The eight Luxembourg start-ups participating in the prestigious CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas from 9 to 12 January were unveiled during an event at the private design club “House 17”. The selection of these young companies was made jointly by the EAEC (European American Enterprise Council) and Luxinnovation. It is the first time that Luxembourg will be present at CES, currently the most important international exhibition dedicated to technological innovation.
The 8 selected start-ups
Aiva – an Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution capable of automatically composing soundtracks for films, video games, commercials according to predefined parameters. “Video games can last for over 20 hours but the soundtrack usually only has a length of 2 hours. Therefore the gaming industry has an increasing demand of composed music”, explained Pierre Barreau, CEO of AIVA.
CarPay-Diem – a service currently being deployed that makes it possible to activate any petrol pump via a simple smartphone or a connected car, and then manage the payment from inside the car. Frédéric Stiernon, founder and CEO of CarPay-Diem created 18 month ago, stated that the first gas stations are already connected in Belgium, France and Germany. “Luxembourg and Great Britain will follow in the beginning of 2018. We are also working on the integration of chargers for electric vehicles and target 100,000 connected stations.”
CoinPlus – a company providing payments by crypto currency. “Our product developments are guided by the question: How can we easily invest in crypto currencies?” explained Yves-Laurent Kayan, strategic director of CoinPlus. “The answers is crypto bars, the codes engraved on physical products. They solve the problem in a simple and sustainable way.
Digital Devotion Group – The company has developed VR Time Travel, a unique virtual reality application that makes it possible for users to travel through a city in the past as well as in the future. “We have developed the first vehicle based on virtual reality,” said Michael Neidhöfer, partner and COO of DDG. “The City of Luxembourg has served us as Proof of Concept, as we virtually restored district of Pfaffenthal as it was in 1886. We hope that one day, all the cities in the world will be able to offer such a virtual visit in time.”
Fundsquare – A user-owned and user-governed platform for investment fund order routing and information services. “Blockchain is known to simplify the distribution chain, especially at the back-office level,” says Paolo Brignardello, Head of Product Management and Marketing Initiative at Fundsquare. “Blockchain federates an entire existing ecosystem, but still needs to adapt to these new technologies. Our focus lies on transparency, efficiency and interoperability. ”
Motion S – a solution providing information and data to insurance companies and users on their way of driving. Guido Von Scheffer, CEO of the company, explained: “Working with innovative telematics tools can reduce the costs of car mobility. We collect the data and increase these values by using geolocalisation. In total, more than 50 telematic parameters are taken into account.”
Postmii – an application allowing for the creation and mailing of a new generation of postcards and souvenirs via augmented reality technologies. “We have developed a solar-powered, energy-efficient tricycle that can print and ‘post’ your card,” said Kevin Colinet, co-founder of Postmii. “It is also possible to send connected postcards, which can be received, scanned and viewed in augmented reality.”
Realab – the company has developed Virtelio, a VR authoring software enabling anyone to create and experience interactive non-linear VR movies with multiple storylines in just a few simple clicks. “The interactivity of Virtelio is thus based on unconscious decisions,” said Jerry Wagner (Realab). “Immersion is complete and the process can be adapted to the film industry as well (the Luxembourg production company Samsa is also Realab’s first client) as well as to the medical or vocational training sector.”
Attending the official presentation of the CES start-ups, Jean-Michel Ludwig, Director Start-up Support & SME Performance at Luxinnovation, stressed the agency’s role in the event: “We support all players in the Luxembourg ecosystem that support start-ups, as the accelerator developed by EAEC does. Luxembourg is about to set up a national strategy to become a European start-up hub. Showcasing Luxembourg’s start-up scene at an event like CES Las Vegas will certainly make the country stand out at an international level. We will give everything to ensure that the fair will be a great success.”