Sunday 9^th March 2014: The Prime Minister, speaking at CeBIT in Hannover today, has given further details of a new £1m Launchpad competition seeking world-leading innovation in Internet of Things related technologies.

The European Internet of Things grant fund will bring together Tech City UK, the individuals and clusters of digital companies in London and Cambridge and the Technology Strategy Board to identify and support innovative, early and growth stage businesses through a competitive programme. It will offer:

• funding for R&D IoT projects to de-risk the development of the most innovative technology;
• mentoring support to enhance and accelerate the entrepreneurial capabilities of these businesses; and
• connections between small and large businesses and access to the investment community to help realise the growth ambitions of these exciting new technology-led businesses.

Plans for a new Tech City UK Launchpad were initially outlined in December 2013. Tech City UK and the Technology Strategy Board now confirmed that the funding will be allocated to early and growth stage SMEs to help them develop innovative projects related to the IoT, improve their growth capabilities and attract more investment.

Tech City UK will work closely with the Technology Strategy Board, digital entrepreneurs and the tech communities in London and Cambridge to offer business and investment support to competition participants, creating an IoT ‘sub-cluster’ drawing on the software and marketing expertise of London and the hardware and network expertise of Cambridge.

Further details on the Launchpad competition and the application route can be found at: https://www.innovateuk.org/-/launchpads.