An overview of the start-up scene. We are still looking for the unicorn
Mergers, exits to big companies, FinTech triumphs and new prospects for accelerators. We check what is happening on the Polish start-up scene. Do we already have a unicorn in Poland, a start-up worth more than a billion dollarsów.
New year bringsóthere are a lot of significant changes for someóof young companies. Picodi decided not to limit itself only to codeóThe company has launched a website with discounts in online stores. Marketing agency Imagine the Future in the new year already belongs to Warsaw-based spóCloud Technologies. The company hopes that it will now improve sales of its UnBlock – program, whichór bypasses ad-block securityów. SEO specialists Positionly have teamed up with medióin social media – Monitori, creating one new brand – Unamo. Positionly has previously teamed up with conversion and UX experts – UsabilityTools. Unamo will therefore offer a wide range of marketing tools to interested. Cracow-based manufacturer of 3D printers, Sinterit, received 1.1 millóin euros from the German company FIT AG for a partóin the company.
FinTech in the spotlight
No shortage of successóin the FinTech industry. PKO BP has acquired ZenCard, a capital city start-up, który integrates róIt also makes the whole process simpler for both the customer and the merchant. PKO BP hopes that the acquisition of ZenCard technology will allow the introduction of a new standard on the market based on loyalty programs supported by any card of any bank. Additionally, the results of the CEE Fintech Survey 2017 clearly identified Poland as a FinTech leader in the CEE region. The authors of this analysis emphasize that in our country we have perfectly prepared ground for the development of the productóin this type and add that global players often choose Poland to conduct authoritative testsóin related to the FinTech industry. I also wrote more about this topic here.
Companies reach out
The example of PKO BP and ZenCard is not an isolated one. More and more concernsóin shows interest in the start-up scene. Lotos, for example, has included active support for the following years in its strategyóooperation with young companies. A similar declaration was made by PKN Orlen. Mobile network operators are not passive eitheróThe company has also offered solid support to the Polish start-up scene. Another conference of this industry is to be held at the beginning of March – PLNOG. The organizers want the representatives of the start-upóThe Polish entrepreneurs had the opportunity to meet the representatives of the leading Polish operatorsóand establish joint loyalty programs with the cardócollaboration. Also in March, Orange will announce the finalist for theóin the Orange Fab program, whichóThe winners will be able to get a closer look at the daily operations of the telecom giant.
International competitions
Several domestic start-upsóThe company has participated in international competitions. Cart Defender made it to the finals of the StartPlanetNI gas pedal tournament in Belfast. Cart Defender uses artificial intelligence to communicate storeóon the internet with customers. L’Oréal and London-based gas pedal FoundersFactory has offered financial support to Polish company Cosmose. Such a challengeóOnly four other start-ups were awarded in the competition organized by these two brands. Cosmose is a provider of a solution thatóre allows to broadcast online ads to customersóin storeóin stationary. Nexbio has won the Polish edition of the Chivas The Venture competition and will compete for the first time in Polandótce by a million dollarsóin the global race in the USA. A start-up from Lublin conducts genetic tests, whichóre have pomóc in detecting plant disease in its early stages. Its innovative approach may prove to be salutary for farmersóin the world.
MIT Enterprise Forum Poland r acceleration programóThe Polish start-up scene has also offered solid support. He recently selected 23 companies thatóCosmose is a provider of a solution, which will take part in special trainings devoted to the efficient development of start-ups. Five of them will also go to workshops at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The foundation has divided all 23 entities into 5 róThe start-up from Lublin conducts genetic tests that are adapted to the needs of its customersólna. The following solutions are worth mentioning: Nu Delta – reading invoice information via smartphone, Predictail – predicting machine failures using Big Data analysis, Cycle – An app that monitors your ovulation cycle and helps you get pregnant, Vortex Oil Engineering – increasing oil recovery efficiency by changing the properties of technical water, IC Solutions – pen to digitize the documentów. It is worth mentioning that the MIT Enterpise Forum Poland foundation received funding under the governmental program Scale Up.
The Heart Warsaw – new space
Another important project is the opening of a new space for start-ups in Warsawóin the region. Under the patronage of real estate development company Ghelamco spóD-RAFT has provided nearly 2,000 employees with. meteróThe Heart Warsaw will be a new space that will both. Location is primarily intended to be a hub for startups and large enterprises. The Heart Warsaw is to provide mature start-ups with assistance in development and establishing contactsóin with larger companies. Announced several róThe Heart of Warsaw programóin acceleration. Hardware support was offered by Samsung. Mastercard, któPredictail participated in a closed beta test of the new tool with larger companiesóThe Heart Warsaw, the founder of the project, will support the developmentój FinTech sector activities.
As you can see, the Polish start-up scene is booming. FinTech industry comes to the fore here, but more and more often we are dealing with solutions from the field of biotechnology, communication, advertising, health or energy. According to Deloitte, in 2023. Start-ups will create more than 2.2 billion PLN of added value in our economy and provide more than 50 thousand. new jobs.