Memfault, Nokia, Palo Alto Networks Join 5G Open Innovation Lab to Further Catalyze Next-generation Edge, 5G Enterprise Solutions; 12 New Startups Chosen for Spring Program

Nokia and Palo Alto Networks join 13 existing enterprise and industry partners in new-model collaborative ecosystem; Batch #5 startups developing solutions including IoT security, hyperscale data analysis, mixed reality for frontline workers and more. —

Nokia and Palo Alto Networks have joined the 5G Open Innovation Lab as the newest corporate partners. The 5G OI Lab has uniquely pioneered an open innovation model that brings together influential startups, global tech platform leaders, industry partners, and investors to connect and collaborate.  Its thesis focuses on uncovering enterprise ready use cases exploiting the transformative potential of 5G and edge computing.

The Lab also announced the 12 multi-stage startups chosen to participate in its fifth batch of the select program, getting underway this week.

5G OI Lab partners including Intel, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Dell Technologies, Amdocs, VMware, Avanade, F5, Spirent, Ericsson, and CNH Industrial work together and directly with Lab startups to provide business and technical mentorship, and collaborate on potential proof of concept, go to market, and other opportunities.

Jim Brisimitzis, Founder and Managing Partner of the 5G Open Innovation Lab, said: “Our partner-first approach to collaborative innovation has helped the Lab standout globally. We are humbled to have Nokia and Palo Alto Networks join our ecosystem.  Working with our other partners and startups, Nokia and Palo Alto Networks significantly expand the opportunities and potential to unleash the power and true value of edge and 5G enabled connectivity.

Ed Alfonso, EVP and GM of Nokia America’s Mobile Networks, said: “5G’s lightning-fast speed and ultra-low latency are game changers for wireless connectivity and the plethora of new industry applications it can enable. What’s also game changing is how 5G will reach its full potential – which will be achieved through partnerships with industry, academia and government and through ecosystems such as those that 5G Open Innovation Lab has created. Working together, we can prove out new 5G and edge use cases and collaborate directly with the startup community that is dreaming up even bigger applications for 5G. Nokia is dedicated to participating in 5G OI Lab’s programs with our industry-leading 5G technology and experts.”

Keith O’Brien, CTO Service Providers for Palo Alto Networks, said: “How we dream and develop the next applications and innovations for 5G cannot be done without security considerations and requirements, like securing network slices and multi-access edge computing, for those innovations and applications baked in from the start. Palo Alto Networks is excited to join the 5G Open Innovation Lab to help these innovative startups to embrace cybersecurity as an enabler of their success and mentor them as they bring these next gen capabilities securely to market.”

STARTUPS FOR 5G OI LAB BATCH #5 ANNOUNCED:

The startups selected to participate in Batch #5 of the 5G OI Lab program have developed solutions including smart factory automation, mixed reality software for frontline workers, robotics manufacturing platforms, next-generation IoT platforms and more. Batch #5 teams have collectively raised $XXX in venture funding bringing the lifetime total for the Lab program to $188.6M.

The companies chosen for Batch #5:

Avesha (Bedford, MA.) – Avesha is the provider of KubeSlice, a platform that streamlines hybrid/multi cloud cluster management & latency monitoring for Kubernetes applications. It’s the only tool that allows you to segment your applications across one or more clusters for greater visibility, security, resiliency & QoE.

Clip Automation (Palo Alto, CA.) – Clip’s industrial data infrastructure provides a unified digital factory and warehouse experience. With interoperable software and hardware solutions, Clip makes operator and machine data accessible and usable for applications, remote support and collaboration.

Future Sight AR (Houston, TX.) –  Future Sight AR develops mixed reality software to help frontline workers in construction, manufacturing & defense be more productive without sacrificing safety. Their app digitizes and automates common job processes and infrequent, but high-risk tasks so that workers can complete tasks faster and with fewer man-hours. Our offering also includes a codeless web app and LMS so that teams can author and store procedures in under 5 minutes. Unlike other mixed reality solutions, we are hardware agnostic, cloud based and operate in dynamic, changing (and challenging) environments both on earth and in space.

Kontain (Palo Alto, CA.) – Kontain is a deep tech company founded by successful serial entrepreneurs with extensive experience in cloud computing infrastructure. Their vision is to make container-based computing as safe, fast, efficient, and low-cost as theoretically possible, in a way that doesn’t require developers, QA, DevOps, or DevSecOps to modify their software, tools, or processes.

Memfault (San Francisco, CA.) – Memfault is the first cloud-based device observability and diagnostics platform purpose-built for IoT products. Their mission is to bring the flexibility, speed, and innovation of software development to hardware development by enabling engineers and support teams to remotely debug issues, deploy OTA firmware updates, and continuously monitor fleets of connected devices at scale from one platform.

MetaPower (Seattle, WA.) – MetaPower develops mmWave wireless power systems that deliver real-time optimization at the edge for large industrial enterprises.  Our combination of mmWave power delivery with aggregated real-time data frees enterprises from the limitations of today’s wireless and copper-based sensor networks and allows them to reach their Industry 4.0 optimization goals.

Mixhalo (San Francisco, CA.) – Founded by Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger and renowned violinist Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger, Mixhalo is a no-latency, network-based technology that delivers pristine, high-quality audio (and other data) in real-time to attendees at concerts, sporting events, conferences, and any other live event where people gather to consume content. Clients and partners to date include: Aerosmith, Crypto.com Arena, Metallica, Outside Lands Music Festival, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Sting, and a number of teams across the NBA, NHL and MLS.

Mov.ai (Lisbon, Portugal) – Mov.ai’s robotics engine platform provides autonomous robot manufacturers everything they need to quickly build, deploy and operate enterprise grade robots.

Ocient (Chicago, IL.) – Ocient designs and deploys hyperscale data solutions that enable rapid analysis on trillions of data records at performance levels and costs previously unattainable. Ocient’s solutions are powered by a high-performance data warehouse that transforms, loads, stores, and analyzes massive structured and semi-structured data in interactive time on industry standard hardware. Ocient executes complex OLAP-style queries and machine learning 10x-50x faster than other solutions with the flexibility to deploy on-prem, in the cloud, or in the OcientCloud(TM

Privafy (Burlington, MA.) – Privafy is redefining how carriers, IoT device makers, and enterprises protect their Data-in-Motion. As sensitive business data traverses between locations, it’s increasingly at risk from many vectors and threat actors. Privafy’s security-as-a-service application secures data wherever it travels. The company’s cloud-native service integrates all the functionality of traditional point solutions, dramatically reducing the cost and complexity to provide comprehensive protection as data moves between locations, clouds, mobile devices, and IoT.

Shabodi (Toronto, ON, Canada) – Shabodi is developing a platform that helps enterprises, system integrators and telcos build & deploy next-generation applications on 5G. As enterprises invest in 5G networks, Shabodi’s Application Enablement Platform is critical for enterprises in Manufacturing, Transportation, Energy, Ports & Logistics roll-out new, next generation AI, Cloud-edge, AR/VR & IoT applications in a timely and cost-efficient manner that can leverage the full power of 5G.

Staex (Berlin, Germany) – Staex is a software platform that is tailored for the IoT industry and provides unique secure networking between devices and services, a secure blockchain backbone, and the freedom to install software where use cases need it.

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About 5G Open Innovation Lab

The 5G Open Innovation Lab is the nexus of a new-model ecosystem of startups, enterprise and industry partners, and investors who connect and collaborate to develop new technologies and solutions unleashing the power of edge computing and 5G.

The Lab is actively supported by founding, corporate and industry partners including Intel, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Dell Technologies, Amdocs, VMware, Avanade, F5, Spirent, Ericsson, CNH Industrial, Nokia, and Palo Alto Networks. The partners work directly with participating startups to provide business and technical mentorship and collaborate on potential proof of concept, go to market, and other engagements and opportunities.

Media Contact:

Josh Kerns

5G Open Innovation Lab

[email protected]