Corporate Partners
Corporate Business Development & Strategic Investment
Corporations have well established customer channels and a strong understanding of the markets in which they operate. Plug and Play regularly works to match startups with corporations, either during "EXPO" pitch events or during private deal review sessions for select startups. Details on the application process for this program can be found here.
Corporate Technology Partners
Microsoft Bizspark, Alcatel-Lucent, and Sprint are just a few of Plug and Play's strategic technology partners who have platforms and services available to speed a startups' journey to market. Plug and Play regularly hosts multiple developer events with its corporate partners at Plug and Play’s Silicon Valley Headquarters.
The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leader in mobile, fixed, IP and Optics technologies, and a pioneer in applications and services. Alcatel-Lucent includes Bell Labs, one of the world's foremost centres of research and innovation in communications technology.
With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organizations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach.
The Allstate Corporation is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer. Allstate is reinventing protection and retirement to help more than 17 million households insure what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Allstate's major business is private passenger auto and homeowners insurance, primarily offered through agencies.
Baidu is the leading Chinese search engine for websites, audio files, and images. Baidu offers 57 search and community services including an online collaboratively-built encyclopedia, and a searchable keyword-based discussion forum. Company provides an index of over 740 million web pages, 80 million images, and 10 million multimedia files.
BlackBerry is a brand of wireless handheld devices and services developed by the Canadian telecommunications company Research In Motion (RIM). RIM is a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. The BlackBerry product line includes the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, the award-winning BlackBerry smartphone, software for businesses and accessories.
CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States. The company provides broadband, voice, wireless and managed services to consumers and businesses across the country. CenturyLink is recognized as a leader in the network services market by key technology industry analyst firms, and is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprises through Savvis, a CenturyLink company. Headquartered in Monroe, La., CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations.
Chrysler Group LLC, formed in 2009 to establish a global strategic alliance with Fiat S.p.A., produces Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Mopar, SRT and Fiat vehicles and products. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., Chrysler Group’s product lineup features some of the world's most recognizable vehicles, including the Chrysler 300, Jeep Wrangler, Dodge Challenger and Ram 1500. Fiat contributes world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for small- and medium-size cars, allowing Chrysler Group to offer an expanded product line including environmentally friendly vehicles.
Faurecia is the world's sixth largest and the Europe's third largest automotive supplier. Company provides engineering and production of automotive solutions, holds global leadership status in each of its core businesses: Automotive Seating, Emissions Control Technologies, Interior Systems and Automotive Exteriors. Its customer portfolio features practically every automaker around the world meeting the market's two demands for high perceived quality and environmental performance.
GM Ventures is the venture capital arm of General Motors. We invest in growth-stage companies to enhance GM's ability to innovate and ensure our customers have access to the best technology. GM Ventures provides our partners with an ideal platform for commercializing innovation in the global transportation industry.
Hitachi, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Originally founded in 1910 and later in the U.S. in 1959, Hitachi is a manufacturer of computer memory, hard drives, LCD's, and other computer components and semiconductors. Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, industrial, transportation and urban development systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them.
Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Through our dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, we have established end-to-end advantages in telecom networks, devices and cloud computing. We are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers by providing competitive solutions and services. Our products and solutions have been deployed in over 140 countries, serving more than one third of the world’s population.
KDDI America is the U.S division of KDDI Corporation, a Global Fortune 500 with revenues exceeding $35 billion. Headquartered in midtown Manhattan, KDDI America provides total solutions for US customers who have Global needs for Networking, Data Centers, Equipment and Systems Integration. We boast a fiber network backbone that spans 170 countries as well as a total of 91 offices located throughout Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Australia.
About Mercedes-Benz R&D
Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America Inc., a subsidiary of Daimler AG, is a proud corporate partner of Plug and Play Tech Center. Mercedes-Benz strives to promote the “love of invention” and to cultivate a “forward-looking pioneer spirit,” which is the hallmark of our founders.
About the Mitsubishi Estate Group
The Mitsubishi Estate Group has undertaken a number of urban development projects in the Marunouchi area of Tokyo for over 120 years. Today, the Group owns and manages office buildings and other types of commercial properties in Marunouchi as well as in major cities throughout Japan. At the same time, the Group are working to create and produce comfortable living and working environments in the United States, the United Kingdom and Asian countries, leveraging the experience and expertise that we have nurtured over those 120 years.
About the Entrepreneur Group for Growing Japan (EGG JAPAN)
Launched by the Mitsubishi Estate Group in 2007 as a new business project, the Entrepreneur Group for Growing Japan (EGG JAPAN) is a center for developing human resources to lead new businesses and the next generation. The center, which consists of a membership-based business club, Tokyo 21c Club, and Incubation Office, which provides services primarily to entrepreneurs aiming to expand their business, is located on the 10th floor of the Tokyo Shin-Marunouchi Building in front of Tokyo Station.
Panasonic Corporation is one of the largest electronic product manufacturers in the world, comprised of over 556 companies. It manufactures and markets a wide range of products under the Panasonic brand to enhance and enrich lifestyles all around the globe.
PubliGroupe is a leading Swiss-based provider of marketing and media sales services, enabling advertisers to reach their audience by optimizing the return on their marketing spendings and helping media owners to effectively monetize their reach. It is a performance-oriented full-service provider, employing state-of-the-art data processing tools and information technology with the ultimate goal of making marketing more effective for its clients, be it in traditional or digital media. The company is organized into three client-oriented business segments: ‘Media Sales’, ‘Search & Find’ and ‘Digital & Marketing Services’. Services are delivered through key companies like Publicitas, Zanox, Improve Digital or local.ch in more than 20 international markets. The holding company PubliGroupe is listed on the Swiss stock exchange SIX (PUBN).
Renault SA is an international automobile manufacturer based in France. The Company acts as a parent company for its subsidiaries located throughout the world. The Boston Consulting Group study ranks Renault as the top French company on innovation in 2012. Renault places 34th in the overall standings of the 50 most innovative companies in the world.
Established in 1981, TCL Corporation is a global leader in consumer electronics and communications with over 50,000 employees worldwide. TCL runs the world 6th largest TV business and 7th largest mobile phone business with globally respected brands Alcatel, Thomson and TCL. In the North America market, TCL ships Alcatel mobile phones and TCL TVs.
The Volkswagen Electronics Research Laboratory accelerates automotive innovation by harvesting Silicon Valley energy! We work to expand and extend Volkswagen Group's technical intelligence and maintain the North American Market as the epicenter of electronics expertise.
The ERL comprises of five teams, each bringing a vital perspective to the table. These teams work in synergy to explore the limits of automotive innovation while maintaining focus on the central goal - improving driver experience.
