Telefonica : Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Singtel, Telefónica pick innovative tech start-ups

Bonn, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, 11 September 2017 -Go Ignite, an alliance of the world's leading telcos including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Singtel and Telefónica today announced the winners of the second global search for start-ups that offer the most innovative solutions for three key technologies including Consumer Experience Artificial Intelligence, Connected Homes and Internet of Things Cyber Security.

This year's winners are Sparkcognition and NanoLock Security for IoT Cyber Security; Cujo and Vayyar Imaging for Connected Homes and SafeToNet for Consumer Experience AI. These start-ups will have the opportunity to form business partnerships with the four telcos and tap into the alliance partners' collective mobile subscriber base of over 1.2 billion mobile phone subscribers across five continents.

'Also in this second edition we received numerous applications from strong teams,'' says Mr Axel Menneking, managing director of Deutsche Telekom's hub:raum. 'The five winners were able to convince us with their ideas on artificial intelligence and security issues. The topics range from helping to protect children from bullying, protect critical infrastructure, and secure management platforms. I'm sure these teams will be doing good pilots with us and the other three telecom companies.'

The winners are attending a two-day workshop that kicks off today in Madrid to help them refine their solutions and sharpen their business strategies. In addition, each start-up will receive support including access to mentoring and expertise, co-working space and invitations to community events and networking opportunities.

'For us and our partners we have a firm belief that working collectively and in an open manner with the start-up community is critical to accelerate our innovation in these three key areas,' says Mr Bertrand Rojat, Deputy Director of Orange's Technocentre. 'These are exciting times and we are delighted to be working with these 'scale-ups' to jointly deliver something truly remarkable to our customers.'

Consumer Experience AI refers to the use of new technology to provide personalised or new forms of customer support. Connected Homes are solutions that use software and/or hardware to automate and remotely control home appliances with ease, while IoT Security leverages new technologies to keep smart vehicles, homes and cities safe.

'The alliance partners are pleased to select five deserving winners from a pool of high quality submissions worldwide,'' says Mr Edgar Hardless, Chief Executive Officer of Singtel Innov8. 'The second global call focused on these three key areas which are becoming increasingly relevant and critical to the digital world we live in. We look forward to accelerating the adoption of the innovative solutions and bringing them to the customers of the Singtel Group.'

Go Ignite (http://go-ignite.com/) is an alliance aimed at connecting the start-up ecosystems across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. The Go Ignite global call for start-ups encourages teams world-wide to enter their projects into any one of the categories identified by the alliance to be of strategic interest. The alliance will help the start-ups pitch to venture capital firms to secure fresh funding needed to grow their business.

'This marks the continuation of our strong support in working with startups and other telcos to find and grow the next disruptive idea,' says Mrs. Ana Segurado, Global General Director, Telefónica Open Future. 'It´s open innovation initiatives built with partners such as Go Ignite that truly creates the right framework to develop the business of the startups. We very much look forward to working with the winners and hope this will be the beginning of a relationship which provides value to all parties involved.'

About the winners

Vayyar Imaging - Vayyar Smart Home sensors create a 3D image of everything happening in your home in real-time. Vayyar's technology makes it possible to see through objects and materials to precisely detect and monitor multiple individuals motions, falls and vital signs and deliver unparalleled 3D imaging. Vayyar's 3D sensors also ensure greater privacy through camera-free monitoring, that don't require wearables, making them ideal for home healthcare, security and home automation. 3D Imaging sensors are also transforming retail by analyzing in real-time how in-store purchasers are browsing merchandise, what products they are looking at and reaching for, and key indicators for purchase intent. Vayyar

SparkCognition - Ranked #20 in the 2017 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, SparkCognition has established itself as an AI leader with business-critical solutions in place for customers in energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, finance, aerospace, defense, and security, with Boeing and Verizon Ventures as strategic investors. SparkCognition develops AI-Powered cyber-physical software for the safety, security, and reliability of IT, OT, and the IoT. The company's technology is capable of harnessing real-time sensor data and learning from it continuously, allowing for more accurate risk mitigation and prevention policies to intervene and avert disasters. SparkCognition is led by Founder and CEO Amir Husain, Austin's 2016 Top Technology Entrepreneur. For more information on the company, its technology and team, please visit: Sparkcognition

NanoLock Security's mission is to become the de-facto standard and world leading provider of a powerful and highly secured platform, protecting firmware and sensitive data stored in connected and IoT devices. The Company provides disruptive security solution to the Connected & Autonomous Cars and the Industrial Controllers market segments. NanoLock's platform prevents attacks attempts ranging from ransomware, malicious manipulation and tampering with the stored data / firmware images. Nanolock's management platform provides real-time actionable intelligence on attempted attacks and current status, as well as unique information on operational and security events, from the production floor through the lifetime of the device. The company is currently conducting POCs with WW customers. NanoLock Security

CUJO LLC provides ISPs and gateway manufacturers a software platform to secure home users against latest cyber threats. Using AI and cloud computing, CUJO analyzes LAN traffic to block known and zero-day attacks against. Unlike traditional antivirus, CUJO proactively secures all devices - from smartphones to IoT. The CUJO app also shows all devices connected to the network and allows parents to control what their kids can access online. CUJO is a team of researchers and engineers with decades of collective security and software experience. CUJO is based in California, with additional offices in London, Lithuania and Brazil. Cujo

SafeToNet safeguards children from cyberbullying, abuse, aggression, sextortion and other predatory risks on the social web. We are solving a global social problem with over 500 million children worldwide active every day on social media. Parents are worried about the amount of time their children spend online and who they interact with. Existing parental controls are not good enough and don't operate at the social messaging layer. SafeToNet does. It has built an AI app and cloud-based solution to block harmful messages in real time before they are seen and before the damage is done. No other Company does this. SafeToNet Ltd

About Deutsche Telekom (telekom.com)

Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies with more than 156 million mobile customers, 29 million fixed-network lines and around 18 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2015). The Group provides fixed-network/broadband, mobile communications, Internet, and Internet-based TV products and services for consumers, and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in more than 50 countries and has around 225,200 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 69.2 billion in the 2015 financial year - around 64 percent of it outside Germany.

About hub:raum (hubraum.com)

hub:raum connects the digital start-up ecosystem with Deutsche Telekom, linking tech entrepreneurs and high growth start-up companies with the expert network, capital, and business opportunities of Deutsche Telekom. hub:raum offers various programs in 3 locations: hub:raum Berlin covers Germany and Western Europe, hub:raum Krakow covers the CEE region and hub:raum Tel-Aviv covers Israel. They have all range of programs from seed investment, incubation, acceleration and specialized programs like Fit4Europe and offer benefits like co-working space, mentoring, networking events and connections to Deutsche Telekom business units like partnering as well as access to customers.

About Orange (orange.com)

Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with sales of 40,9 billion euros in 2016 and 153,000 employees worldwide at 30 June 2017, including 94,000 employees in France. Present in 29 countries, the Group has a total customer base of 269 million customers worldwide at 30 June 2017, including 207 million mobile customers and 19 million fixed broadband customers. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In March 2015, the Group presented its new strategic plan 'Essentials2020' which places customer experience at the heart of its strategy with the aim of allowing them to benefit fully from the digital universe and the power of its new generation networks.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).

For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

About Orange Fab (startup.orange.com)

Orange Fab is a start-up accelerator programme launched by Orange that aims to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship. Born in Silicon Valley in 2013, the programme is now present in 14 countries in Europe, Africa, the USA, the Middle East and Asia. Orange Fab has accelerated or is currently accelerating 250 start-ups since its launch.

Orange Fab offers selected start-ups three months of support to allow them to develop their products and services. They also receive valuable advice from Orange innovators and experts as well as a number of entrepreneurs.

Supporting start-ups is one of the pillars of Orange's open innovation approach to accelerate the marketing of innovations that will benefit its customers. The Group aims to support 500 start-ups across the world by 2020 with a focus on the rapid realisation of commercial partnerships, or in some cases, joint ventures, via Orange Digital Ventures, its investment fund for early age start-ups.

About Singtel (singtel.com)

Singtel is Asia's leading communications technology group, providing a portfolio of services from next-generation communication, technology services to infotainment to both consumers and businesses. For consumers, Singtel delivers a complete and integrated suite of services, including mobile, broadband and TV. For businesses, Singtel offers a complementary array of workforce mobility solutions, data hosting, cloud, network infrastructure, analytics and cyber-security capabilities. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia and Africa and reaches over 650 million mobile customers in 22 countries. Its infrastructure and technology services for businesses span 21 countries, with more than 428 direct points of presence in 360 cities.

For more information, visit www.singtel.com.

Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SingtelNews

About Singtel Innov8 (innov8.singtel.com)

Singtel Innov8, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singtel Group, is a venture capital fund, with its own set of decision making, approval and funding processes. It has a fund size of US$250 million with offices in Singapore, Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv and Beijing. Singtel Innov8 focuses its investments on technologies and solutions that lead to quantum changes in network capabilities, next generation devices, digital content services and enablers to enhance customer experience. It works closely with the ecosystem of leading innovators, developers, government agencies, R&D and capital providers to bring cutting-edge technologies and solutions to the various markets the Singtel Group operates in. For more information, visit www.innov8.singtel.com

About Telefónica (Telefónica.com)

Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world by market capitalization and number of customers with a comprehensive offering and quality of connectivity that is delivered over world class fixed, mobile and broadband networks. As a growing company it prides itself on providing a differential experience based both on its corporate values and a public position that defends customer interests.

The company has a significant presence in 21 countries and 346 million accesses around the world. Telefónica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy.

Telefónica is a 100% listed company, with more than 1.5 million direct shareholders. Its share capital currently comprises 5,037,804,990 ordinary shares traded on the Spanish Stock Market and on those in London, New York, Lima, and Buenos Aires.

About Telefónica Open Future_ (openfuture.org)

Telefónica Open Future is Telefónica´s global platform designed to connect her to entrepreneurs, startups, investors andpublic and private partners around the world to capture innovation and business opportunities. Its goal is to support talent at all stages of growth through a comprehensive model for acceleration that is designed to connect talent with organisations, investors and companies. The programme incorporates all of Telefónica Group's open innovation, entrepreneurship and investment initiatives (Think Big, Talentum, Crowdworking, Wayra, Amérigo and Telefónica Ventures) through a global network that is open to participation by external partners that wish to develop their own entrepreneurial and investment strategies, and connect to large corporates. To date, more than 51,000 proposals have been analysed, over 1,700 startups have been accelerated and 750, invested. Telefónica Open Future_ is present in 17 countries and has committed to investment, with its partners, a total of 455 million euros.

For further information: www.openfuture.org.