BMW’s Startup Challenge is gearing up to kick off in Amsterdam next week, as part of Startup Fest Europe 2017.
Over the last couple of weeks BMW have been accepting applications from startups in The Netherlands and across Europe, asking them to submit their innovations and ideas about groundbreaking technologies, products or services to the BMW team.
Ten finalists have since been picked out of 62 total applicants; these include eight startups from The Netherlands and two from the US. The jury will then pick a final three, who will go on to pitch their idea before a panel at Startup Fest on the 26th September.
The most promising startups will win access to BMW’s internal network of managers, engineers and decision makers, offering the opportunity to showcase their innovations to top venture capitalists. The jury judging the final will include Menno Kleingeld, Managing Director of Enabling Transport Solutions VDL Group, Pieter Waasdorp, Director of Entrepreneurship at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Anne-Wil Lucas, Program Manager Talent, Knowledge and Skills Startup Delta.
The final three startups will win the chance to present their ideas live to an audience of journalists and entrepreneurs at the BMW Startup Symposium on September 26 in Amsterdam, as well as a fully paid visit to BMW’s own Startup Garage in Munich where there will be the opportunity to discuss their proposals in detail with BMW managers who are responsible for purchasing products and services. Additionally, one of the three startups will win twelve months in a new special version of the BMW X1 – the first BMW model ever built in the Netherlands, at VDL Nedcar in the Limburg Born.