At our 2019 Demo Day, we recently announced ten promising project proposals will advance to the pilot phase of our StartUp Hub accelerator initiative. The projects, which were developed in close coordination with MTS advisors, fall into three broad categories: (1) HR Tech aimed at improving employee training, hiring, and wellness; (2) FinTech aimed at deploying AI and accelerating billing; and (3) Esports aimed at video streaming monetization and cloud gaming.

The 10 pilot projects will be launched this fall under the third StartUp Hub intake cycle, with funding and other resources provided by MTS. Upon successful pilot conclusion, the project teams will be able to compete for large-scale deployment at MTS under a long-term contract.

The teams presented their projects in front of a public audience, as well as a panel of judges composed of senior MTS leaders. The event, which was held at the Deworkacy coworking center in Moscow, drew thought leaders from across Russia’s thriving homegrown entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Dmitry Kurin, Director of MTS StartUp Hub, commented: “Our open innovation system is rapidly evolving and unlocking new opportunities for collaboration between MTS and high-tech startups. Over the past six months, we’ve set up our own corporate venture fund, as well as expanded our international footprint and launched a 5G technology incubator. These steps are enabling us to build long-term partnerships with both local and global innovation leaders. We’re happy to have selected 10 promising Russian startups to launch pilot projects that will leverage MTS’s scale and infrastructure. And we are ready to continue to support the best of them once the pilots demonstrate successful results.”

The MTS StartUp Hub accelerator is a cornerstone of our engagement with young tech companies. The goal of the program is to intensively develop startup teams and prepare their products for piloting through a combination of mentoring, training, and expert support. Over its three cycles, the MTS StartUp Hub has received applications from over 1,500 teams, with 40 completing the initial development phase, 33 launched as pilots, and 15 selected for scaling across the company.

Projects selected in 2019 to advance to the pilot stage:

HR Tech

1. SpeakerGuru – a VR service for remote employee training
2. Sola – an online wellness service to boost workforce productivity via healthy living
3. SkyTrainer – a simulator to train customer-facing employees on high-intensity interactions
4. Speedhire – an online platform to evaluate potential job candidates

Esports

1. Gmoji – a service to allow viewers to send streamers gift certificates
2. Overpro – a platform for white-label tournaments and leagues
3. Challenge.Live – a service to enable viewers to engage streamers with challenges
4. Loudplay – a cloud gaming platform

FinTech

1. Fabrique.ai – a real-time AI/ML data processing system
2. Seeneco – a service to shorten B2B payment processing from days to seconds