Honda 'Xcelerates' Startup Collaborations Globally To Drive Open Innovation

November 9, 2017 by Honda

Honda Will Expand Its Engagement of Startup Ecosystems in Detroit, Japan, China and Europe

Nov 9, 2017 - MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Committed to creating transformative products and services through open innovation, Honda Innovations is expanding its global open innovation program for early stage innovators to Detroit, Japan, China, and Europe.

Modeled on its successful Honda Xcelerator program in Mountain View, Calif., Honda Innovations will guide other Honda operations as they establish startup liaisons globally, providing protocols and best practices to identify and engage with startups and entrepreneurs who share Honda's vision for transforming mobility.

Established in 2015, Honda Xcelerator supports selected startups with funding for rapid prototyping, access to a collaborative workspace, and pairs the companies with Honda mentors. Focus areas for Honda Xcelerator include Energy Innovation, Human Machine Interface, Personal Mobility, Industrial Innovation, Autonomous Vehicles, Artificial Intelligence, Smart Materials, and Robotics.

By engaging more deeply with the local startup community in these regions, the startup liaisons will create win-win opportunities for collaborations between top innovators and Honda.

'The pace of innovation is increasing with the rapid expansion of the global startup community, and has the potential to help Honda transform its future products, services, and business opportunities,' said Honda Innovations CEO, Nick Sugimoto. 'With our expanded collaboration in Detroit, Japan, China, and Europe, Honda will be in an even stronger position to discover emerging technologies and establish partnerships to help create new value for our customers.'

Honda Xcelerator Partnerships

At CES 2017, Honda Xcelerator showcased its startup collaborations with partners, LEIA 3D and VocalZoom. In partnership with LEIA 3D, Honda developed a driver's display meter using nano technology that can provide three-dimensional images, switching seamless transitions between different viewing angles for warnings and driver-assistive systems. Honda also collaborated with VocalZoom to apply its optical microphone technology to enhance the in-car experience improving voice interaction inside the vehicle at CES 2017. Honda Xcelerator will introduce its new startup collaborations at CES 2018. Honda previously established partnerships with incubators MassChallenge (Boston, Mass.) and Drive (Tel Aviv, Israel) and equity crowd funding platform OurCrowd (Jerusalem, Israel) to support outreach to startups in key innovation hubs globally.

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To learn more about Honda Xcelerator, visit Xcelerator.HondaInnovations.com and follow @HondaInnovation on Twitter.

About Honda Innovations

Honda Innovations drives transformative collaboration within all areas of Honda. As part of Honda Innovations, Honda Xcelerator and Honda Developer Studio, two open innovation programs, serve as catalysts to discover and experiment with new technologies and business concepts. Honda Innovations partners with innovators of all shapes and sizes from startups to global brands and design and development communities to create cutting edge products and services. Honda Innovations is based in Silicon Valley and operates globally. To learn more, visit HondaInnovations.com.

About Honda Technology

Honda is creating technologies and products that advance the company's clean, safe, fun and connected brand values. These efforts include advancements in automated vehicles, connectivity and ultra-low carbon mobility. In North America, the company has more than 450,000 vehicles on the road equipped with the Honda Sensing or AcuraWatch safety and driver-assistive technologies and more than 400,000 vehicles featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto™ compatibility.