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In Fund, Foundries, Article, Inclusiveness

SAP.iO Hosts Investing x Women with Stanford Women’s Network of New York

On Thursday, February 27, Joanna Maryewska, Principal at SAP.iO Fund hosted an event with Stanford Women’s Network of New York launching an initiative “Investing x Women” at SAP.iO Foundry New York.

After an introduction to SAP.iO Foundries’ mission, the event kicked off with a discussion on diversity on startup boards and why it increasingly matters to founders. Joanna was joined by Alexa von Tobel (Founder and Managing Partner at Inspired Capital), Rebecca Kaden (Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures), Jemma Wolfe (Head of Launch with GS). As only ~2% of VC funding went to female-only founding teams and ~10% to mixed gender teams, the discussion involved discussing ways to approach challenges and common biases – at the industry, organizational and individual level. As research points out – the best way to drive change is by addressing the structural and process-based factors. Therefore the discussion focused on actions to increase the number of women in VC with the goal of bringing more role models, and harnessing the power of professional networks.

Investor panel was followed by a conversation led by Alison Wyatt (Co-Founder and CEO of Female Founder Collective – network built by Ali and Rebecca Minkoff). Three members of FFC joined the discussion on Women collaboration networks: True value beyond the buzz. The guests (Gina Hadley – The Second Shift, Jennifer Justice – The Justice Department, Tina Wells – Buzz Marketing Group) shared their advice on how to make the most out of the professional networks, and how FFC has been supporting them in their entrepreneurial endeavors.  

We also received flowers from Repeat Roses – a zero-waste company disrupting single-use-straight-to-landfill floral business. Its signature service transforms event flowers into bouquets that brighten hospitals, nursing homes, and shelters—then composts the blooms to keep waste out of landfills and ensure a closed loop solution. To date, they have donated over 53,000 arrangements on behalf of their corporate and wedding clients, and have diverted over 198,000 pounds of waste from winding up in North America’s landfills – and their customers receive data on environmental impact as well. 

The event concluded with Joanna and other board members of Stanford Women’s Network inviting the attendees to continue being involved throughout the next events and small group dinners planned as part of the Investing x Women initiative. 

In Foundries, Article, Inclusiveness, Tel Aviv

How SAP.iO Helps Underrepresented Entrepreneurs Succeed

SAP.iO, SAP’s strategic business unit that works closely with early-stage startups, made clear its commitment to inclusive entrepreneurship when it launched the SAP.iO No Boundaries initiative just over a year ago. No Boundaries offers venture capital and access to innovation for underrepresented entrepreneurs, with a goal of funding or accelerating at least 200 startups over a span of 5 years through SAP.iO Fund and Foundries. The SAP.iO Fund has committed to investing up to 40% of investible capital to inclusive entrepreneurship. 

The ideal outcome of No Boundaries is that the startups will thrive in the SAP ecosystem, deliver great value to SAP customers, and as a trickling effect, other investors will see the value in these entrepreneurs and will want to support them as well. Another goal of No Boundaries is to inspire VCs and other ecosystem players to follow SAP’s lead and enable a culture of diversity.  

Studies have shown that companies that have more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenue due to innovation (Boston Consulting Group). In 2018, companies founded solely by women received only 2.3% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the US (Pitchbook). Racially and ethnically diverse companies perform 50% better than companies with only diversity of gender (McKinsey). 

There is clearly work to be done. 

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In Foundries, Article, New York, Portfolio News, Public Services

AI Is Top Game-Changing Technology In Healthcare Industry

Of the many ingredients that go into quality healthcare, comprehensive patient data is close to the top of the list. No one knows this more than Mayur Saxena, CEO and founder of Droice Labs. Saxena created his startup while he was pursuing his doctorate degree at Columbia University, and working at healthcare company conducting clinical trials on new medication. He’s energized by the plethora of opportunities to improve healthcare using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

“Patient data is notoriously disorganized and complex,” he said. “With machine learning, healthcare professionals can organize that information to better understand the disease of every patient and reach them faster with interventions that improve their lives. It’s an amazing feeling when you talk with someone who’s recovered from an illness because they received the right care.”

The idea behind Droice is to make messy data neat, so people can spend less time organizing it and more time analyzing it.

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In Article, Portfolio News

Artificial Intelligence Wades Through Murky MRO Inventory Data To Drive Down Costs with Better Business Decisions

The ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve visibility of ERP inventory data, as well as the implementation timeline for using AI on a daily basis, were among the top interests of participants during a recent webinar, “Taking Stock of AI Technology for Inventory Management.”

The webinar featured expert advice from CEO Paul Noble of Verusen, an innovator in materials inventory and data management technology, and Erik Green, practice lead, Materials & Equipment, at Accenture, a leading global professional services company.

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In Foundries, Article, Tel Aviv, Portfolio News

SAP.iO Foundry Opens a New Cycle in Israel

בשנת 2019 הכריזה ענקית התוכנה SAP על הרחבת פעילות SAP.iO Foundry לישראל. SAP.iO היא זרוע פעילות של החברה ובאמצעותה היא משקיעה ומפתחת שיתופי פעולה עם סטארטאפים ברחבי העולם. לקבוצה שתי פעילויות מרכזיות: SAP.iO Fund שבאמצעותה משקיעה החברה בסטארטאפים בתחילת דרכם, ו-SAP.iO Foundry שהיא תוכנית האצה בת 12 שבועות הפועלת במספר ערים בעולם ובהן: ניו-יורק, סן-פרנסיסקו, תל אביב, ברלין, טוקיו, פריז, מינכן וסינגפור. מטרת התוכנית היא להעניק תמיכה לסטארטאפים נבחרים על ידי הענקת גישה ללקוחות החברה ועל ידי ליווי של מנטורים עסקיים ומומחים טכנולוגים. מאז שהחלה התוכנית ב-2017 ועד היום השתתפו בה 165 חברות מכל העולם.

In Press Coverage, Portfolio News, Article, Tel Aviv

SAP Expands Innovation in Israel

In 2019, at the opening of SAP.iO Foundry Tel Aviv, Orna Kleinmann, Managing Director of SAP R&D Center in Israel , announced that “The SAP.iO Foundry, an in-residence acceleration program, will broaden the way SAP, a market leader in the enterprise application software arena, will cooperate with Israeli startups”.

For the companies that get accepted into the SAP.iO Foundry Tel-Aviv, it constitutes as a unique opportunity to enjoy access to resources such as technical experts and mentors, and support in connecting to SAP’s customers, all of which enable these companies to leverage their operations based on the newly gained insights. On our side, there is a unique capability generated to make the innovation that answers the biggest challenges of our customers accessible.

The six startups chosen for SAP.iO Foundry Tel Aviv’s first cohort:

EasySend helps companies in the financial industry improve customer experience and increase operational efficiency. EasySend’s simple cloud interface enables companies to create efficient digital processes for their customers.

ARpalus helps retailers and manufacturers with shelf and stock management in brick and mortar stores by collecting and processing data in real time at the sale points using artificial intelligence, image processing, and augmented reality technologies. 

GrowthSpace aims to replace traditional learning and development systems by creating 1Xmany, an online platform for employee and vendor instruction. Users have one-on-one training with coaches via video sessions suited to their career needs.

Outgage is a marketing SaaS company that provides a framework for campaign management using postal mail to bridge the gap between online and offline, to create a personalized brand experience and an efficient dialogue between a company and its customers.

Silverback provides e-commerce companies with an AI-driven platform for decision making in the online sales domain and displays within the best performing products and most competitive prices, and also performs sale-promotion automation.

YOUTILIGENT operates in the IoT industry using machine learning technologies. It enables vendors and service providers to make real time data-based decisions in order to improve the way they communicate with consumers, and aims to solve various challenges in the delivery, consumption, and maintenance industries using its Connected Customer Solution. 

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In Article, Inclusiveness, Paris

SAP partenaire de l’association Les Déterminés pour soutenir l’entrepreneuriat dans les quartiers populaires et milieux ruraux

SAP France annonce que son accélérateur SAP.iO Foundry Paris accompagne la 12ème promotion de l’association Les Déterminés dont la mission consiste à développer l’entrepreneuriat dans les quartiers populaires et les milieux ruraux. Dans le cadre de ce partenariat, SAP.iO Foundry Paris s’engage à mettre à disposition ses locaux et l’expertise de ses collaborateurs pour accompagner les 20 entrepreneurs de sa nouvelle promotion, sélectionnés sur plus de 470 candidats.

Par cette collaboration, SAP entend contribuer au développement de la diversité dans l’entrepreneuriat et donner la possibilité à ses équipes de participer et s’engager dans une action avec un impact sociétal en ligne avec ses valeurs et l’initiative NoBoundaries de SAP.iO

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In Portfolio News, Announcements, Article

Instana acquire Dublin based BeeInstant

BeeInstant has announced that it has been acquired by Instana Inc, the world’s leading provider of Automatic Application Performance Monitoring, headquartered in Chicago, U.S and Solingen, Germany. The two companies agreed to join forces to provide leading-edge solutions for serving the critical needs of application delivery teams, across several all stakeholders, from development to IT Ops, DevOps, SRE and executive management.

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In Article, Berlin, Munich

A win-win situation for both parties: SAP.iO Foundry brings London & Partners on board as a mentor

SAP, the market leader in business software, has founded the SAP.iO Foundry to support young companies, in order to promote innovation both inside and outside the SAP world.

The participating teams of the global accelerator program receive cross-industry training and mentoring sessions for 12-14 weeks from internal and external experts, support for integration with SAP applications and access to SAP customers. The programmes end with a Demo Day, during which the startups present their solutions to SAP customers, partners and investors.

For the past few months, the German team from London & Partners has supported the SAP.iO Foundry program as a mentor in two German cities – Berlin and Munich. As the Mayor of London’s official promotional agency, London & Partners offers founders advice on internationalization and go-to-market strategies, set-up in London and access to the local eco-system. The mentoring sessions are the ideal first step to make it easier for young start-ups who want to expand into London to enter the local market.

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In Article, Portfolio News

Zippin Raises $12M Series A, Announces Cashierless “Cube” Store-in-a-Box

Zippin, a startup creating cashierless checkout experiences for retailers, announced today that it has raised a $12 million Series A round of funding led by Evolv Ventures, the venture fund backed by Kraft Heinz. Other investors include SAP.iO, Scrum Ventures, Arca Continental, and Nomura Research Institute and NTT DOCOMO Ventures from Japan.

Zippin is one of many companies looking to retrofit retailers such as supermarkets with technology to facilitate grab-and-go shopping with no checkout lines. Unlike most of its competition, Zippin doesn’t just rely on cameras and AI to keep track of what people pick up (and put back) while shopping. It also employs shelf-sensors for what it says is a more accurate analysis of what people take and keep as they walk out the door.

As part of today’s announcement, Zippin also said that it is making its technology more portable and accessible to retailers with the introduction of the Zippin Cube. The Zippin Cube is a modular, pre-fabricated cashierless store-in-a-box roughly 300 – 500 sq. ft. that can be assembled in under three weeks upon ordering.

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