New realities – future of work, future of life
Handelsblatt and McKinsey Honor pioneers with The Spark- the German Digital Award and pair them up with economic figures.
MEET THE WINNERS OF 2019
Together, Handelsblatt and McKinsey honored the award winners of “The Spark – The German Digital Award” for a fourth time in front of an invited audience comprising 500 guests from politics, business, and science. Ten digital pioneer-businesses presented themselves at the “Station Berlin” to the audience. These businesses impressed the jury in particularly and therefore were awarded as the winners of “The Spark 2019”:
1. Blickfeld
Blickfeld develops LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors and software for environment perception. LiDAR is a method similar to radar that allows for optical measurement of distances and speeds. The difference is that LiDAR uses laser beams rather than radio waves. Thanks to our revolutionary, proprietary MEMS technology, Blickfeld can offer a cost-effective LiDAR sensor that is both high-performance and robust –perfect for mass market use.
2. Brighter AI
Brighter AI has developed anonymization technology for visual data based on deep learning: deep natural anonymization. Generative artificial intelligence takes personal information such as faces and car license plates and replaces it with simulated image data. This solution empowers companies to use publicly-recorded camera data for analytics and AI while being compliant with increasing data privacy regulations. Deep natural anonymization thus represents a unique innovation for the data protection market.
3. Ubimax
Brighter AI has developed anonymization technology for visual data based on deep learning: deep natural anonymization. Generative artificial intelligence takes personal information such as faces and car license plates and replaces it with simulated image data. This solution empowers companies to use publicly-recorded camera data for analytics and AI while being compliant with increasing data privacy regulations. Deep natural anonymization thus represents a unique innovation for the data protection market.
Female Founder: Anna Iarotska
Even today women in leadership positionsare underrepresented, especially in the start-up tech sector, female founders are rarely met. Therefore, this year for the first time Handelsblatt and McKinsey honored courageous digital revolutionists with the spezial prize „Female Founder“. Anna Iarotska wants to inspire children to get creative with technology. With her startup Robo Wunderkind she strives to become the leading provider of educationally valuable robotics and programming toys. Understanding how fast technologies are changing working practices – and that the people with technical know-how will be in even greater demand in the future, Anna would like to inspire children, especially girls, for MINT professions and provide them with essential skills for the job market of the future.
MEET THE FINALISTS 2019
Between April and June 2019, we looked for the best candidates. We are happy to announce following ten finalists 2019:
BITSTARS
HoloBuilder by bitstars is the fastest and most insightful solution for documenting construction progress and buildings in a secure SaaS cloud environment
BLICKFELD
Blickfeld enables autonomous driving for the mass market through scalable LiDAR sensor technology
BRIGHTER AI
With Deep Natural Anonymization, Brighter AI sets a new standard for public cameras, enabling data privacy and a connected world without contradictions
EYECANDYLAB
eyecandylab is the developer of augmen.tv, a platform that can display interactive augmented reality around videos and TV programs
HOLORIDE
Virtual Reality meets driving in real time – holoride enables a new, highly immersive entertainment experience for passengers
OCULAVIS
oculavis SHARE enables mechanical engineering and construction enterprises, to implement digital business models and innovative processes in their services
RIMASYS
RIMASYS offers lifelike training in trauma and orthopedics- the “flight simulator” for surgeons
UBIMAX
Ubimax is revolutionizing enterprises processes through wearable computing and augmented reality, helping mobile workers to focus on their tasks rather than time-consuming interaction with computers
USERLANE
Userlane provides companies with a navigation system for software, that allows users to understand and operate any software – without any training
YOU MAWO
YOU MAWO is a premium eyewear label, specialized in lightweight, high-quality eyewear with modern designs and the option of 100% customization using 3D Scans
THE Jury
In a multi-stage process, ten exciting finalists were selected, who presented their live pitches to our top-class jury on September 30th. The winners will be announced and honored at the award ceremony on 21st November.
WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOU
As finalist or winner of The Spark – The German Digital Award you will gain many benefits …
OVERVIEW OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS
THE SPARK SUCCESS STORIES
Many of our former The Spark winners and finalists experienced strong growth since their participation at our award.
Latest The Spark success stories at a glance:
KONUX
In 2016, the first year of The Spark, our prominent jury honored the startup KONUX as a winner. In February 2019, KONUX raised further USD 13 million in an extension of its Series B financing round, bringing the total amount raised in its Series B financing round to USD 33 million.
Octimine
In 2017, the start-up Octimine was honored as a finalist of The Spark – The German Digital Award. In November 2018 the innovative provider of semantic patent search services was acquired by Dennemeyer Group.
Relayr
In 2016, the startup relayr was also awarded as winner of The Spark. Only two years later, in September 2018, the company, valued at USD 300 million, was acquired by Munich Re.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Handelsblatt Sepcial
In our Special on Handelsblatt Online you can find interesting articles about The Spark – The German Digital Award and this year’s topic „New realities – future of work, future of life“.
The Spark Review
Since 2016 Handelsblatt and McKinsey award The Spark – The German Digital Award. Find out more about the winners, the jury and the finalists of the last years here.
Topic: New realities
You would like to learn more about this years’s topic “New realities – future of work, future of life”. Please find further information and studies from the McKinsey experts here.
PATRONAGE
Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi)
