IAA MOBILITY: IAA Mobilitython connected startups with companies

In addition to the world's largest mobility and technology companies, 100 international startups presented their ideas for digital and climate-friendly mobility at IAA MOBILITY 2023. They had the opportunity to present themselves among the leading companies in the industry - and to take part in the IAA MOBILITYTHON innovation competition for the third time.  

The idea behind the competition, which was first launched by prototype.club in cooperation with the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) at the IAA MOBILITY 2021, is as follows Established companies present a small group of startups with a real-world development task that the startups must solve. Both sides benefit: The company does not have to wait a long time for an internal solution or search for an external service provider. And the participating startups gain valuable experience and contacts and, in the best case, take home a follow-up order. 

This year's participants included well-known companies such as BOSCH and TÜV NORD. Both companies asked the participating startups questions from their day-to-day business and addressed the challenges of digitalization, which they plan to implement with the best teams after the IAA MOBILITY.  

Niklas Appel, Head of Sales Non-Automotive & New Business BEI Bosch Automotive Aftermarket, explains: “We've participated in the IAA Mobilitython to find out more about the autonomous micromobility market. The IAA Mobilitython was a perfect opportunity for us as Bosch to enter and see how we can transfer our automotive technology into these other mobility segments. In the process, we also learned how differently startups approach these challenges of the future than we typically would." 

For example, startups such as sensmore, Connected Wise and Perciv AI presented working hardware and software prototypes for delivery robots equipped with radar and ultrasonic sensors at the BOSCH Challenge on the second day of IAA MOBILITY. The winner of the challenge was the startup DRAIVE. Niklas Appel: "Draive integrated both radar and ultrasound into their robot. They have clearly shown how they think about adding more features, how they can take the next step. They have also shown what lies between the real world that will come later and the mock-up. It's impressive what they have achieved in such a short time. 

At the TÜV NORD Challenge, nine international startups again presented their ideas for intelligent inspections for data synchronization between TÜV NORD and car dealerships and workshops. Roman Meier-Andrae, Head of IT & Digitalization at TÜV NORD Mobilität GmbH & Co. KG, explained: "We were thrilled, especially with the deep understanding of the solutions. We took away some excellent ieas, even beyond the winning pitch". As a result, TÜV NORD decided not only to sign a follow-up contract with the winning start-up Studicon, but also to pursue the ideas of DriveX and MMM Intelligence in order to integrate them into its business model. In the meantime, scoping workshops have been held with both teams to clarify the scope of the contract and the next steps.  

With the IAA Mobilitython, IAA MOBILITY and prototype.club have set themselves the goal of networking all players in the mobility industry. In addition to the innovation competition, the IAA Mobilitython booth provided a stage for exhibiting startups and hosted a networking evening as part of the IAA MOBILITY.