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In Fund, Press Release, Portfolio News

SAP.iO Fund Invests in Neural-Based Search Company Jina AI

SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that its investment arm, SAP.iO Fund, has backed Jina AI, a Berlin-based company providing an open source neural search solution.

Jina AI combines recent advances in machine learning for computer vision, speech recognition and natural language processing into a new search platform to provide greater accuracy, flexibility and adaptivity to search inputs.

The core project of Jina AI is called Jina on GitHub, allowing users to create a cloud-native search solution powered by deep learning in just minutes. Jina slashes from months to minutes the time it takes to build a production-ready neural search system well suited to business environments that require a fast and lightweight development cycle. Since its release on GitHub in May 2020, this project already has attracted more than 2,000 commits from 48 contributors worldwide. As of now, Jina supports searching text, image, video, audio and cross-modality data, with support for more data types coming in the future.

“As companies accelerate their digital transformations, a clear need has emerged for better, more accurate enterprise search,” said Ram Jambunathan, SAP senior vice president and managing director of SAP.iO.  “We are excited by Jina AI’s potential to provide a highly accurate search solution for SAP customers.”

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In Inclusiveness, No Boundaries Event

SAP.iO No Boundaries Partners with Les Déterminés to Support Entrepreneurship in Working-Class Neighborhoods and Rural Areas

SAP France announces that its SAP.iO Foundry Paris accelerator is supporting the 12th promotion of the association Les Déterminés, whose mission is to develop entrepreneurship in working-class neighborhoods and rural areas. As part of this partnership, SAP.iO Foundry Paris is committed to making its premises and the expertise of its employees available to support the 20 entrepreneurs in its new promotion, selected from more than 470 candidates. 

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In Foundries, Video, Paris

SAP.iO #No Boundaries partners with Les Déterminés

SAP.iO partners with Les Déterminés to Support Entrepreneurship in Working-Class Neighborhoods and Rural Areas. SAP France announces that its SAP.iO Foundry Paris accelerator is supporting the 12th promotion of the association Les Déterminés, whose mission is to develop entrepreneurship in working-class neighborhoods and rural areas. As part of this partnership, SAP.iO Foundry Paris is committed to making its premises and the expertise of its employees available to support the 20 entrepreneurs in its new promotion, selected from more than 470 candidates.

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In Foundries, Press, Interview

HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 1 OF ASIABERLINSUMMIT 2020

In the panel on accelerators and startups, Alexa Gorman, head of sap.io, tells: “Once you are in a large organization like SAP, there is not that sense of urgency that you have when you are a startup and you basically have to pay your employees and you need to close the deals to be able to have cash in the till”, she says. Working with startups therefore creates great opportunities: “We were able to create a win-win-win situation.”

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In COVID-19, Discrete Industries, Foundries, New York, Press Release, Portfolio News

SAP.iO Foundry New York Launches Accelerator Program for Women and Diverse Entrepreneurs Focused on Retail, Manufacturing and Automotive Technology

NEW YORK — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) has announced the launch of the SAP.iO Foundry New York Fall 2020 virtual accelerator program with six early-stage enterprise startups led by women and/or diverse entrepreneurs. These startups are driving innovation with solutions relevant to the retail, manufacturing or automotive industries.

“Digitalization is advancing enterprise business progress more than at any other time in history,” said Vanessa Liu, head of SAP North America Foundries. “Understanding that startup innovation can drive value for our customers and partners in these industries in a post COVID-19 global society, we welcome these entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds to the SAP.iO family.”

SAP customers need to adapt quickly to market dynamics, and this requires an unparalleled commitment to digitalization. To this end, SAP.iO remains committed to its SAP.iO No Boundaries initiative, announced in early 2019, and to the belief that a healthy ecosystem includes entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.

“We welcome this innovative group to the New York Fall 2020 cohort,” said Peter Maier, SAP president of Industries and Customer Advisory. “We are particularly looking forward to working with these companies on our industry cloud solutions for retail, manufacturing and automotive that will enable our customers to rapidly respond to new business requirements and drive cost-effective transformation and sustainable growth.”

The 12-week program will be held virtually. The new cohort includes startups using technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, 3D printing, robotic fabrication and ultrasonic to drive new business insights and capabilities. The cohort will have access to curated mentorship from SAP executives, exposure to SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs), and opportunities to collaborate with SAP customers. The program will culminate with the Demo Day in December 2020.

The SAP.iO Foundry New York cohort includes the following startups:

  • Cogniac is an enterprise platform utilizing AI, human-computer interaction tools and large-scale data management to enable easy automation of any visual inspection task for the industrial and manufacturing industries.
  • Hero is an online shopping platform that helps retail store associates connect, through text, chat and video, with hundreds of millions of online shoppers.
  • Ivaldi provides companies with a sustainable, cost-effective digital distribution solution to identify, qualify and distribute digital spare-part files for on-demand production and distribution.
  • LISNR’s ultrasonic data-over-sound technology enables proximity verification and contactless transactions for merchants, financial service providers and automotive and transportation companies.
  • Rheaply offers an award-winning asset management and exchange platform to help customers visualize, quantify and utilize their physical assets.
  • Wise Systems is an AI-driven dispatch and routing software that helps enterprises adapt to everyday challenges, improving fleet efficiency and customer service.

To learn more about SAP.iO and how SAP is helping innovators inside and outside of SAP build products, find customers and change industries, visit SAP.iO.

In Foundries, Paris

Une rentrée offensive sur le cloud pour SAP France

Comme d’autres grands éditeurs, SAP a pris conscience il y a plusieurs années du rôle important des start-ups pour l’aider à faire progresser ses offres. Son programme SAP.io a déjà enrôlé plus de 200 start-ups dans l’écosystème de l’éditeur allemand. La France n’est pas en reste. Frédéric Chauviré l’a constaté en prenant ses fonctions. « Je ne m’attendais pas à autant de dynamisme et d’innovation ». La dernière promotion a recruté des start-ups RH, dont Andjaro dans laquelle SAP a déjà investi à deux reprises. La prochaine promotion démarre cet automne, axée sur le procurement (gestion de l’approvisionnement), pour apporter des logiciels complémentaires à S/4HANA et Ariba. Le DG français rappelle par ailleurs l’importance des équipes de R&D gérées par SAP dans l’Hexagone : plus de 1000 personnes y travaillent. De façon générale, la filiale a prévu de recruter 200 personnes cette année, 50 postes restant encore ouverts d’ici la fin de l’exercice, dans la R&D, les équipes commerciales et le customer success.

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In Foundries, Press Release, Service Industries, Munich, Portfolio News

SAP.iO Co-Leads Innovation with Munich’s SAP Garden

SAP announced its first-ever fan experience–focused startup accelerator program. From the latest SAP.iO Foundry location in Munich, eight startups have been chosen to participate in the upcoming fall cohort held in collaboration with SAP Garden, a multipurpose sports arena being built by Red Bull in Munich’s Olympiapark.

The collaboration aims to identify innovative technologies for use in in the stadium. SAP Garden will be the new home for local top teams EHC Red Bull München and FC Bayern München Basketball as well as for public ice sports.

Red Bull and FC Bayern München have been longtime SAP customers. With a passion for innovation, creativity and success, the three stakeholders are coming together to pool their expertise to set new standards for the fan experience.

“Together with our long-standing partners and customers Red Bull and FC Bayern, we want to create unforgettable fan experiences in the SAP Garden,” said Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE and responsible for SAP Product Engineering. “The SAP Garden will show innovative solutions and technologies from SAP and startups that put fans front and center. We are looking forward to working together with the cohort to build tailor-made solutions that elevate the fan experience in the SAP Garden.”

SAP.iO Foundry Munich is part of SAP’s strategic business unit designed to accelerate innovation and drive new business models for SAP. The SAP.iO Foundries program is a global network of equity-free accelerator programs located in strategic hubs. It provides startups with access to mentorship, exposure to SAP technologies, and opportunities to meet and collaborate with SAP customers.

The selected startups will work closely with mentors at SAP, Red Bull and FC Bayern to develop proofs-of- concept, access SAP technology and application programmable interfaces (APIs), and identify opportunities to collaborate with SAP executives and customers. The accelerator program will run for three months and conclude with a demo day in early December.

The cohort consists of the following startups:

  • Ariadne Maps provides a crowd analytics platform enabling retailers to infer meaningful insights from traffic data and trends to optimize advertising and marketing, maximize sales and offer the best service to visitors.
  • MultiBall merges sports and gaming, using fully immersive interactive solutions that combine fitness, entertainment and education while providing marketing opportunities for businesses.
  • io is reinventing the sports fan experience using augmented reality, allowing spectators to visualize and interact with live data, which is directly overlaid on top of the pitch and even on top of the players — in stadium or at home.
  • INS Insider Navigation Systems delivers a hardware-independent augmented reality indoor navigation system enabling precise 3D positioning, intuitive navigation and location-based AR content.
  • Pico turns engaged, anonymous online fans into identifiable customer profiles through personalized, one-to-one messaging, driving conversion from existing digital channels and increased revenue from enhanced sponsorships, tickets and merchandise sales.
  • TAWNY offers an emotion analytics software-as-a-service solution to capture and analyze human affective states driving consumer decisions and behavior.
  • Wagawin drives user engagement with interactive advertisements, allowing businesses to gain unique audience insights leading to more customized advertising options.
  • Zippin enables retailers to quickly deploy frictionless shopping in their stores, by employing artificial intelligence, machine learning and sensor fusion technology to create the best consumer experience. In December 2019, Zippin raised a $12 million Series A funding round, in which the SAP.iO program was a contributing investor.
In Foundries, Portfolio News

SAP Startup Spotlight: Youtiligent

SAP invests in a lot of promising startups, and it’s sometimes hard to keep track of all of them. E-3 Magazine has selected the most interesting companies to showcase in our SAP Startup Spotlight Series. In this article, we will take a look at Youtiligent.

E-3 Magazine talked to Youtiligent about what its solution has to offer, how it relates to existing SAP systems and what’s next for the company.

What exactly does Youtiligent offer?

Youtiligent enables vendors and service providers in the food and beverage industry to make data-driven business decisions when it comes to maintenance, logistics and sales. The business insights and recommendations are based on real-time onsite visibility. By using Youtiligent, clients can generate new sales opportunities, increase efficiency in re-stock and supply efforts, provide excellent service to their customers, lower costs of maintenance and delivery, and create new sales opportunities.

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In Foundries, Press Release, Portfolio News

TVPage Launches Ambassador Storefronts on SAP App Center

TVPage, a company that powers virtual brand ambassador storefronts for e-commerce, has launched Ambassador Storefronts on SAP App Center, the digital marketplace for SAP partner offerings.

TVPage’s Ambassador Storefronts integrates with SAP Commerce Cloud to enable online stores powered by SAP technology to launch e-commerce virtual ambassador storefronts. Companies can sell online through personalized virtual storefronts using shoppable video, product collections, and live events.

The Ambassador Storefronts app empowers subject matter experts, in-store sales associates, influencers, and consumers to promote products to social audiences and sell online

“The need for personalized shopping experiences online is growing, and the Ambassador Storefronts app by TVPag provides brands and retailers a new channel to connect with consumers in authentic ways,” said Mark Osborn, vice president of strategy and operations for the consumer products industry at SAP, in a statement. “We congratulate TVPage on their successful graduation from the SAP.iO program and are happy to see their app offered on SAP App Center, making it available to all businesses running SAP Commerce Cloud. The app provides the opportunity for businesses to enable brand ambassadors, store associates, and salespeople to connect with consumers directly through existing online stores with the Ambassador Storefronts app by TVPage.”

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In Fund, Portfolio News

BigID named to Forbes Cloud 100


Once an outsider category, cloud computing now powers every industry. Look no further than this year’s Forbes Cloud 100 list, the annual ranking of the world’s top private cloud companies, where this year’s standouts are keeping businesses surviving—and thriving—from real estate to retail, data to design.

SAP.iO’s startup, BigID, was named to the Forbes Cloud 100 list, the annual ranking of the world’s top private cloud companies. Congratulations!

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In Press, Global

GCV Powerlist 2020: Ram Jambunathan

Ram Jambunathan has been leading SAP.iO, the corporate venture capital (CVC) subsidiary of Germany-based enterprise software producer SAP, as senior vice-president (SVP) and managing director (MD) since the unit was formed in July 2016.

Jambunathan additionally added the head of corporate strategy role in October 2019 at the parent firm. He said: “As head of corporate strategy I lead a team responsible for developing and aligning long-term strategy across various SAP organisational – board – areas, including cloud and application strategy, go-to-market strategy, technology and SAP’s lines of business.

“The team combines both a deep understanding of enterprise software with a structured approach to problem-solving that drives unique insights and an ability to help ‘see around corners’. Our understanding of where adjacent opportunities and disruption may come is informed by many sources, including the startup ecosystem, and particularly through SAP.iO, SAP’s strategic business unit focused on accelerating innovations and pathfinding new areas relevant to SAP and its customers.

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In Tel Aviv, Press Release, Portfolio News, Foundries

TVPage Inserts Salespeople into E-Commerce Storefronts with Its Ambassador Storefronts App, Now Available for Purchase on SAP App Center

 TVPage, the company that powers virtual brand ambassador storefronts for e-commerce, today announces that its Ambassador Storefronts application is now available for purchase on SAP App Center, the digital marketplace for SAP partner offerings.

TVPage’s Ambassador Storefronts integrates with SAP Commerce Cloud to enable online stores powered by SAP technology to launch e-commerce virtual ambassador storefronts. Brands using the new integration can transform sales teams into ambassadors to sell online through personalized virtual storefronts using shoppable video, product collections and live events to drive new revenue, traffic and extended consumer engagement.

The Ambassador Storefronts app empowers subject matter experts, in-store sales associates, influencers, and savvy consumers to promote products to social audiences and sell online. TVPage enables brands to engage with consumers more personally across digital channels with contactless guided shopping.

TVPage recently graduated from the SAP.iO Foundry Tel Aviv program for early-stage companies. TVPage’s participation in the program resulted in TVPage’s integration with SAP technology, addressing the growing need for stronger digital channels in a post-COVID-19 e-commerce world. Brands in North America and Europe across beauty, lifestyle, food and beverage, electronics, sports, and more turn to TVPage’s Ambassador Storefronts app to increase revenue and optimize the consumer path to purchase online.

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In Foundries, Podcast

#ZukunftsReady No. 3: Alexa Gorman

Alexa Gorman ist seit 1999 bei SAP und arbeitet dort seit Jahren eng mit Startups zusammen. Ihre Sicht auf das Startup-Ökosystem in Deutschland, den Ansatz von SAP, der „Next Partner Generation“ und welche Gedanken sich Corporates machen sollten, um erfolgreich mit Startups zusammenarbeiten, hört ihr in diesem Podcast.

In Fund, Press, Portfolio News

Hasura Raises $25M in Series B Funding

Hasura, a San Francisco, CA-based data access infrastructure company, raised $25m in series B funding.

The round, which brought the total raised to $36.5m, was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures US, Nexus Venture Partners, Strive VC and SAP.iO Fund and new angel investors including John Thomspon, the current chairman of Microsoft.

The company is using the funding to accelerate its hiring and investment in its open source and commercial product development to support its millions of users.

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In Foundries, New York, Press Release, Portfolio News

VNTANA Automated 3D CMS Now Available for Trial and Purchase on SAP® App Center

VNTANA announced that its Automated 3D CMS is now available for trial and online purchase on SAP® App Center, the digital marketplace for SAP partner offerings. The company’s Automated 3D CMS integrates with SAP Commerce Cloud and delivers high quality 3D web and Augmented Reality (AR) viewer to customers.

“COVID-19 completely altered the way we interact with the world. Overnight every retailer turned into a direct-to-consumer brand whether their digital channels were ready or not,“ said VNTANA co-founder and CEO Ashley Crowder. “To capitalize on the urgent need, VNTANA’s Automated 3D CMS allows companies to take existing design files and instantly create 3D web and AR experiences while enabling global collaboration through a cloud content management system—an experience that used to take days of manual work to accomplish.”

VNTANA’s Automated 3D CMS is unifying 3D digital content across organizations by providing three key features:

  • Optimization and conversion to the needed file types for web and AR, a process that used to take days of manual work by 3D artists, but now takes minutes with VNTANA’s software, which is compatible with Browzwaer, Clo, Optitext, Roman’s CAD, and other 3D design software
  • Digital Asset Management to keep track of thousands of 3D models at scale
  • Team collaboration tools to easily share, make comments, and QA 3D models with a global team

At SAP App Center, businesses can discover approximately 1,600 innovative partner solutions that integrate with and extend SAP solutions. There, customers can find the SAP-validated partner apps they need to grow their business. And for each purchase made on SAP App Center, SAP will plant a tree. Find, try, and buy SAP partner solutions digitally at http://www.sapappcenter.com.

VNTANA is part of SAP.iO, SAP’s strategic business unit to incubate startup innovation and drive new business models for SAP. Through the SAP.iO Fund & Foundries, we helps the next wave of enterprise software innovation build products, find customers and change industries by investing in and accelerating startup innovation. The SAP.iO Fund invests in breakthrough, pathfinding early-stage (Seed to Series A) enterprise software startups who are first to capitalize on emerging trends with potential to unlock significant value for SAP and its customers. The SAP.iO Foundries are SAP’s global network of equity-free startup accelerators that help promising startups integrate with SAP solutions and accelerate their entry into a curated, inclusive ecosystem whose offerings can be easily accessed and deployed by SAP customers.

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