When talking about big technological changes that will affect the entire society, the mobility sector is one industry that stands to bring on some of the biggest changes. Self-driving cars and new shared mobility models may be the most obvious developments going on in the sector but in fact numerous other technological innovations also play a role. Therefore, it’s no surprise that leading Austrian mobility enterprise, Kapsch, defined pretty diverse search fields for the second round of its accelerator program, Factory1 2K19.

+++ Last year’s Factory 1 (german) +++

„We are looking for startups that share our passion for technology“

„The global accelerator program is designed for companies building solutions for mobility data platform solutions, integrated urban mobility, autonomous transportation, maintenance of the future, payments and transaction processing, cybersecurity and data privacy“, explains Marcus Handl, Head of Corporate Development & Innovation at Kapsch. Besides technological expertise in the various search fields, startups which apply have to bring the right mindset. „We are looking for startups that share our passion for technology and our drive to shape the future of mobility“, says Handl. They have to have a functional prototype or working product with first reference customers, sales traction and an experienced team.

⇒ Apply here for Factory1 2K19

Long-term strategic partnerships

And what do they get? „We have a clear focus on establishing long-term strategic partnerships between each of our participating startups and Kapsch“, Handl explains. Throughout the four-month program each startup is paired with several Kapsch experts. They act as the lead advocates to enable the startup to engage with the right Kapsch team(s), help drive technology and market validation, produce significant internal and external traction for the proof-of-concept project and promote it through Kapsch’s distribution and customer channels.

„Factory1 is excited to start shaping the future of mobility“

Factory1 2K19: Four months for joint PoC projects

The Factory1 2K19 program is equity-free and takes place at Kapsch’s headquarter in Austria’s capital, Vienna. „But you don’t have to re-locate your company to Vienna. Your CEO and a second team member – preferably your CTO – will be invited to come to specific events“, explains Handl. All travel and accommodation costs are covered by Kapsch. The program starts with two Kick-off Days at the end of February, followed by three accelerations weeks in March, April and May. Over the course of the program, four teams of startups and Kapsch experts build joint PoC projects that are presented at the demo day in June.

„Driving innovation on a group scale“

Throughout the entire program the top decision makers of Kapsch follow the project teams. „This year’s Factory1 jury is an excellent mix of experts from all Kapsch Divisions. With their valuable experience and insights we are accessing further possibilities of driving innovation on a group scale. Additionally, with all three board members of Kapsch TrafficCom in the Program Committee, Factory1 is excited to start shaping the future of mobility”, says Marcus Handl.

Timeline

• Application phase until 12th December 2018
• Remote Video Pitches from 28th to 30th January 2019 – 15 startups are selected
• Kick-Off Days Vienna from 25th to 28th February 2019 – 4 finalists are selected
• Acceleration weeks in March, April (Silicon Valley) and May 2019
• Demo Day in Vienna from 17th to 18th June 2019
• Further information and application