NTT DATA Invites Technology Startups to Enter Its 10th Annual Open Innovation Contest

Winning startups launch their innovative ideas with the support of NTT DATA’s global resources and client network

SAN FRANCISCO, BOSTON, VANCOUVER, B.C. and BANGALORE– July 23, 2019 – NTT DATA announced today the launch of its 10th annual international Open Innovation Contest. The global technology leader invites startup businesses around the globe to submit ideas for new technologies that can make the world a better place.

Worldwide, regional contests will be held in 15 cities across 13 countries, where 1-2 winner(s) in different business challenges will be chosen. In North America, regional competitions will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia on Oct. 29, Boston on Nov. 8 and San Francisco on Nov. 21, 2019. In India, a contest event will be hosted in Bangalore on September 9, 2019. For an entire list of cities and dates for entry click here.

“NTT DATA’s Open Innovation Contest exists to help society-changing technologies and ideas get their start,” said Eric Clark, Chief Digital Officer, NTT DATA Services. “We believe that technology and those who create it have a responsibility to improve our communities. The contest’s aim is to identify innovators whose unique ideas, combined with our guidance and our client’s business drivers, can make a positive impact on society.”

Regional winners will be invited to present their pitch to a panel of judges for the Tokyo grand finale in January 2020 to determine the grand champion of the global contest. Following the selection of winner(s) at each regional contest, NTT DATA experts will work with their respective winner(s) to determine where the startup company’s product or service could be used in NTT DATA’s client ecosystem and will help hone their presentation for the grand finale.

The grand champion contest winner will be funded up to $100,000 USD to develop a proof of concept (POC) with NTT DATA clients and the support of our dedicated team of expert consultants, technologists and business experts. To nurture the development of innovative business with NTT DATA, we will also help make important mentoring and business connections for finalists and winners among their client base and professional networks.

“This contest is an important measure to realize the following three strategies for NTT DATA Group: the contest promotes innovation that helps tie back to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, expands global digital offerings for our company, helps unleash our employees’ potential that maximizes organizational strengths and, most importantly, delivers great value to our clients all over the world based on their regional needs,” said Yo Honma, CEO, NTT DATA.

Any startup company is welcome to submit a proposal for a collaborative business with NTT DATA group companies in the following fields: Healthcare and Life Sciences; Finance, Insurance and Payments; Automotive and Mobility as a Service; Telecom and IoT; In-Store Front and Marketing Digitalization; Smart Automation; Data Distribution and Disruptive Social Innovation.

Last year’s global contest champion, Pune, India-based FlytBase, is working with NTT DATA experts to field the world’s first Internet of Drones platform for easily deploying intelligent drones connected with cloud-based business applications. For more information on previous achievements, please visit this link.

In the U.S., regional winners for the 9th contest hosted in Palo Alto and Boston were Catalia Health, which brought together artificial intelligence, psychology and medicine to create continually improving patient engagement and help address ongoing healthcare issues, and IoTium, which was selected for its software-defined converged infrastructure for edge IoT solutions. Read more here. Both finalists and additional participating semi-finalists have been in conceptual and exploratory stages with NTT DATA to develop their ideas further.

For more information and how to apply, please visit http://oi.nttdata.com/en/contest/ or send an inquiry to OfficeofCTO@nttdata.com.