A day of pitches, demos, MatchMaker introductions, and facilitated networking. Review the Class of 2023, get an update from some Showcase Alumni companies, visit demo tables, and set aside time to meet the telco tech scouts, vendor partners, and communications industry investors who are committed to discovering the next set of innovation partners for the telecom industry.
Silicon Valley, California, Sept 27, 2023/Meeting Recap/ Telecom Council’s Annual Startup Competition culminated on Sept 22nd with our Innovation Showcase Demo Day hosted by SK Telecom Americas. The Class of 2023 was introduced to our members and the wider telecommunications community in an intensive morning of rapid-fire presentations, demos, and our unique MatchMaker program.
It was a busy day that started with presentations that covered a wide variety of telecom and networking segments – from sustainability and tower tech to cybersecurity and unmanned aerial vehicles, and many more in between. The Class of 2023 also represented countries across North and South America, Europe, and Asia, matching the geographical reach of the network operators in the room.
Of course, the Demo Day means a bunch of buzzing exhibit tables and technology demos, which the Class of 2023 companies were busy doing in between their MatchMaker meetings. And it wouldn’t be our Annual Innovation Showcase if our signature MatchMaker Meeting Service didn’t fill the afternoon with pre-arranged, curated 15-minute meetings, punctuated by start/stop bells throughout the 3-hour speed-dating segment. Companies rotated around tables to meet, discuss tech challenges and solutions, and explore synergies. Our MatchMaker Meeting Service is acknowledged by our telco scouts as one of the most sophisticated platforms for making these introductions, but the service doesn’t end with the final bell. A full day of online meetings continued the program, virtually, the next business day. The split of onsite and virtual one-on-one meetings allows our Members far and wide the greatest reach to meet with the startups. This year, participants shared over 150 meetings with follow up meetings already in progress.
Thank you to our telco tech scouts, to all the presenters who travelled to Santa Clara to participate, to our zoom audience who ignored the constraints of time zones to be with us, and to our host SK Telecom Americas. Congratulations to the Class of 2023, we wish you continued success.
As always, members can find the presentations from this meeting in the member library.