SparkLabs Group has announced the launch of Connex, a latest startup accelerator focusing on IoT, smart cities and proptech.
According to the company, the accelerator is based on SparkLabs’ proven model and will leverage its presence in key innovation ecosystems, including Silicon Valley, Seoul, Shenzhen, Taipei and Singapore.
The new accelerator will make investments in startups that address key market drivers that include 5G monetisation, sustainability and green building initiatives and leverage emerging technology enablers like Low Power WANs, 5G, eSIMs, AI and security.
One customer looking at Connex is Nokia. “Working with SparkLabs Connex will enable us to address the growing smart city opportunity,” said Danial Mausoof, global head of enterprise sales at Nokia. “We can help solve the challenges of smart city orchestration with our solutions, and expand our smart city ecosystem while answering the needs of our enterprise customers.”
According to IDC research last month, worldwide spending on smart city initiatives will total £95 billion in 2020 at an increase of 18.9% year over year. The top 100 cities that made investments on smart initiatives in 2019 represented nearly 29% of global spending, the research found. IDC also predicted that Singapore will continue to remain one of the top investors in smart cities initiatives followed by Tokyo, New York City and London.
Additionally, ABI Research’s latest smart cities market data report, released in January, predicted that smart utility metering and video surveillance will hold a significant portion of the smart city segment, with the number of connections representing 87% of the total number of smart city connections by 2026. According to the report, though surveillance cameras with embedded AI computing capabilities from vendors like NVIDIA are already being deployed, low latency 5G connectivity will allow real-time local response management in future by utilising powerful cloud-based AI capabilities.
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