By Arpan Soparkar and Alexandra Chernyshova, Business Group Analysts | May 1, 2023
Orange Silicon Valley concluded the Green IT Challenge 2023 with a final pitch event on April 20th at the offices of San Francisco’s Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The Challenge is a major initiative to scout and support North American innovation and entrepreneurship in the Green IT sector. From a very competitive pool of 12 finalists, the jury members selected the following contestants as winners:
- Hypertec (Canada) — Provides information technology solutions that include hardware support, IT asset disposition, rack deployment, and home health monitoring
- SkyCool Systems Inc (US) — Delivers sustainable, energy-efficient cooling solutions to customers interested in reducing energy costs and carbon footprint
- New Sun Road (US) — Offers real-time visibility and remote control to manage and optimize power systems operations wherever they are
- BrainBox AI (Canada) — Makes buildings smarter and greener with AI-leveraged HVAC technology
- Aradatum (US) — Provides self-powered towers that can go literally anywhere, putting signal where it’s needed for strong, instantaneous connectivity
Representatives from all five winners will travel to Paris the week of June 12th to meet with leaders of relevant Orange business units and explore business development opportunities. They will also partake in the Viva Technology 2023 conference through the Orange booth.
The finalists were evaluated on various criteria. These included the maturity and innovativeness of their product or service, their climate impact potential, and their alignment with Orange priorities. Orange is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040, a full decade ahead of the rest of the telecom sector. Areas such as data centers, cloud computing, smart buildings, reliable grids, and clean energy continue to be among our top priorities as Orange seeks to partner with green hardware and software startups.
Aligning with these efforts, the Green IT Challenge identified over 100 North American startups and scaleups in these sectors. The team received over 65 applications in February and March. 12 finalists were invited to pitch, remotely and in-person, at the final pitch event last week. The event was organized in partnership with the SF Climate Week, and was hosted by the Climate Tech Finance program of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
The remote panel of Orange jury members included Jean-Francois Cognet, Director, CSR at Orange Business; Marion Le Calloch, CSR Manager at Orange Innovation; Pascal Lesecq, Head of Climate Change and Environmental Management, Orange Network and IT Division; Adrien Suarez, Data Analysis and Data Science Chapter Manager and Green IT PO, Orange Business; and Marc Vautier, Referent Expert of Orange Experts Community on Energy and Environment, Orange Innovation.
The in-person jury panel consisted of Andrea Sguazzi, Hub Manager, Silicon Valley Enel Innovation Hub; Steve Markus, Investor, Voyager Ventures; Christine Kim, Associate, Clifford Chance; and Gabriel Sidhom, CEO, Orange Silicon Valley. Orange Innovation VP of Open Innovation, Insight, and Promotion Stephanie Cavailles delivered the keynote speech at the event.
Arpan Soparkar, Business Group Analyst, Orange Silicon Valley
Arpan leads the Green IT portfolio at Orange Silicon Valley. He believes that cities hold the key to sustainable technological development, innovation, and the future of humanity. His professional background includes software development, technical product management, and early-stage (VC and angel) investments. Passionate about people and the planet, he holds an MBA from UC Berkeley.
Alexandra Chernyshova, Business Group Analyst, Orange Silicon Valley
Alexandra leads Consumer Internet & Home Services at Orange Silicon Valley. Building on extensive international experience, she made her career within the Orange Group and her most recent role was Director of Marketing at Orange’s venture capital arm, Orange Ventures. Alexandra joined the company via the Orange Graduate Program in 2010, holds a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Malta, and a master’s degree in International Management from Bocconi.