SAP Announces SAP.iO Fund to Drive Startup Innovation
SAP announced the SAP.iO Fund, seeded with an initial investment of $35 million, will make early-stage investments in software startups expanding the SAP ecosystem. The fund is just one component of the SAP.iO open innovation model, which enables innovators both inside and outside SAP to use the power of SAP data, application programming interfaces (APIs) and platform technologies to unlock new value for customers.
As part of the announcement, SAP.iO launched the global SAP.iO Foundry program to incubate early-stage startups that build software applications, including those using frontier technologies such as machine learning and blockchain. Locations include San Francisco and Berlin — which will powered and managed by Techstars, a worldwide entrepreneur network. These new foundry locations will complement existing SAP.iO startup incubation partnerships with Techstars IoT in New York City and the Junction in Tel Aviv.
“Our open innovation model continues to deliver value to our customers,” said Deepak Krishnamurthy, chief strategy officer, SAP. “In addition to empowering our employee innovators, SAP.iO will use its fund and foundries to invest in entrepreneurs that develop industry-changing software.”
The first startup to receive funding is Parable Sciences, Inc. (known as Paradata), a Big Data analytics company based in San Jose, Calif. Paradata’s use of machine learning to offer greater supply chain transparency complements SAP Ariba solution capabilities in direct material sourcing and supply chain visibility.
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