Infiniti Launches Accelerator for IoT, Smart City Startups in North America

This week luxury automaker Infiniti launched an Infiniti Lab in Toronto, where it will house an accelerator program in partnership with Multiplicity designed to grow companies in the internet of things and smart city spaces.

After opening a lab in Hong Kong in 2015, this Canadian base marks Infiniti’s first lab in North America.

“Canada is brimming with talent and opportunity when it comes to start-ups, and Infiniti Canada is proud to help accelerate the country’s next entrepreneurial stars,” says Stephen Lester, Managing Director of Infiniti Canada.

Applications for the program are now open to pre-seed startups who work in IoT and smart city innovation. The program launches May 29, and the group of selected startups will work closely with partners including Techstars, Omers Ventures, and the City of Toronto. The program will culminate in a demo day and the top team will be fast-tracked into the three-month Hong Kong program, which launches in July.

“Toronto is already a global leader in technology and innovation, and a hub for emerging technology including artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things,” said John Tory, Mayor of Toronto.

The program has graduated two cohorts of startups in Hong Kong, including Kraftwerk, the company responsible for developing a breakthrough fuel cell, and Drop.ai, a visual intelligence startup that has developed software to help cars and drones make informed decisions through contextualized video and artificial intelligence.

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