TechConnect speaks with Dorothee Martin, External Venturing Group at Saint-Gobain
What are technology/solution areas that you have a primary interest in?
Saint-Gobain is the world leader in sustainable habitat and construction markets, celebrating our 350th anniversary this year. We design, manufacture and distribute building and high-performance materials, providing innovative solutions to the challenges of growth, energy efficiency and environmental protection. We have a presence in over 64 countries, with over 190,000 employees. Our NOVA Innovation Competition 2015 is now open, seeking novel technologies and start-up companies in these areas:
What level of commercial maturity do you typically look for in technology partnerships?
We are looking for technologies and service solutions that can be very early stage to early commercialization. Saint-Gobain has the facilities and capabilities to help start-ups with joint development, testing, scaling up, manufacturing, commercialization, and channels to market in a broad array of industry sectors.
Please describe your company’s Innovation model and how this model helps to find new innovations.
Saint-Gobain’s NOVA External Venturing team is a catalyst for innovation partnerships. Saint-Gobain complements its significant commitment to in-house research and development by identifying start-up organizations on the leading edge of emerging technologies that mesh with Saint-Gobain’s areas of strategic interest. NOVA External Venturing is the “matchmaker” between start-ups and Saint-Gobain business units.
The collaboration can take a variety of forms: intellectual property license, joint technological development, production joint venture, commercialization agreement or equity investment.
Why work with TechConnect and the National Innovation Summit as a technology prospector? Who are you looking to meet with?
Working with TechConnect and the National Innovation Summit is a perfect fit with Saint-Gobain’s NOVA External Venturing and, in particular, the NOVA Innovation Competition 2015. Saint-Gobain’s NOVA Competition is accepting applications from January 12 – June 19, 2015. This international competition provides global PR and exposure for start-up companies, feedback from external experts in a variety of technology fields and markets for the Top 32 Semi-Finalists, the chance to present their ideas to Saint-Gobain’s top global executives – live at the Grand Finale at Greenbuild 2015 in Washington DC, a video for each of the Top 8 Finalists, and cash prizes totaling US$100,000 for the Top 4 Winners. Start-up companies are encouraged to apply at: www.nova-saint-gobain.com
Subscribe to our mailing list, and we'll keep you posted of the latest developments.
RSS feed of TechConnect News™