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EU, Telefónica Team Up to Establish Open-Data Incubator Network ODInE

EU, Telefónica Team Up to Establish Open-Data Incubator Network ODInE Image Credit: Telefónica

Open data startups in Europe will get a boost with the establisment of ODINE (Open Data INcubator for Europe), an industry-focused network of open data start-ups funded by the European Commission (EU) and led by major carriers and research institutions, including Telefonica and University of Southampton. The new incubation initiative will help start-ups in EU to harness openly available data sets to establish new business models, develop innovative ideas or products and accelerate growth. 

ODINE will be supported by Telefónica and its Open Future initiative that comprises its start-up accelerator Wayra and other initiatives in support of entrepreneurship and innovation, the UK’s Open Data Institute (ODI), the Guardian,  the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany (OKFN) and Fraunhofer IAIS.

Telefónica will provide the computing infrastructure which will be vital in facilitating the use of open data sets, and Wayra will be using its existing expertise in this space to help shape the incubation process while also leading start-up outreach efforts. Wayra now hosts more than 400 new digital businesses in 13 cities in Europe and Latin America, said Telefonica. EU has committed a €7.8 million investment to realise a 30-month incubator programme that will recruit new startups every two months - approximately 50 startups in total.

Successful startup applicants will be allocated around  €50-100k per company from a total of €5.5 million investment to develop their concepts, in addition to mentoring, technology, infrastructure and networking support. At the end of the mini-project, the most promising participants will be invited to be present at a graduation ceremony where open data startups will be showcased in front of media and investors including Wayra, Fraunhofer Venture, Telefónica Ventures and others. 

Richard Benjamins, Group Director Business Intelligence & Big Data at Telefónica
The ODINE consortium champions two areas that are at the heart of Telefónica - entrepreneurship and open data. Telefónica has a strong background in supporting these two areas, whether it be through the establishment of Wayra academies in Europe and Latin America; support of open web standards; our Open Future initiative or our investment and support of FI-Ware, a private-public partnership that offers a range of open source, API-enabled tools intended to help developers and innovators build future internet applications.

Author

Ray is a news editor at The Fast Mode, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in the wireless industry.

For tips and feedback, email Ray at ray.sharma(at)thefastmode.com, or reach him on LinkedIn @raysharma10, Facebook @1RaySharma

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