- The UK, USA, Germany and Spain are the countries boasting the greatest presence at the event
- The competition will reward the most important startups in three categories: Disrupted by Mobile, The Internet of Things and Digital Media
- The cofounder of F6s and Tech.eu, Jon Bradford, will serve as the competition's MC
Barcelona, February 8, 2017.- The 4YFN Awards, the mobile startups competition to be held at 4 Years From Now (4YFN) from February 27 to March 1, has concluded the candidate registration process for this fourth edition after the contest received entries from startups from more than 100 different cities in 45 countries. As in previous years, the 4YFN Awards recognise the most innovative startups in 3 categories, in accordance with the themes of the event: Disrupted by Mobile (27 February), the Internet of Things (February 28) and Digital Media (March 1). The 24 finalists – 8 in each of the categories – were selected by a panel composed of experts from the fields of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Finance. Among them is the cofounder of F6s and Tech.eu, Jon Bradford, who will be the event's MC.
At this edition of the awards the Communications and Financial sectors will predominate, accounting for the largest number of registered startups. Also worthy of note are entrepreneurs in the area of Cooperation, and a boom in chatbots. Payment systems featuring truly innovative ideas and influencer management solutions are other issues with a pronounced presence at the contest.
The UK, USA, Germany and Spain are the main countries represented, leading the competition's ranking of candidates. There have also been numerous Asian entries, as well as from other European countries. Amongst the 24 finalists, the cities of London, Madrid, Valencia, Berlin and New York have more than 2 representatives each in this last phase of the contest.
4YFN Awards 2017: The Finalists
The Disrupted by Mobile category will kick off the 2017 4YFN Awards, with participation by 8 finalists, who will present new tools for traditional industry in response to the advent of mobile technologies in its business environments.
- WeFarm, London: an application for farmers in remote areas providing them with information to improve management of their fields.
- Reply.ai, New York: a platform to automate and manage conversations with customers.
- The Superbook by Sentio, San Francisco: a startup that transforms smartphones into laptops through the Universal Laptop Dock for Android devices.
- Wiidii, Bordeaux: the first hybrid personal assistant combining artificial intelligence and human experts.
- Openback - Smart Notifications, Dublin: an app that enhances the relationship with the user by sending him (active) push notifications
- Bitrefill, Stockholm: an application that makes it possible to recharge prepaid mobile phones using bitcoins, from anywhere in the world.
- Wherehouse, Boston: a startup that unlocks localised information for mobile network operators.
- Splitfy by Confetti Ventures SL, Valencia: an online platform for the group management of The old "cash kitty" goes online in a secure environment.
During the second day the competition will be centred on the Internet of Things, to feature the latest trends related to the connectivity of objects and sensors:
- eWATERpay, Newbury: an application that combines mobile money, contactless payment and IoT devices for the transparent and accountable collection of user fees to ensure sustainable water maintenance in needy areas of Africa.
- hu:toma, London: a marketplace platform that creates, monetises and fosters learning through chatbots (human-computer interaction).
- Piquant Co Ltd, Seoul: a solution that, through a liquid scanner (spectroscopy), detects harmful chemicals in order to help boost public health and safety.
- Heptasense, Lisbon: a startup that, through gesture recognition and motion analysis, enhances the experience of each user.
- Aquabit Spirals, Tokyo: an online tool that makes possible the delivery of digital content from any physical object to one's smartphone.
- SmartTap Ltd, Haifa: a startup that aims to be a "digital shower", incorporating reduced water and energy consumption standards through the Cloud and machine learning.
- Moodnode, Berlin: a smart application that allows you to control home lighting devices from your smartphone.
- Breeze, Hamburg: a network of environmental sensors that provides useful information for decision-making related to air quality.
The last prize corresponds to the area of Digital Media, with 8 projects proposing new ways to exploit, generate and consume content. The finalists, to compete on March 1, are:
- Kasitoko, New York: technology aimed at influencers that makes it possible to manage networks and programme sales campaigns in order to optimise ROI.
- TheMotion, Madrid: a tool for companies that creates video ads on products in their catalogues, quickly and easily.
- Fluzo, Madrid: a platform that digitises television viewers, converting the content and audience into actionable information, making it possible to know who users are and what they do.
- Lobster, London: an app that enables brands, agencies and media to manage visual content downloads without copyright problems.
- Influencity, Madrid: a startup that analyses influencers from around the world to carry out marketing campaigns in a solid and effective way.
- Itcher | Entertainment Discovery, Barcelona: personal entertainment assistant. This app uses the power of communities to generate recommendations based on like-minded users.
- Medianalitics Berlin, Berlin: an IT company that provides a flexible solution in the Cloud to gauge the brand's presence in real time.
- Relendo, Valencia: an online platform that allows users to rent personal products from nearby people, and rental companies to rent out their products online.