News

Value@nano – Value Creation from Emerging Knowledge is the title of a workshop to be held December 5-7, 2020 in Lisbon.

The main topic of the workshop is the innovative transformation of knowledge into value with a specific focus on the commercialization of new technology. Concepts are introduced that improve and accelerate the commercialization process, from decisions made by scientists at the research bench, through the development, patenting, and licensing of new technologies, to the formation of new ventures.

The intended audience is researchers, PhD and MSc students, post-docs and faculty members interested in learning how to create value from their research activities.

The workshop will be jointly offered by UTEN Portugal and the Emerging Technologies program of the UT Austin|Portugal CoLab and organized by Paula M. Vilarinho (U.Aveiro) and Brian Korgel (UT Austin).

Registration information and full program are here: valuenano.web.ua.pt

Please send questions to Joana Sousa and Carina Borges at demac-valuenano@ua.pt.

Venue:
Double Tree by Hilton Lisbon – Fontana Park Hotel
Rua Eng Vieira da Silva 2
Lisbon,1050-105
Portugal
http://www.fontanapark-hotel.com/

Following an intense preparation period at the IC² Institute, the Portuguese company EyeSee Solutions, one of the Business Development companies selected through UTEN’s Global Startup Program 2015 Call, won the first SXAméricas Startup Pitch Competition at SXSW Interactive 2016.

Headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, and led by André Pimentel and João Redol, EyeSee is a revolutionary solution that engages viewers and allows brands to seamlessly integrate in- stream ads and in-image ads in premium content. EyeSee has developed a patent-protected technology that automatically inserts context-relevant ads: No need for human intervention, making it easy and scalable for publishers.

The first SXAméricas Startup Pitch Competition was dedicated to startups from South America, the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal. Presented by Spain Tech, it featured 10 innovative startups from across the Americas and Iberian Peninsula.

André Pimentel, Sandra Sick and João Redol of EyeSee Solutions

Tech Tour Growth Forum has named UTEN Global Startup Program alumnus Feedzai one of the most innovative technology companies in Europe. Feedzai received the Special Jury Prize last week at the Forum’s award ceremony in Geneva. To be eligible, Feedzai had already been identified as one of Europe’s 50 fastest growing pre-exit companies, the Tech Tour Growth 50.

Feedzai is a Portuguese data science company that uses real-time, machine-based learning to help payment networks, banks and retailers prevent fraud in omnichannel commerce. Feedzai’s software powers payment systems for customers in North and South America, Europe, and Africa.

Feedzai entered the UTEN Global Startup Program (then known as US Connect) in 2011 with the goal to bring its big data analytics platform into the US energy sector. Deep market analysis conducted with Feedzai during the program uncovered a more lucrative and proximate market, credit fraud monitoring. During the program, Feedzai obtained its first US client in this space, Cardinal Commerce. This deal validated the market opportunity and led to private venture funding of $24 million since 2013.

For more information, see:

Feedzai.com

Tech Tour Growth Forum news release, March 17, 2020

Tech Tour Growth 50

Feedzai Stops Financial Fraud With Machine Learning, Forbes, Feb. 16, 2020

 

The UT Austin|Portugal Program has released two comprehensive reports covering its activities for the period 2013-2015, one for the University Technology Enterprise Network (UTEN) program and one for the CoLab academic programs.

You may download them from the UT Austin|Portugal program Publications page or here:

UTEN 2013-2015: A Cumulative Report

CoLab 2013-2015: A Cumulative Report

The eighth annual SXSW Accelerator startup competition will take place at SXSW Interactive on March 12-13, 2020. A live audience as well as a panel of expert judges will discover advancements in various sectors of emerging technology.

Since its inception in 2009, the SXSW Accelerator has seen 305 companies compete and a 65% of those companies went on to receive combined funding in excess of $2.6 billion (does not include undisclosed grants or angel/seed funding) and 13% have since been acquired by the likes of Google, British Telecom, Huffington Post, Apple, Live Nation, OpenTable, Constant Contact, and Harmon.

Portuguese companies are encouraged to apply. See the details on the SXSW site. The application deadline is November 6, 2020.

On September 14, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, Senator John Cornyn, Representative Rubén Hinojosa, and Texas Governor Greg Abbot got first-hand experience with Body Interact, the medical education simulator from Global Startup Program partner Take the Wind.

The officials were on a tour of the UT Rio Grande Valley Smart Hospital, a state-of-the-art facility which simulates all departments of a working hospital to train health care providers and first responders.

Body Interact is a unique interactive medical education platform which runs on multitouch table-top and tablet devices as well as by web conference. Body Interact’s flexibility allows it to deliver detailed and customizable medical scenarios in a full range of individual and group educational settings.

For the past year, business development specialists from the IC² Institute have been working with Take the Wind to hone its message and develop relationships with medical educators and potential customers in the U.S. and worldwide.

For more information:

• Officials’ September 14 visit to the Rio Grande Valley
• UT Rio Grande Valley Smart Hospital
• Body Interact
• UTEN Portugal Global Startup Program

(Photo: Rio Grande Guardian)

The 2015 call for the UTEN Global Startup Program is now open.

Update: the call deadline has been extended to July 17, 2020.

The Global Startup Program of the IC² Institute at The University of Texas at Austin offers Portugal-based ventures who are ready to “Go Global” a unique year-long immersion experience focused primarily on business to business outreach, global market expansion, global value creation and global revenue generation for firms leveraging our international business development beyond their local/regional markets.

Companies selected to “Go Global” will receive executive coaching, mentoring and direct business development, sales and marketing assistance from a dedicated team of seasoned veterans who also leverage the Institute’s network of experts committed to assist Portuguese entrepreneurs and innovators in their commercial expansion overseas.

Companies eligible to apply must be post revenue-generating ventures in or affiliated with incubators, accelerator programs or from the Portuguese small and medium sized business community. Companies must have headquarters and major operations in Portugal or show major impact on the Portugal economy. Strong consideration will be given to those applicants who are prepared to make significant time and budget commitments to spending quality time in the USA working directly with our Austin-based business development team.

Full details of the call are available on the call page or contact globalstartup@utenportugal.org for more information.

On May 19, Global Startup Program alumnus Feedzai raised $17.5 million in Series B financing.

Feedzai provides fraud prevention services to financial institutions, retailers, and developers. Using “big data science” and machine learning, Feedzai generates transaction risk scores which adapt to consumer behavior in real time.

Feedzai was a participant in the 2012-2013 pilot year of the UTEN Global Startup Program, known at that time as “US Connect.”

For more information:

• Feedzai Raises $17.5 Million in Series B Round Led by Oak HC/FT to Expand Fraud-Prevention Solutions, PR Newswire
• Fraud Detection Tech Startup Feedzai Receives $17.5 Million, Bank Technology News
• Fraud protection SaaS startup Feedzai raises $17.5m Series B, SiliconANGLE

Two participating companies in the UTEN Global Startup Program have appeared in the Portuguese media recently.

Feedzai, which was a GSP participant in 2013, was listed by Expresso as one of 10 Portuguese companies which are hitting it big. Expresso called Feedzai an “unavoidable name in big data” because of its software for visualizing and analyzing business data in real time.

Current GSP participant 2EAST was featured in SIC Notícias for the US launch of its product. 2EAST has developed a unique beverage dispensing system which fits in a backpack, allowing servers to circulate in crowds at festivals and sports events. 2EAST made its US debut this week at Rock in Rio Las Vegas.

Members of the UTEN and UT Austin|Portugal communities are saddened by the passing on April 17 of Mariano Gago, the former Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education of Portugal.

Prof. Gago was a champion of Portugal’s international partnerships and oversaw the founding of the University Technology Enterprise Network (UTEN) and the UT Austin|Portugal program.

An electrical engineer and high-energy physicist, he was a Professor of Physics at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in Lisbon and founder of the Portuguese Laboratory for Particle Physics (LIP).

He served as Minister of Science and Technology (later Science, Technology, and Higher Education) in 1995-2002 and 2005-2011. As Minister, he cultivated the extraordinary growth of Portugal’s scientific and technological achievements in the last two decades. His emphasis on the internationalization and modernization of Portuguese research institutions was matched with his support for the popularization of science in Portugal through primary and secondary science education and the creation of a network of science and technology museums.

Today members of the Portuguese research community honored Mariano Gago by gathering at noon for five minutes of silence.

People whose lives he touched are invited to share testimonies, photos and memories about Mariano Gago as a thinker and humanist and his unique legacy and dedication for the development of knowledge, science and technology and the scientific culture worldwide at the site www.marianogago.org.

Pictured: António Câmara of UNL, Mariano Gago, and David Gibson of the IC² Institute at the UT Austin|Portugal Program annual conference in Lisbon, September 2010.