As the shift towards an ecosystem-based organisation is at the heart of VINCI Energies’ digital agenda, the Startup Speed Dating event was also subject to further development. In order to continuously increase the level of innovation within the Group, and in particular with a focus on customer-oriented solutions, the start-up collaborations that emerge from the event should be tailored to an already operational solution from the VINCI Energies network.

This year, for example, the future topic of 5G campus networks was placed at the centre of the event in close coordination with the VINCI Energies brand Axians. Specifically, Axians’ 5G Campus Network solution provides companies with their own modern mobile network that enables IT systems and operational technology (OT) to work together more quickly, efficiently and reliably.

Against this backdrop, the search began for start-ups to work with to expand VINCI Energies’ portfolio of offerings in the area of Industry 4.0 applications and infrastructure via the 5G campus network. The VINCI Energies network’s extensive infrastructure expertise already enables customers to obtain cross-problem solutions from a single source.

In the cooperation with start-ups, the goal is therefore to continuously expand the existing expertise: In this way, a unique complete portfolio for industrial customers is to be developed in cooperation on concrete use cases and solutions and with all interested Group divisions.

After a screening of around 200 start-ups, a total of 60 of them were registered and from these, 15 innovative young companies were finally invited to the Speed Dating. In addition to Germany and Austria, start-ups from Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom were also represented this year. The participants had five to seven minutes to present their solution in a pitch, followed by a ten-minute Q&A session with VINCI Energies decision-makers. Five start-ups were divided into three groups on the topics of “Logistics & Supply Chain”, “Maintenance & Inspection” and “Smart Factory”.

“For us, cooperation with start-ups is a guarantee for a continuously high level of innovation. That is why actively establishing contact via Startup Speed Dating is also one of the cornerstones of our comprehensive ecosystem strategy. The Industrial 5G Campus Challenge, as the format of our Startup Connect programme, has all the ingredients to help us move forward innovatively,” says Sascha Bäcker, VINCI Energies CDO for DACH and Eastern Europe. “The matchmaking between startups and our business units, coupled with the necessary breeze of inspiration and the high level of maturity of the selected startups was a complete success!“

– Sascha Bäcker | CDO at VINCI Energies Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe

The further development of the format was very positively received by all participants and once again ensured a constructive exchange between the decision-makers from VINCI Energies and the participating start-ups. The verticalisation of the Startup Speed Dating to a current topic such as 5G campus networks and specifically to a solution that is already being used in practice, such as Axians’ 5G campus network, also enabled the start-ups to prepare for their pitch in a more targeted manner in order to dock with their solutions into the ecosystem of the global system integrator. The pitching start-ups rated the Speed Dating as a great opportunity to present themselves, praised the perfect organisation and emphasised the great help as an interface to the market.

The next steps are currently being planned in order to transfer the solutions presented by the young companies into a joint portfolio of offerings around Axians’ 5G campus network and thus be able to offer customers additional innovative services.