TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NTT DATA, a global IT service provider, announced today that it will host preliminary contests in 10 locations worldwide to attract ideas for venture-business collaborations. Any startup company is welcomed to submit a proposal for a venture business in a field such as FinTech, IoT, energy, insurance tech, big data, digital marketing, blockchain, API, personal data, AI, cyber security, virtual/augmented reality, or robotics. The winner of each preliminary contest will be invited to the Grand Finale contest in Tokyo in March 2017, with NTT DATA covering the travel and related expenses for one presenter from each winner to attend. The Grand Finale winner will receive a three-month in-kind contribution worth 30,000 USD to support the development of their proposed new business.
NTT DATA envisions the winning venture business as a triple-win proposition for the startup, NTT DATA’s clients (major companies, banks and public institutions) and the NTT DATA group itself. As the result of previous contests, for example, Money Forward, Inc., Freee, Inc. and NTT DATA developed a FinTech service for internet banking that was commercialized in February 2016. Also, Sassor, Inc. and NTT DATA are working toward an energy-management initiative that is expected to provide energy-consumption analysis as an IoT service.
According to Koutaro Zanma, Head of Open Innovation and Business Incubation Business Strategy Department at NTT DATA, “Our biannual contest to promote collaborations with startup companies worldwide is one of many initiatives on which NTT DATA will capitalize in hopes of surpassing 10 billion yen (about 100 million USD) in annual business by 2020. We want to help solve key issues in global society by combining knowledge, technologies and networks both inside and outside of our company.”
NTT DATA, Japan’s leading systems integrator, is playing a vital role in building out IT infrastructure in Japan and also is engaged in IT business in more than 40 countries worldwide. The company believes that IT and Open Innovation are the keys to solving pressing economic problems, such as decreasing population, aging societies, environmental destruction, energy depletion, rising costs of healthcare, reduced self-sufficiency in food, and economic disparities. To help address such problems, NTT DATA has hosted four venture-business contests in Japan, and now the company has decided to expand the host cities globally. By sharing ideas and collaborating innovatively, NTT DATA aims to create new businesses that will help to solve global problems.
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Open Innovation Business Contest |
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| Application: | 3 PM, October 26, to 5 PM, December 19, 2016 | |
| Venues: | Tokyo, San Francisco, London, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Madrid, Barcelona, Singapore, Beijing and Sao Paulo | |
| Qualified entrants: | Legally incorporated startup companies | |
| Venture themes: |
FinTech, IoT, energy, insurance tech, big data, digital marketing, blockchain, API, personal data, AI, cyber security, virtual/augmented reality, or robotics |
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| Schedule: | Application deadline – Thursday, December 19 | |
| Preliminary contests – February or March 2017 | ||
| Grand Finale in Tokyo – Wednesday, March 15, 2017 | ||
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Application documents must be written in Japanese or English |
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Applications may be submitted online at http://oi.nttdata.com/en/contest |
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About NTT DATA
NTT DATA (TOKYO: 9613) is a leading IT services provider and global innovation partner headquartered in Tokyo, with business operations in over 40 countries. Its emphasis is on long-term commitments, combining global reach with local intimacy to provide premier professional services varying from consulting and systems development to outsourcing. For more information, visit www.nttdata.com
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