A panel discussion on corporate venturing, and presentations by 14 young technology companies, was followed by two-day trade-show Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) that attracted over 900 exhibiting companies and 50,000 visitors to Amsterdam last week.
Panels were even more in evidence than panelists at the audio visual and electronics systems integration show, with Korea-based technology company Samsung announcing the launch of its 110″ Ultra High Definition (UHD) panel (pictured) and having what must have been at least 100 screens on its large exhibition stand. One of the presenting companies at the Investor Showcase – organised by Jean Michel-Deligny of London-based investment banking boutique Go4Venture Advisors – was Eyefactive, a maker of multi-touch panels which has received investment from Germany’s state-backed venture programme High-Tech Gründerfonds.
The panel discussion, moderated by Global Corporate Venturing’s Managing Director, Tim Lafferty, was preceded by a talk by Miles Kirby of US-based technology company Qualcomm Ventures who outlined his firm’s interest in the ‘internet of everything.’ Those interests range from wearable devices, wireless charging and automotive (safety and security, vehicle diagnostics, navigation services and wifi hotspots) to telehealth and education. “There are an estimated 25 billion connected devices. That is four for every human on the planet,” he said.
Kirby then joined a panel of Erik Jorgensen from Intel Capital and Paer Langer of Swisscom Ventures, plus three venture capitalists: Bart Markus of Wellington Partners, Kevin Dillon of Altantic Bridge and Emmanuel Levi representing 360 Capital Parnters. Markus challenged the corporate venturers about their interest in the financial performance of their investments to which the collective response was “financial returns are not the main concern but at the same time we don’t want to be a cost-center.”
The panelists were then joined by Dieter Kraft from the corporate venturing unit of Germany-based industrial company Robert Bosch, together with venture capitalists Karen McCormick of Beringea and Alexander Ribbink from Prime Ventures as they formed a judging panel for the presenting technology companies. SoftKinetic, a producer of 3D vision solutions, was voted Most Promising Company while enterprise meeting platform LoopUp won Best Presentation. The award for Most Experienced Management Team was presented jointly to Automated Control Technology Partners and EnModus. Multi-touch display maker Displax, initially formed as a partnership with Minho University, Portugal, was awarded the prize for Most Innovative Company.
Deligny said “This inaugural Investor Showcase alongside a trade show community is rather novel but has proven its worth as an opportunity to uncover companies which otherwise might not get a hearing from investors.”
952 exhibiting companies was a new record for ISE and included no less than 33 starting with the name of Chinese city ‘Shenzen’, from Shenzen Absen Optoelectronic to Shenzen Yitelang Technology.