Xplorer Fund

Industries: Xplorer Fund focuses primarily on investing in solutions in the following industries: ICT (Information and Communications Technology), IoT (Internet of Things), Telemedicine, Nanotechnology

Activity: Xplorer Fund is a venture capital fund specializing in investments in technological projects at a very early stage of development - Proof of Principle / Proof of Concept

Origin: The fund was established in 2015 in cooperation with the National Center for Research and Development as part of the BRIdge Alfa pilot program. The Bridge Alfa program involved the creation of a group of specialized Proof of Concept funds investing in technological research and development projects.

What stage the project must be at: the project should be at an early stage of development (seed), typically before the first sale.

Investment amount: PLN 50,000 - PLN 1 million

Examples of investments:

Mimesis Technology specializes in the creation of innovative devices based on the latest hardware and software technologies

• The device, which is currently being developed by the team, is a unique addition to the group of IoT devices in the area of household appliances and will be present in most homes around the world – just like a computer, smartphone, TV, refrigerator or washing machine – and will significantly improve the quality of life for everyone.
• Photon is a robot dedicated to children, designed to teach programming and logical thinking through entertainment. Photon is the world's first robot that develops with your child. The system works by using a small robot integrated with a smartphone, tablet or computer The control application is a game that combines aspects of the virtual and real worlds in an innovative way. Part of the Photon team has experience and success associated with a successful Mars rover project. The Photon team won the Polish edition of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2015 in the World Citizenship category.
• Retixa is an appliance (a device combining hardware and software) from the Analytics 3.0 category, combining algorithms of advanced analytics, Big Data and real-time information processing. It is used by telecommunications operators who do not currently use real-time data to offer products that are valuable to customers. Retixa collects and analyzes user information from multiple sources, then correlates and processes it in real time. Thanks to previously integrated business scenarios, it spontaneously predicts potential problems, and it also includes self-learning mechanisms (machine learning / Artificial Intelligence) that allow it to optimize its performance over time.
• Zercado are smart motorcycle mirrors that automatically adjust their angle to the driver's inclination along the motorcycle using a rider position sensor. This solution has no direct competition in the world. Zercado is the winner of the Polish edition of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2015 in the Innovation category. The project aroused the interest of Discovery Channel, which visited the project leader - Bartosz Ambrożkiewicz and recorded a program with his participation.
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In your experience, what are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of Polish originators?

Disadvantages of Polish originators: poor preparation in terms of market and competition analysis – underestimating the competition

Advantages of Polish originators: an increasingly common attitude of pursuing projects on an international scale, not just locally – Polish