Nervana Systems wins our ‘Most Innovative Prospect’ award at our 2015 Open Innovation event

For our third annual Technology Open Innovation event in Silicon Valley, Barclays asked start-ups to pitch their solutions to three new challenges that centred on biometrics, deep learning and cyber security, or to throw their hat in as a ‘wild card’. In total, Barclays received over 100 submissions, of which 16 were chosen for a face-to-face pitch and demo session held on Tuesday, 15 September.

At the evening networking event, Nervana Systems was named as the ‘Most Innovative Prospect’. Founded by experts in machine learning, neuroscience, and computer engineering, they’re developing the next generation technology stack for deep learning optimized from neural networks to silicon.

Honourable mentions were given to Area 1 Security, Avi Networks, Ayasdi and Moogsoft.

Afterwards, Ian Buchanan, Barclays Group Chief Information Officer said “Barclays has a rich history of innovation. We can’t keep ahead of the curve without seeking out, and partnering with, the very best and brightest, which increasingly are from the start-up community. This event is a great way of accelerating our efforts. The thought-leadership, skill and passion on show was extraordinary. We look forward to collaborating with many of them over the coming months; the aim being to on-board some as new suppliers in the near future. Whatever the outcome, we wish them all the best of luck in their business endeavours.”

Naveen Rao, Co-Founder and CEO of Nervana said "It was humbling for us to be in the presence of such amazing companies, and it's really an honor to be selected amongst them! Barclays' approach to engaging with new technology companies should be a model for other established firms to emulate."

If you’re interested in taking part in future events, please contact Shona Claremont.