400 start-ups from around the globe have entered their business models for the CODE_n15 CONTEST. This year the competition is focusing on the Internet of Things, with the motto "Into the Internet of Things".
Submissions from over 40 countries have been submitted, all fighting for one of the 50 places in the finale. Finalists will be announced at the end of January 2015.
The 50 finalists, chosen by an independent jury, will have the chance to present their ideas to industry experts and the international media in the CODE_n exhibition hall 16 at the CeBIT trade show from March 16-20, 2015.
"Once again, we have been overwhelmed by the response to our CONTEST," says Ulrich Dietz, CEO of the GFT Group and the initiator of CODE_n.
"Although the Internet of Things is on everybody’s lips at the moment, it’s no easy territory for startups. You can’t simply program an app one day and expect investors to stand in line for it the next. You need industry and process know-how to succeed in this highly promising sector."
The decisive factor for Dietz is therefore the quality of the entries in the four topic areas Industry 4.0, Future Mobility, Smart City and Digital Life: "The first impression of the entries we’ve received is excellent. The jury will have its work cut out to choose the best 50 business models and the winner of the CODE_n CONTEST."
In the field of Industry 4.0, startups are focusing mainly on platform solutions which companies can use to enhance the efficiency of their maintenance, administration and development processes for machine-to-machine applications.
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Many of the start-ups are looking at Future Mobility solutions, such as how to handle the lack of parking space in major cities or how to network even older vehicles. E-mobility is a further focus area – especially the management of a battery-charging infrastructure and easy pay options.
The most submissions were seen in the field of Digital Life. Many startups are working on solutions for connected toothbrushes, cameras, sports equipment and much more besides – often integrated into so-called gamification environments, i.e. game apps aimed at raising motivation for the respective activity.
Among the applicants in the field of banking services, the FinTechs are focusing mainly on putting the customer at the center of everything. Particularly encouraging is the trend among startups to focus on security and data privacy – in order to keep our digital lives as private as possible.
