On May 16th, experts from industry, research, VC and the startup ecosystem gathered to discuss opportunities for IoT and AI at the Chicago Connectory and hear from an expert panel at The Internet of Intelligent Things event. The agenda featured a keynote talk “Investing in Startup innovation to support the Intelligent Enterprise” by Ram Jambunathan, SVP & Managing Director of SAP.iO. Ram discussed how the SAP.iO Fund invests in early-stage start-ups in the Seed, Pre-Series A and Series A funding rounds that can leverage SAP APIs, data, technologies, or business content to drive significant value for SAP’s customers.
The Internet of things needs to be intelligent, as the true value of IoT is not only making things connected, but also bringing intelligence to these devices. We are now at the cusp of AI and IoT moving from science and research into wide-spread adoption, with a tremendous impact on business models, product/service strategy and process automation. The Connectory and SAP.iO hosted this discussion about what “IoT meets AI” means, and how corporations engage with startups to bring these practical applications to the enterprise.
Speaker Overview:
Key Note Speaker: Ram Jambunathan
SVP & Managing Director of SAP.iO
Ram is SVP and Managing Director of SAP.iO, SAP’s business unit that invests in and incubates startup innovation to strategically expand SAP’s ecosystem around SAP data sets, technologies, and APIs. Ram is responsible for both the SAP.iO Foundries, a global network of top-tier startup programs that provide access to SAP APIs, technologies, and customers,
Moderator: Dennis Böecker Connectory Founder + Bosch Global Lead IT Innovation
As Global Lead IT Innovation, Dennis Boecker is responsible for the global IT innovation team that fosters the IoT initiative within Bosch. Using lean startup practices and design thinking approaches, the IT innovation organization facilitates company-wide IoT innovation within Bosch. Within this role, Dennis leads the Chicago Connectory, a new center for IoT co-creation in the Midwest. The Chicago Connectory is a co-creation space that brings together startups, universities, and other corporate partners to drive IoT business models and aims to establish a strong local IoT ecosystem.
Further Panel Speakers:
Sean Chou, CEO of Catalytic
Sean helped start, build, and sell Fieldglass as the chief technology officer (CTO) before it was bought out by SAP. He is now the CEO and co-founder of Catalytic, a company helping people, bots, and AI work better together. Sean is a SaaS pioneer, tech nerd, productivity junkie, and startup builder. He also is the occasional investor and advisor for other projects.
Rahul Kapoor, Global Head, Services and Engineering Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence
Rahul Kapoor is the Global Head of Services and Engineering at Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence. He leads a team of data scientists responsible for applying Big Data and Machine Learning technology to extract business value across various domains including Connected Services, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Engineering. Prior to this role
Megan Patel, VP Product at Swipesense
Megan leads the overall design and development of SwipeSense Inc. She manages product platform strategy, and leads processes to generate, prioritize, and qualify new product concepts for commercial viability that has transformed a single product startup into a platform company. Her time at IDEO, University of Chicago Booth, and a tech startup has given her a unique perspective on how to balance desirability with technical feasibility and critical business metrics.
There was a lively discussion with the panel and participants about innovation in this arena. The event was particularly helpful in positioning SAP as an innovation leader for the intelligent enterprise.
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