T-Mobile has been placing a major focus on its 5G network, rolling out its low-band 600MHz 5G to more customers and augmenting the network with 2.5GHz spectrum gained from the Sprint merger. Now T-Mo is going to help others build apps and services to take advantage of its 5G network with 2 new initiatives.
First is the 5G Open Innovation Lab, which T-Mo is a founding partner of along with big names like Intel and NASA. The 5G Innovation Lab works with Amazon Web Services, Google, and others to aid start-ups in the development of edge computing, artificial intelligence, and other applications that utilize 5G. These companies will work with 5G experts and business advisors through things like CEO roundtables and private working sessions, and they’ll also be introduced to leaders in the venture capital community.
The 5G Open Innovation Lab has chosen 17 companies to take part in a 12-week virtual program that are developing 5G apps and services in the agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, and entertainment industries. These companies have all initiated fundraising that includes Series A rounds of $15 million or more.
Here’s what Neville Ray, T-Mobile’s president of technology, said about the 5G Open Innovation Lab:
“5G has the potential to transform our world by enabling new, groundbreaking applications. T-Mobile is building a 5G network unlike any other, with unmatched breadth and massive capacity nationwide. Through efforts like the 5G Open Innovation Lab, we’re providing developers and startups with the tools to unleash transformative services for people across the country, benefitting everything from entertainment and gaming to education and public safety.”
Also announced today is the T-Mobile Accelerator. A continuation of the Sprint Accelerator that launched in 2014, this program is meant to find innovative companies who will work directly with T-Mo, industry experts, and mentors to help them develop and commercialize new and exciting products and applications that utilize T-Mobile’s 5G network.
There are 6 companies that’ve been chosen as the first group to take part in the T-Mobile Accelerator. They include Aware Vehicles, which is developing autonomous mobile UAV platforms; Homebase, an automated apartment management solution; ORBI Prime; which offers live streaming NFL games from the players’ perspective; Seerslab, a media tech company focused on AI and mobile AR; Unmanned Life, offering teams of drones and robots that work together for things like smart cities; and Zoi Meet, a B2B service that uses AI to do things like automatic note-taking and live transcription of enterprise video calls so that you can focus on the meeting as it happens.
Source: T-Mobile (1), (2), (3)