IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced this week the selection of five Brazilian startup companies which are considered “helpful to build smart cities”. These startups are finalists of an event called Smart Camp, which will happen on November 10th and 11th , in Rio de Janeiro, and will unite government and business leaders. According to IBM, the finalists developed technologies to improve infrastructure, health care, economic development and food safety. The winner of the Brazilian version of Smart Camp will be qualified to World Finals to compete for the title of “IBM Global Entrepreneur of the year”.
The company points out that “New Smarter Cities” technology market opportunities would jump to US$ 57 billion until 2014 increasing 18 percent from last year. “Helping cities address their biggest challenges requires rapid innovation and an in depth understanding of multiple industries and the latest technology,” said Jim Corgel, general manager of Developer Relations at IBM, in a press release.
Brazil is regarded by IBM as a key growth market and is part of a larger effort to engage entrepreneurs in emerging markets, including also India, China, and Turkey.
Check the startups:
Easy Taxi: This solution makes possible for people to call a taxi with a click on their smartphone. The app finds and calls the closest taxi, calculates the fare and processes of payment online. Easy Taxis claims to save time, reduce security concerns as well as to reduce fuel and greenhouse gas emissions.
IDXP: This startup installs sensors in stores and shopping carts to make retailers understand consumer behavior in real time. The sensors are developed to identify the areas of the store which have more traffic and and where people stay more time observing the products. IDXP was designed to retailers improve their sales through noting the shopping experiences and trends.
Mobwise: Mobwise’s mobile application combines various sources of information on traffic conditions including real time data generated by users. It suggests the best route to a destination and offers rewards such as discounts at partner establishments for users who contribute to the application.
Opara: Opara is operated by smartphones, tablets and computers food and was done to allow more flexibility and reliability throughout the sale process, for the producer, trader and the buyer. Removing the need to monitor the production process manually, avoiding, for instance, a food born illness.
Prime Health: Prime Health tries to improve health and reduce the cost of treating chronic diseases through business Analytics. The system reviews patient profiles and identifies the potential risk people to some chronic diseases. Based on this information, healthcare professionals can help patients with preventive treatments and monitoring to prevent the development of the diseases.
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