Pitch@Palace was founded to support entrepreneurs by connecting them with CEOs, angels, mentors and other potential supporters. The finalists emerged from events around the UK, with regional events PitchOnTour including a Bootcamp held at Imperial College in London on 14 October. Over 300 people are expected to hear the pitches on 2 November.
Two ventures among the Pitch@Palace finalists are currently supported by the Accelerate Cambridge programme at Cambridge Judge: Palle Tech is a logistics company that connects pallets to the Internet, while Entomos converts food waste into energy. Cambridge Bio-Augmentation Systems (now BIOS Health), which seeks to lower the cost of prosthetics, is supported by Cambridge Social Ventures, a collaboration between Cambridge Judge Business School and the charity Allia.
The 2 other finalist ventures with Cambridge connections are Converge, a low-cost wireless sensor network founded by 2 former Cambridge University students, and Polysolar, a Cambridge-based company that develops window glass that generates electricity.
Pitch@Palace 4.0 focuses on the Internet of Things and Smart Cities, emphasising products and services that help to create a smarter world and empower people to engage with objects and the environment around them. Applications came from entrepreneurs in areas including energy, healthcare retail, fitness and manufacturing.