Plug and Play Partners with BT Group to Support Innovation in the UK

SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Plug and Play, the global innovation platform and British Telecommunication PLC (BT) today announced a new Founding Partnership to explore breakthrough innovations through engagement with startups/scale-ups in the UK and further afield.

Plug and Play will support BT to launch its first ever Green Tech Innovation Platform. The platform aims to uncover the latest technologies from UK-based tech startups and scale-ups that could support BT and its public sector customers transition to Net Zero and will explore three areas:

• Smart Streets: Actionable insights from environmental monitoring and traffic optimisation sensors which can be easily integrated into 'street furniture' like the next generation of BT Street Hub units.
• Smart Buildings: IoT capable solutions supporting energy and water management in social housing and other public sector buildings.
• Remote Working: Uncover ways 5G can be used to support innovative products and enterprise tech solutions that will reduce travel, e.g. using video, AI, augmented reality or virtual reality to carry out remote pre-diagnosis, triage and repairs by health and other public sector workers.

Plug and Play are calling for startups/scale-ups working in the areas of smart streets, smart buildings and remote working to get in touch at: [email protected]

The partnership also marks Plug and Play's entry to the UK market where they will work with industry to build a collaborative innovation platform, welcoming corporations, startups, government and academia. Plug and Play's innovation platform will provide new business, investment and partnership opportunities for the whole ecosystem. 

Saeed Amidi, Plug and Play's CEO and Founder said:

"At Plug and Play, we believe that real change can be achieved through bringing together all stakeholders including corporations, government, startups, and academia. We are passionate about connecting the UK to our global innovation network, making local investments, and supporting startups and corporations in their innovation journeys. We look forward to working with BT to expand our presence in the UK and helping them to achieve their goals."

Michael Sherman, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, BT said:

"BT has a long history of innovation in the UK, and across the world, and having Plug and Play on board will only increase our reach and impact. As we start working together, I look forward to uncovering the latest innovations and working with the best and brightest tech scale ups in the UK and beyond."

About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 30 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 10,000 startups and 400 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries. Companies in our community have raised over $9 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, and PayPal. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/.

About BT
BT's purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services.  BT consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, Enterprise, Global and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2020, BT Group's reported revenue was £22,905m with reported profit before taxation of £2,353m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London stock exchange.

For more information, visit www.btplc.com.

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SOURCE Plug and Play