Grants for Edge AI and blockchain technology startups
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The EPFL Startup Launchpad has just granted two innogrants to ClearSky and Emissium - while the former is developing a technology that will use cutting-edge AI technology to transform the way our mobiles use our data, the latter is building a blockchain-based technology which has a vision to speed up the transition to more sustainable living by decarbonizing energy consumption.
ClearSky
The EPFL Tech Launchpad is pleased to announce they have granted an award of CHF100,000 to ClearSky – a technology which will use Edge AI technology to transform the way our mobiles use our data.
People, businesses, and governments are always looking for new ways to make life easier and automation of processes and tasks is just one way of doing this. Edge AI is the use of artificial intelligence in the device where data is located (like a mobile phone) as opposed to through connection to the cloud or a data centre. This has opened opportunities for AI-enabled smart applications to perform tasks in the real-world with real-time data, while ensuring full privacy and personalization.
The team at ClearSky - from the Signal Processing Laboratory 5 at EPFL's School of Engineering - intend to use this technology to support CEOs, salespeople, and company leaders to capture and store important information from voice conversations in real time. Their technology will summarise the call and make actionable notes of any areas of importance (such as dates of meetings etc) without the need for a transcript of recording of the call.
The team will use their grant to create a beta app, available for public use, by the summer of 2022.
Emissium
Emissium, a blockchain-based technology which has a vision to speed up the transition to more sustainable living by decarbonizing energy consumption, has been granted an award of CHF100,000 from the Tech Launchpad.
About 40% of global CO2 emissions come from the world’s need for electricity. By 2050, according to International Energy Agency (IEA), electricity generation will triple, making it crucial to reduce emissions related to power consumption.
But do we really understand the share of renewable energy in the electricity delivered to us in every moment? And if we did, could we adapt our consumption habits to reduce our true carbon footprint?
Emissium’s technology will allow real time tracking of the electricity down to city districts, empowering each end user, from large companies to households, to understand and act on the true carbon footprint of their electricity use.
The team coming from the Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering at EPFL will use their grant to undertake a pilot project in Valais and, following the results of that, release a beta version of their technology later in the year.