We are thrilled to share an exciting recap of the SOCAR Wennovation Startup Challenge! In partnership with Hackquarters, SOCAR Wennovation Startup Challenge – an online open innovation program – welcomes entrepreneurs and game-changers all around the world who are shaping technologies of the future today in the refinery and petrochemical industries. The innovation program provides an open and collaborative approach to building partnerships to solve the digital transformation challenges of SOCAR Türkiye by fostering digital innovation together.

SOCAR Wennovation Startup Challenge occurred on 11 May 2023. 10 innovative startups pitch their groundbreaking solutions to an audience of industry experts and leaders. These promising startups were selected from over 100 applications, with 10 making it to the finalists and 4 emerging as winners. A hearty congratulations to all!

The day began with opening remarks from our own Kaan Akın, Founder and CEO of Hackquarters. Elchin Ibadov, the Acting CEO of SOCAR Türkiye, warmly welcomed everyone, emphasizing SOCAR's open and collaborative approach. Hakan Irgıt, the Chief Digital Transformation & Information Technologies Officer at SOCAR Türkiye, passionately talked about SOCAR Türkiye's journey of embracing innovation and leading digital transformation in the energy sector. Burcu Alkan Fincan, Transformation Group Director at SOCAR Türkiye, highlighted how the SOCAR Wennovation Startup Challenge is key to successfully integrating next-gen technologies.

‍Later, the best startups of 2023 took the stage to pitch their solutions. After the exciting pitches, it was time for the jury to make their decisions. All lent their expertise to select the most innovative solutions. Here are our jury members:

• Aslı Kurul Türkmen, Managing Director at Endeavor 
• Burcu Alkan Fincan, Transformation Group Director at SOCAR Türkiye
• Efe Erdem, Executive Director at MEXT, 
• Hakan Irgıt, the Chief Digital Transformation & Information Technologies Officer at SOCAR Türkiye 
• Kıvanç Zaimler, Member of the Board of Directors at IICEC
• Tabriz Ammayev, Deputy Head of Strategic Management and Innovations Department at SOCAR

One of the highlights of the SOCAR Wennovation Startup Challenge was the enlightening conversation on Corporate-Startup Collaboration between Evren Şener, Director of Customer Success at Intenseye, and Duygu Ökesli, Digital Ecosystem Supervisor at SOCAR Türkiye. They discussed a real-life case of a successful Proof of Concept (POC) between SOCAR and Intenseye. Duygu emphasized the measurable benefits of this collaboration, highlighting key success statistics and detailing the strategic approach to successful collaboration that drives innovation. Their insightful dialogue underscored the importance of open communication and mutual understanding in fostering successful corporate-startup partnerships.

‍Here are the 10 startups pitched during the challenge:

Alloy Additive: AlloyAdditive develops a 3D metal printer that can additively manufacture aerospace metals.

CYC International: CYC transforms tank cleaning with robotic solutions, replacing manual labor to improve safety and optimize HSE practices.

Delivers.ai: Delivers.ai is a device-agnostic technology platform enabling autonomous last-mile and last-meter delivery

F-Ray: JetScoring is a financial analysis platform that accelerates credit decisions for managers by using machine learning algorithms to capture data from various financial statements and generate instant risk reports.

Finboot: Finboot simplifies enterprise blockchain with their No-code/Low-code platform, MARCO, enabling Web3 and the future of the internet for businesses.

Flyability: Flyability creates solutions to support internal inspections, including collision-tolerant caged drones and software to enable the collection, analysis, and reporting of inspection data captured inside confined spaces.

GOARC: GOARC aims to build an AI-assisted platform connecting humans, machines, and systems to enable the autonomous Industry 5.0 factory. Their industry safety software and SaaS platform aggregate data from the entire facility, breaking down conventional silos of knowledge and data by analyzing field safety reports from safe-connected workers and data from ERP systems, OT, and IoT sensors.

Offsetted: Offsetted is a one-stop shop for decarbonization.

RoT Studio: RoT Studio is a fast, easy, accurate, and affordable zero-code software solution to create VR content(scenarios, training).

Visionaize Inc.: Visionaize Inc. equips oil and gas companies to optimize operations using advanced 3D digital twin solutions featuring AR and VR-enhanced training and AI-driven predictive analytics. Their "system of systems" approach smoothly integrates their innovative and sustainable 3D digital twin technology with customers' intricate business systems, contextualizing vast amounts of data, enhancing safety, and boosting efficiency.

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The SOCAR Wennovation Startup Challenge winners are Alloy Additive from Turkey, Delivers.Ai from the United Kingdom, Flyability from Switzerland, and F-Ray from Turkey. ‍

‍Our heartiest congratulations go out to these innovative startups! We eagerly anticipate the unique solutions and success stories that will undoubtedly surface from these partnerships in the future!‍

‍Did you miss the live event? Don't worry - we've got you covered! You can watch all the inspiring pitches, groundbreaking solutions, and insightful speeches from the SOCAR Wennovation Startup Challenge on YouTube. Click here to watch!

Stay tuned for more updates on the creative journeys that these startups will embark on with SOCAR Türkiye. Until then, keep innovating, keep disrupting, and let's shape the future of industries together.

See you next time!