UpRamp, an accelerator program from CableLabs launched earlier this year as an “executive MBA for startups,” has announced the first four startups selected for its “Fiterator” program.
Fiterator is a three-month, nonresident program that helps startups connect with dozens of the world’s top cable operators. And unlike traditional startup accelerators, UpRamp is for young companies that have already built their technology and those that might have already raised some venture money.
UpRamp said its Fiterator program “guarantees actual commercial deals,” and that a group of CEOs and CTOs from the industry helped to select the following four from a group of applicants that originated from 17 countries:
-Edgewater Wireless: Is trying to revolutionize WiFi infrastructure with a patented, Multichannel “WiFi3” technology powering next-gen access points, small cells, and WiFi/ DAS solutions. The company claims that WiFi3 delivers up to 50 times greater throughput vs traditional WiFi and lowers network infrastructure investment.
-MediaHound: Offers personalized search and discovery for videos using a sophisticated graph recommendation engine.
-VelociData: Cleanses, transforms, and protects streaming and batch data without the need for database or applications programming, or the need to change existing systems or infrastructure.
-Trinity Mobile Networks: Uses JumpnetSDN to integrate WiFi and mesh networks alongside their cellular connections.
UpRamp noted that applicants ranged from startups that have closed seed rounds to public companies that have raised a combined $157 million.
UpRamp, introduced in February, announced the following month that it had also opened CableLabs’s patents to program participants.
“UpRamp from CableLabs is about helping startups to establish themselves, make connections and secure deals from leading companies in the cable industry,” CableLabs CEO Phil McKinney said in a statement. “We help them innovate and forge ahead in this huge cable industry and, at the same time, connect cable companies all over the world with next generation thinkers.”
“Our Fiterator program concentrates on small cohorts of startups, in order to give these emerging tech companies the biggest possible impact,” added Scott Brown, UpRamp’s managing director. “In addition to our focus on deals, not demo days, every company that enters the Fiterator program is granted a non-exclusive and royalty-free license to every patent in our parent company CableLabs’ portfolio.”
UpRamp timed the announcement of its picks with this week’s CableLabs Summer Conference in Keystone, Colo.
