SAP.iO, the investment arm of German multinational SAP SE, announced last month that it had launched its startup accelerator SAP.iO Foundry in Tel Aviv, focused on consumer engagement.

The acceleration program was launched in partnership with business digital transformation company Publicis Sapient. Seven startups focused on developing advanced marketing and commerce solutions to help brands improve consumer engagement have been selected to join the accelerator.

This is the first time that Publicis Sapient has participated in the acceleration program in Israel.

SAP and Publicis Sapient will work closely with the selected startups during the three-month program to develop new joint solutions for personalized content and marketing offerings, product discovery, social engagement, and more. The startups will also explore integrations with the omnichannel customer engagement platform Emarsys, one of SAP’s recent acquisitions, the company said.

“The events of the past year and the new market challenges in the consumer industries have highlighted the importance of expanding our portfolio of partners in the areas of e-commerce and marketing, and have led us to launch a dedicated program. in this direction.” says Lior Weizman, director of SAP.iO Foundry Tel Aviv.

Seven startups from Israel, the United States, Poland and the United Kingdom were selected, Weizman said. The companies were selected after reviewing startups from over 30 countries.

“The selected startups have advanced capabilities in their fields and have a strong track record of success, which will enable SAP customers to engage in new ways with their customers,” Weizman added.

Publicis Sapient, the digital transformation hub of global communications leader Publicis Groupe, and an SAP client, actively participated in identifying suitable B2B startups from around the world to participate in the acceleration program. Publicis Sapient will serve as a potential beta site for pilots and a marketing channel for startups.

“This strategic initiative with SAP.iO helps drive innovation in the consumer products industry, bringing new thinking from creative startups to help our customers accelerate their digital transformation,” said Kristen Groh, Head of consumer products industry at Publicis Sapient.

During the Equity-Free Program, startups will build and develop their long-term partnership with SAP, which includes joint use case definition, product integration, and various business development activities to form an initial pipeline of transactions. SAP and Publicis Sapient also plan to approach common customers and organize innovation days where they can learn more about disruptive solutions.

The following seven startups selected to participate in the Consumer Engagement Program include some companies in the advanced recruiting phase:

• Algopix provides an intelligence platform for CPGs, brands, e-commerce marketplaces and data businesses to increase their omnichannel sales and market share, and improve their visibility into e-commerce market trends.
• eStoreMedia provides an e-commerce automation suite that helps brands accelerate their online sales, by combining digital shelf analysis, e-commerce research, electronic content management and syndication to online retailers.
• Explorium offers an automated external data platform for advanced analytics and machine learning that automatically connects and associates internal data with thousands of relevant external data signals to accelerate the value of advanced analytics and machine learning models, thus improving the results of complex business problems.
• Jebbit allows anyone to quickly create interactive experiences (quizzes, lookbooks, surveys, etc.) that capture valuable first-party claimed data (also known as zero-party data) without any lines of code.
• Mention me is a referral marketing and customer retention platform that integrates seamlessly with brand websites to incentivize, track and reward referrals throughout the customer experience, helping businesses turn existing customers into advocates of the brand that drive long-term growth.
• SundaySky helps customer-centric brands deliver video experiences at critical points in the customer journey that engage, educate and inspire consumers. The company has already raised $ 70 million, an unusual feat for a young company.
• Storefront view is a mobile-focused eCommerce bodyless front-end platform that operates as an open source project and enables customers to build fast eCommerce websites and applications without changing the backend platform.

SAP also has accelerators in six strategic start-ups, including Paris, Berlin, Munich, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. SAP claims that since the official launch of the SAP.iO foundries in early 2017, they have accelerated the growth of more than 100 startups.

SAP first established its R&D center in Israel in 1998. The center leads the development of the SAP Cloud Platform for the enterprise, while also specializing in machine learning and user identity management. The center also leads strategic partnerships, acquisitions of startups and internal innovation initiatives.