First Fully Assisted AI Start-up Accelerator Nr.10

Last week, the World Innovations Forum attended and exhibited at the World AI Cannes Festival (WAICF). Among the many groundbreaking developments showcased at the event, we were proud to reintroduce our Accelerator program, now infused with the transformative power of AI.

Our Accelerator program, once called the “West-Point for Entrepreneurs,” has been reinvented to meet the demands of the ever-evolving tech landscape. Batch 10 marks a significant milestone in our journey, as we embrace Generative AI to propel startups towards unprecedented levels of success.

Since its inception in 2014, our Accelerator has been instrumental in guiding startups from the ideation stage to market fruition. With the emergence of Generative AI, we recognized an opportunity to revolutionize our approach. The Batch 10 Accelerator program combines traditional entrepreneurship methodologies with the efficiency and speed afforded by AI. What once took weeks can now be accomplished in hours, thanks to the transformative capabilities of AI. 

Registration is open and spots are limited! Join us in shaping the future of innovation and securing your spot among a select group of visionary entrepreneurs. From the 8 billion people on earth we have only a few thousand really successful entrepreneurs and you should be one of them!

Apply Here:

https://wiforum.org/wif10-accelerator/

Details of First Fully Assisted Start-up Accelerator 

This three-month hybrid program offers a unique blend of in-person and online sessions, culminating in a Demo Day where startups showcase their progress to potential investors.

Start Date: August 26th 2024

Our Accelerator starts with a one-week in-person Boot Camp, taking place in Zürich, Switzerland. During this week, we will delve into several topics essential for entrepreneurial success, including Gen-AI driven business building, Entrepreneurship Pure, Opportunity Discovery, and more.

Week 2-11 

After completing the Boot Camp, our experts will guide you through online mentoring and workshops. This will include Solution-Building, Go-to-Market Strategies, and Traction & Growth Hacking. 

End Date: November 22nd 2024

The last week of the Accelerator Program will conclude with a pitch event communicated through global media channels (Twitch) and with VC Jury members.

We will meet back in Zürich, Switzerland. 

Who is this Accelerator for? 

It’s for teams that have already laid the groundwork for a promising venture, ready to scale and make a meaningful impact on society. We seek bold visionaries with the drive and determination to succeed, supported by diverse teams comprising both business and engineering expertise.

If your startup meets the following criteria

1. Registered within the past five years
2. Possesses a bold vision targeting a sizable market
3. Boasts a stellar founders team committed full-time to the venture

we invite you to join us on this transformative journey towards entrepreneurial excellence. Together, let’s redefine the future of innovation and shape a world where visionary ideas thrive. Apply now and become part of the next generation of successful entrepreneurs. 

Economics

1. Register as an individual member for WIForum (Membership Fee €75)
2. There is no cost for applying. However, start-ups with an invitation to the Accelerators will be asked to contribute with an €250 entry fee, which covers the Accelerator participation, including prompts and use of GPTBlue. It remains the responsibility of the participants to cover costs for travel expenses and accommodation.

WIForum Exhibiting at the World Artificial Intelligence Cannes Festival

We are excited to announce that the World Innovations Forum will be exhibiting at the World Artificial Intelligence Cannes Festival!🌟 After a few years, we will be reintroducing our Start-up Accelerator Program, but this time powered by Artificial Intelligence. WIF is set to revolutionize Start-up Accelerators with this upcoming program, integrating the cutting-edge GPTBlue AI tool. This initiative promises unprecedented acceleration in both speed and quality, as AI permeates the entire process. Join us in Cannes and discover more about the program as well as how AI will help you and your start-up grow in no time!

The AI Start-up Accelerator will begin mid-2024 with an initial 5-day bootcamp, in Switzerland. The four-month program includes frequent physical and virtual meetings, providing opportunities for progress exchange with coaches and peers. The program concludes with a pitch event communicated through global media channels (Twitch) and with VC Jury members. More details will come soon…

Booth Nr. S29

Date: 8-10th of February, 2024

Time: 8:30 – 18:30

Location: Palais des Festivals et Congrès, Cannes, France

For more info, visit WAICF’s website: https://www.worldaicannes.com/en

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Many people believe that Artificial Intelligence is a “super hype” making its way into everybody’s daily use just in the last one or two years. Looking back on how Artificial Intelligence developed, we find some famous applications entering the market many years ago, with some even emerging in the last century:

IBM Deep Blue (1997): Deep Blue, an IBM supercomputer, defeated the reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov. This event highlighted the strategic and analytical capabilities of AI in a complex game.

IBM Watson (2010): IBM Watson, a cognitive computing system, gained attention by winning Jeopardy! against human champions. Watson’s ability to understand and process natural language has since been applied in various fields, including healthcare and business.

Siri (2011): Believe it or not but Siri was introduced more than 20 years ago! Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri, marked a significant advancement in natural language processing and voice recognition, paving the way for widespread integration of AI in consumer devices.

Tesla Autopilot (2014): Still a lot to debate but Tesla’s Autopilot feature showcases AI applications in autonomous driving that were  launched ten years ago. It uses neural networks and machine learning to enable self-driving capabilities in Tesla vehicles.

Amazon Echo (2014): Controversially debated when launched. The introduction of Amazon Echo and its virtual assistant, Alexa, marked a significant advancement in bringing AI into households. It demonstrated how AI could be integrated seamlessly into daily life for tasks like voice-activated commands and smart home control.

DeepDream (2015): Developed by Google, DeepDream is an AI program that uses neural networks to interpret and modify images. It gained popularity for its unique and sometimes surreal visualizations.

Google Photos (2015): Google Photos uses AI for facial recognition, content categorization, and intelligent search. It revolutionized photo management by providing users with a smart and organized way to store and find their photos.

AlphaGo (2016): Developed by DeepMind, AlphaGo is an AI program that made headlines by defeating the world champion Go player. This demonstrated the capability of AI to master complex games and strategic thinking.

Microsoft’s Azure Cognitive Services (2019): Microsoft’s suite of AI services, including computer vision, speech recognition, and language understanding, has been widely adopted across industries for various applications, showcasing the impact of AI in diverse fields.

OpenAI’s GPT-3 (2020): GPT-3, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, is a language model developed by OpenAI. It’s one of the largest and most powerful language models, showcasing the capabilities of AI in natural language understanding and generation. Nowadays, you hardly find anybody who hasn’t used GPT-3 at least once…

The above is  just a small collection of applications using AI. This retrospective tells us that even in the world of AI, things need time to develop until they grow into a successful innovation. However, exciting times lie ahead of us. As the genuine “super hype”, AI innovations will likely face challenges entering markets successfully without effective AI implementation.

Achieving major breakthroughs in space exploration relies on the continuous development of new innovations. While base technologies have been known for decades, the exploration of space demands new advancements to improve travel to and from space, as well as sustainable habitation. Similarly, this holds true for scientific projects or manufacturing plants situated on other planets or the moon, where leveraging diverse gravitational conditions and available resources becomes indispensable. This blog explores key space technologies crucial for advancing space exploration and examines their current state.

Reusable Rocket Technology: Companies like SpaceX have been pioneering the development of reusable rocket technology, aiming to reduce the cost of space travel. The success of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets has significantly impacted the economics of launching payloads into space. However, setbacks in 2023 may delay breakthrough innovations temporarily.

Advancements in Satellite Technology: Smaller, more efficient satellites are becoming a reality, increasing the number of satellites in orbit and expanding their applications. Notable developments, such as Starlink, showcase the latest advancements in satellite technology with broader implications for civil and military applications.

International Collaboration: Countries around the world continue to collaborate on space missions and research. The International Space Station (ISS) serves as a prominent example of international cooperation in space exploration. However, in 2023 NASA decided to discontinue the ISS program after over 20 years of operation.

Space Exploration Missions: There have been several ambitious missions to explore other celestial bodies. Notable examples include NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars, the Artemis program aiming to return humans to the Moon, and the study of asteroids and comets.

Advancements in Propulsion Systems: Researchers are actively developing new propulsion technologies, such as ion propulsion and nuclear propulsion, to enable faster and more efficient space travel. These advancements are critical for future deep-space exploration missions.

Commercial Space Tourism: Several private companies are working on making space travel accessible to civilians. Suborbital space flights for tourists have garnered attention, and ongoing efforts explore the potential for establishing commercial space stations, opening up new possibilities for space tourism.

Space-based Renewable Energy: Exploration of concepts involving the collection of solar power in space and its transmission to Earth has the potential to revolutionise sustainable energy generation. This innovative approach holds promise for meeting future energy needs.

Space Debris Management: As space debris poses an increasing threat, efforts are underway to develop technologies for tracking, mitigating, and cleaning up debris in Earth’s orbit. These initiatives aim to ensure the sustainability of space activities and mitigate potential hazards.

The development of innovations in space technologies is undeniably complex and faces challenges in securing funding. Despite the slower-than-expected progress, the allure of space exploration, coupled with enormous economic potentials in the long run, ensures a steady and promising trajectory. Increased international collaboration across all levels will be crucial in driving these innovations forward, marking a transformative era in the exploration of space.

Virtual Regatta Inshore is an online sailing game that allows players to compete against each other in virtual regattas using realistic boat models and physics. It falls under the category of eSailing, which refers to organised competitive sailing events conducted in a virtual environment. Virtual Regatta Inshore has gained popularity as a way for sailing enthusiasts to engage with the sport digitally. Besides the annual World Championship to find the best eSailor on this globe, a Nations Cup has been launched by the World Sailing international governing body for the sport of sailing in general. What are the main factors of Virtual Regatta Inshore, which make this game a successful innovation?

As Virtual Regatta Inshore serves as a tool to promote sailing in general, it attracts on one hand “real” on water sailors, but also engages a broader audience, including those who may not have access to physical boats or water bodies suitable for sailing.

The accessibility of the game attracts people of all ages and skill levels. Players can experience the thrill of competitive sailing from the comfort of their homes using computers, tablets, or smartphones.

As a global community, the virtual regatta platform fosters a global community of sailors, allowing players from different parts of the world to compete against each other. This international aspect promotes a sense of camaraderie and friendly competition.

Training and the development of skills are another factor eSailing is providing.  An opportunity for sailors to enhance their skills and knowledge of racing tactics. In combination with the ease of accessibility, everybody can compete against the best of this sport. The game’s realistic physics and virtual race scenarios allow players to practice and refine their sailing techniques.

Besides Fleet Races, where individuals compete against each other, the World Sailing Nations Cup is an event organised by World Sailing, the international governing body for the sport of sailing. While the Nations Cup historically refers to match racing events held in physical boats, World Sailing has expanded its scope to include eSailing Nations Cup as a Team Race where a national team competes against a team of another nation. This provides a platform for sailors from different countries to represent their nations in virtual regattas, which fosters a sense of national pride and creates a unique competitive environment. 

The inclusion of eSailing events by World Sailing, such as the eSailing Nations Cup, elevates the status of virtual sailing to an internationally recognised level. This recognition reflects the growing significance of eSailing in the overall sailing community.

While eSailing has its distinct characteristics, it serves as a complementary element to traditional sailing. It can attract new enthusiasts to the sport, and some sailors may transition from virtual regattas to physical competitions.

The development of virtual sailing platforms represents a technological innovation within the sailing community. It showcases how technology can be integrated into sports to enhance engagement and accessibility.

Fuelled by the facts mentioned above, Virtual Regatta Inshore and eSailing, in general, play a valuable role in promoting sailing, providing a platform for global competition, and offering a unique way for enthusiasts to engage with the sport. The inclusion of eSailing events by World Sailing reflects a recognition of the importance of virtual sailing within the broader sailing community. No wonder that the increasing number of eSailers make this innovation an ongoing success.