Daikin Open Innovation Lab Silicon Valley is collaborating with Berkeley SkyDeck to conduct a pitch challenge!
Grand winner announcement
We would like to send our big thank you to everyone who participated in our Daikin Innovation Pitch Challenge 2021 powered by Berkeley SkyDeck and helped make it a success!
Special congratulations to Hacarus AI for being selected as the Grand Winner, who was chosen by our judge panel!
Our panel of judges included members of Daikin champions and Berkeley SkyDeck team for an extensive selection process.
Challenge Theme:
Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning services and solutions fit for the remote/hybrid indoor working environment
How can a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (‘HVAC’) manufacturer contribute to society by collaborating with startups that have innovative technology and/or business models as the world rapidly shifts to more remote- and/or hybrid-friendly working conditions?
Overview
As the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have had to adapt to new working styles and livelihoods. One of the most obvious changes in our working styles has been the shift to remote/hybrid working environments. Some articles claim that hybrid, if not remote, working styles may stay permanently across the globe [1,2]. As one of the consequences of this, building and home occupancy and occupant behaviors have changed dynamically. In response, owners and operators of such buildings, structures, and homes are having to re-think their operational strategies, i.e., what spatial environment to offer and how they can create an atmosphere and the physical space suitable for both during and post-pandemic conditions in a finite space.
[1] Working from Home is Here to Stay (For the better). Forbes. June 20, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dedehenley/2021/06/20/working-from-home-is-here-to-stay-for-the-better/?sh=6f26d32f6d5b
[2] What’s next for remote work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries. McKinsey Global Institute. November 23, 2020.https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/whats-next-for-remote-work-an-analysis-of-2000-tasks-800-jobs-and-nine-countries
What we are interested in
We invite startups of all stages and from all over the world to submit ideas and insights to collaborate and help develop solutions that can provide HVAC services and solutions fit for the remote/hybrid working world amid the current pandemic environment and thereafter. Our main focus areas are below, but we welcome creative submissions from startups in other verticals as well with a preference on AI/IoT-related technologies:
Theme 1: Indoor Air Quality (Ex: sensing, analytics, visualization)
Theme 2: Smart Home/Building and Occupancy (Ex: Occupancy detection)
Theme 3: Commercial (B2B) HVAC Solutions (Ex: Optimal ventilation control, predictive maintenance, energy management/carbon neutrality)
Theme 4: SalesTech, FinTech, InsureTech, PropTech related to the above areas
Why is this challenge important to Daikin?
For nearly a century, Daikin Industries, Ltd. has served customers by providing heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment and services as an original equipment manufacturer (‘OEM’), becoming the Global No.1 air-conditioning manufacturer. At the same time, with the evolution and wide-spread usage of internet and IoT technologies, we believe we are coming to a tipping point of being able to provide services that are fit even for pandemic conditions as a solutions provider in order to strive for more tailored solutions according to customer and occupant needs.
We hope to provide an atmosphere that occupants and building owners alike feel comfortable even under stressful conditions by leveraging innovation technologies along with creative business models and concepts that appropriately capture both micro and macro needs of the community.
Timeline
Applications Open: September 8, 2021
Applications Close: October 10, 2021
Notification for being selected as Finalists: by October 15, 2021
Pitch Showcase for Selected Finalists: November 18, 2021
Award
Grand Winner will receive an award, recognizing their idea as being an innovative technology and/or business model.
The Grand Winner will also have the opportunity to
• Conduct a paid PoC for technology evaluation or market validation purposes
• Awards may be made according to the following milestones
º $10,000 after detailed Scope of Work and business plan submission
º Thereafter, up to $100,000 for actual PoC expenses∗
• Receive Engineering or Business mentorship as in-kind award from Daikin expert(s) throughout the PoC (in-kind amount depends on business potential)
• Pitch to Daikin’s CVC team for consideration in possible investments
∗at Daikin’s discretion
About Daikin Industries, Ltd. and Daikin Open Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley
Daikin Industries, Ltd. (‘Daikin’) is the largest OEM of HVAC equipment globally. We have a history of creating innovative products in the HVAC industry such as variable speed units, now commonly called VRVs. Daikin is headquartered in Osaka, Japan with more than 70,000 employees worldwide.
*Numbers current as of 8/30/21 (Ref: https://www.daikin.com/corporate/why_daikin/glance/)
Daikin’s Open Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley (‘DSV’), is Daikin’s innovation arm that aims to support Daikin’s business units across the globe in supporting its digital transformation initiative with a primary focus in the North American region. The process follows an internally built innovation pipeline, which starts from product discovery phase through implementation of IoT products in order to develop a true service solution business.