Brazilian SAA and Chinese Xcloud Game the first companies to benefit from the partnership between China Unicom, Tsinghua Holdings Technology and Innovation (THTI) and Telefónica Open Future_

In addition, VisualNACert and Voicemod, two companies accelerated by Telefónica, have been selected for the final of the Global Innovation Awards 2015 to be held in Beijing

Madrid, 21-8-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — Brazilian agrotechnology firm SAA and Chinese online games developer Xcloud Game have become the first companies to benefit from the partnership between China Unicom, Tsinghua Holdings Technology and Innovation (THTI) and Telefónica Open Future_. The partnership is designed to promote mutually beneficial entrepreneurial initiatives within their respective accelerators, and has seen SAA entering the Chinese market, with Xcloud Game travelling in the opposite direction and entering Brazil.

Brazil has 48 million online game users, making it the leader in Latin America and fourth worldwide. The total revenues of this market amount to USD 1 billion and the growth potential is huge. Xcloud Game’s product currently boasts 4 million users in Brazil, with 100,000 playing each day and 600,000 fans on Facebook. The feedback and suggestions it has received have allowed Xcloud to include local maps and features to make its product more attractive to Brazilians. Its next goal is to strengthen the relationship between its team and local players; with this in mind, Xcloud is to locate its Brazilian subsidiary at the Wayra Brazil offices in Sao Paulo.

As for SAA, which began life as an agency dealing with English-language news and offering data services relating to the Chinese agricultural market, it has evolved to become the first online market to connect agricultural technology companies around the world with distributors from emerging markets such as China and Brazil to close deals and improve sales. China and Brazil have very similar agricultural features, which has led to its presence in the two countries; this generates a climate of trust between technology suppliers and farmers which encourages necessary modernisation. Investment in technology for agriculture is expected to reach USD 4.3 billion in the US over 2015, making it the sector with the greatest investment, ahead of the technology applied to the financial and medical sectors. The next step for SAA is to settle at Binggo, the acceleration space co-sponsored by Telefónica Open Future_ and China Unicom, which it will use as its base for the launch of the Smart Ag platform (www.smartagx.com).

Proof of the interest in technology in agriculture activity was the selection of a Spanish company, supported by Telefónica Open Future_, for the final of the Global Innovation Awards 2015 to be held on 25 August in Beijing. VisualNACert (www.visualnacert.com) is a tool for managing information and making decisions in farming ventures. Just by clicking, this tool maximises the efficiency of planting through geo-positioning and visualisation of plots and applying criteria such as quality, health, sowing periods, productivity and map data, among others.  This tool facilitates the visualisation of crops anywhere in the world. An investee of Wayra since 2014, this year’s sales will amount to over EUR 1 million, through operations in Spain, Australia, the US and Latin America.

Voicemod, another company supported by Telefónica Open Future_ is also a finalist at the Global Innovation Awards. The startup offers a solution which seeks to contribute new forms of communication to telephone calls. Its technology is based on a voice modulator with a new user experience, which changes the user’s voice in real time. The mobile application has been downloaded 2.5 million times around the world, with a significant presence in the Chinese market.

Both firms will compete in Beijing with startups from around the globe for a $ 1.5 million prize and a potential investment of $ 15 million.

Ana Segurado, managing director of Telefónica Open Future_, stated that she was satisfied, “because we are seeking the results of the work that we committed ourselves to doing to bring the entrepreneurial markets of China, Europe and Latin America closer together. With the support of our partners, we aim to continue creating ecosystems of entrepreneurs and innovation that invigorates the local economy by attracting and supporting talent.”

About China Unicom
China Unicom has subsidiaries in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China and in other countries and regions across the globe. It is the only Chinese telecommunications operator to be listed simultaneously on the New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai securities markets. China Unicom has featured on the Fortune 500 companies list for several years in a row, being ranked 258th in 2013. China Unicom mainly operates fixed and mobile communications services, national and international communications services, satellite services, data communication services, network access services, value added telecommunication services and integrated information and communication services. In recent years, the performance of China Unicom has improved significantly. The revenues of China Unicom, its customer base and its market capitalisation are among the most significant for the sector globally. In 2014, China Unicom created a subsidiary called Unicom Innovation Venture Capital Ltd. Together with the state administration and the universities of Shanghai, it created the China Unicom Center for International Mobile Internet Entrepreneurship (CIMIE), which offers advice to Unicom Innovation Venture Capital. By combining incubation services and the investment platform, the company will be able to incentivise innovation, capture new opportunities for growth and attract innovative talent.

About THTI
Tshinghua Holdings Technology and Innovation Holdings Co., Ltd (THTI) is a supplier of scientific and technological services, as well as a manager of science parks, whose main business consists of offering innovative technological services. THTI is a member of the technological innovation platform of Tsinghua Holdings Co., Ltd. Devoted to the technological services industry, the strategy of THTI centres on regional innovation and business technological development through an international network of operations and investments covering five major business areas, ranging from innovation and entrepreneurship, science parks, investment and incubation, and technological financing to international business. THTI operates 18 science parks in the country alongside other partners in over 50 cities, as well as a sound project-incubation ecosystem that incorporates Innoway, Virtue Inno Valley, Binggo Café, Lean One Academy and TIPPark Silicon Valley, which together amount to an area of more than 3 million square metres and which provide incubation services to over 1,000 technological firms, having invested in more than 100 companies. THTI is committed to delivering technological services with the aim of becoming a global leader in the sector through a platform that incorporates innovation resources, experience in the management of science parks and the best partner for innovation and entrepreneurship services.

About Telefónica Open Future_
Telefónica Open Future_ is a global, open programme designed to connect entrepreneurs, startups, investors and public and private organisations from around the world.  Its aim is to steer innovation towards developing viable projects, by means of a model that gives visibility to talent and connects that talent with organisations, investors and companies. Telefónica Open Future_ combines all Telefónica’s initiatives focusing on open innovation, entrepreneurship, investment and transformation (Think Big, Talentum, Wayra, crowdworking spaces, Telefónica Ventures, Amérigo and the CIP platform) and places them within the reach of strategic partners, to enable joint development of specific programmes to support entrepreneurship. The OPEN FUTURE_ universe already boasts investments in over 550 startups worldwide, a network of more than 30 spaces and 62 agreements with public and private partners in Europe, Latin America and Asia. It has invested a total of EUR 647 million, while EUR 733 million has been pledged.

http//www.openfuture.org | @OpenFuture_

Telefónica, S.A.
Dirección de Comunicación Corporativa Tel: +34 91 482 38 00
Ronda de la Comunicación, s/n email: prensatelefonica@telefonica.com
28050 Madrid http://saladeprensa.telefonica.com

SOURCE:  Telefónica S.A.