Welcome to Startup Weekly, our roundup of the week’s top tech news for startups in the UK.
Every week, we will bring you the latest from the country’s startup accelerators, incubators, competitions and awards.
WeWork’s Creator Awards
The awards will grant more than $20m to entrepreneurs, small business and scaleups across a range of industries. Companies in the UK will benefit from at least $1.5m.
Financial grants will be available to creators in three categories:
- The Incubate Award ($18k-36k per grant): Individuals with an idea or a project that needs funding
- The Launch Award ($72k-180k per grant): Businesses or nonprofits that have launched but are still learning
- The Scale Award ($180k-360k per grant): Businesses or nonprofits with a record of success, ready for the next level
To apply, click here. Submissions close on the 24th August.
Finalists will present live at the regional event in London on 14th September.
Winners from the regional event will be invited to join the global finals in New York later in the year.
Nesta’s Inventor Prize
Organised by Nesta and supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), The Inventor Prize is giving the UK’s budding inventors a chance to receive professional mentoring and financial support to help them turn their ideas into reality.
The 10 best investors will receive £5,000 while the winning inventor will walk away with £50,000.
Business secretary Greg Clark said: “In every corner of the country there are people creating new inventions in response to life’s everyday problems. Through our Industrial Strategy and the Nesta Inventor Prize, we want to help turn incredible ideas into products available to everyone. New inventions can change the world, so I encourage everyone who thinks they have a great idea to apply.”
Constance Agyeman, head of international development and communities, at Nesta added:“Nesta is calling for inventors all across the UK to enter this exciting new prize. We know so many people right now are solving complex problems that affect us all in innovative ways, creating products that could change people’s lives.
“We also know that Challenge Prizes, like this, are an effective catalyst to stimulating innovation and fast tracking success. So if you think of yourself as a budding inventor, life-hacker or DIY disrupter, then don’t miss your chance to enter this challenge and develop your idea further.”
Rockstart’s AI accelerator
Startups can also now apply for Rockstart’s AI accelerator in the Netherlands.
The program, which is due to kick off on 25th September, will take 10 artificial intelligence startups through six months of mentoring.
Each selected participant will receive €20,000 in cash and €80,000 of in-kind funding, office space in Den Bosch (Netherlands) for the duration of the program, and support from mentors from relevant industries.
The accelerator is expected to take a 6% stake in the participating startups after they’ve raised their next round of funding.
The Incubator
Hosted in Thomson Reuters’ Lab in Zurich, The Incubator is offering office space, mentoring and access to Thomson Reuters’ data and tech capabilities.
Additionally, the six to 12 months program will look to facilitate the interaction of selected startups with customers and investors.
Thomson Reuters is looking for startups in the following markets:
- Artificial intelligence/machine learning
- Cognitive computing
- Cryptocurrency
- Distributed ledgers
- Big data
- Social sentiment
- Advanced analytics
- Machine readable news
- Automated data collection & analysis
The Incubator does not take equity.
That’s all for today…See you next Friday!