Tourexpi
The second innovation challenge looked for start-ups
specialising in virtual reality, the metaverse and AI to help change the way
travellers move, connect, and explore.
HBX Group, a leading B2B ecosystem in the TravelTech
space, and Wayra, Telefónica's Corporate Venture Capital, today announced the
winners of the second TravelTech Lab by HBX Group challenge after analysing 120
companies from 25 countries including Spain, France, UK, Germany, the
Netherlands, Singapore, and Korea.
Only 6 start-ups were given the opportunity to present
their project to a professional jury composed of experts from both companies at
the pitching hub during 4FYN, part of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The goal of the challenge was to find start-ups that specialise in virtual
reality, the metaverse and AI to help B2B travel companies improve efficiency
in their operations. After hearing the proposals, four winners have been
announced to join the TravelTech Lab, for their solutions that create more
engaging experiences and reshape distribution within the TravelTech industry.
The winning start-ups are:
·
Didit (Gamium): an intuitive app that combines NFC, blockchain and
artificial intelligence technologies to ensure secure identity verifications
and smart digital payments.
·
Firstview: provides hotels with virtual reality and immersive digital
content with 3D virtual tours, 360° aerial view, virtual sales platform, and
reporting.
·
Hotelverse: offers travellers the opportunity to fly over the hotel,
explore its facilities, hyper-personalise a specific room and book it.
·
Unblock: an application that serves as a point of contact with the citizen
and offers comprehensive access to city services in an easy and attractive way.
These startups will receive advice and guidance from
industry experts, and they will also join Wayra's innovative ecosystem and work
directly with HBX Group teams to develop joint business opportunities. In
addition, HBX Group may offer a grant of up to €40,000 to pilot and bring their
proposal to life.
All four of the selected start-ups will be able to work
with other like-minded entrepreneurs in Wayra's 7 spaces in Europe and Latin
America, as well as in HBX Group's hubs in Mallorca and Madrid.
"Our alliance with HBX Group is an exciting
adventure, we want to create innovative solutions through the most disruptive
technologies that redefine the hotel and tourism sector. What better way to do
it than by relying on the entrepreneurial ecosystem that we have been
supporting for more than 15 years? Wayra would like to congratulate all the
winners, as together we will seek to create a real impact on their business,
and successfully face the new challenges of the market", explains Andrés Saborido,
COO of Wayra.
José María Pestaña, Chief Innovation & Public Affairs
Officer at HBX Group, stated: "Innovation is the cornerstone of our
TravelTech Lab at HBX Group, and the collaboration with Wayra is key in
connecting with start-ups that offer a differential value proposition. We are
very pleased with the outcome of the second challenge and would like to
congratulate all the selected start-ups. We firmly believe that the winning
proposals can contribute to improving the efficiency of our partners. We are confident
that together we can continue to facilitate the real transformation of the
TravelTech space and improve the traveller experience.”
Image
Credit: © Hotelsbeds
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