of corporate collaborators for this cohort, while BP, Avis Budget Group, Magna, IBM, and Allstate have all returned for Cohort 2 following their successful participation in the program’s inaugural cohort. The remainder of the day will focus on introductions, sharing of best practices for the development of proof of concepts (POCs), and presentations around the ten pilots to be initiated during the cohort.Day two of the kickoff will be focused on engaging the startups and the corporate collaborators in discussing the POCs and next steps for their work going forward. Following the San Francisco kickoff, startups will return home to begin working virtually with their corporate collaborators on the development of their pilots.
“We’re thrilled to build upon last year’s success and kick off Cohort 2,” said Neal Sunners, Senior Vice President Innovation, Avis Budget Group. “We welcome the 10 international startups as well as Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to the initiative, and look forward to continued teamwork and success.”
"We are looking forward to productive discussions over the next few days to see if we find like-minded startups who can help us develop the mobility solutions of the future,” said Francois Dossa, the Head of Alliance Ventures at Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi.
“The mobility industry is undergoing rapid change driven by consumer preferences, advanced technologies, and regulations. The opportunity to partner with startups within the collaborative model of RocketSpace’s program provides BP with a fantastic platform on which we can offer our expertise and passion for innovation to help startups grow,” said Roy Williamson, VP Mobility, BP PLC.
The 10 startups in this second cohort come from the U.S., the U.K., Taiwan, China, and Israel — representing a geographically diverse set of mobility solutions — and were chosen to represent the program’s mobility focus of the electric vehicle ecosystem, connected cars, and associated services.
“I’m very much looking forward to working with the startups and corporate partners in this second cohort of the Mobility Tech Pilot Program to help the growth of ground-breaking new technologies and drive innovation at scale. The addition of Renault-Nissan further strengthens our program and amplifies an already strong group of partners in BP, Avis Budget Group, Allstate, Magna and IBM. Meanwhile, each of the startups in Cohort 2 represents a breakthrough innovation with cutting edge solutions to problems which can help our corporate partners further their innovation agenda and support the startups’ own growth strategy for mutual success," said Jonathan Carrier, Director of Corporate Innovation, RocketSpace.
Mobility Tech Program Cohort 2 Startups:
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Interested startups and corporations can learn more about the Mobility Tech Pilot Program here: www.rocketspace.com/accelerators/mobility-tech-accelerator. We are now accepting applications for Cohort 3, which will begin in late 2018.
Please note: Startups are not required to give up equity to participate in the program.
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