Sponsors

Founded in 1875 by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet in the Swiss village of Le Brassus, Audemars Piguet is the oldest Manufacture of Haute Horlogerie never to have left the hands of the founding families. Today, its range encompasses complex mechanical watches, Haute Joaillerie creations as well as a line of jewellery. At each stage in its history, the Manufacture has daringly adopted avant-garde techniques in order to place them in the service of traditional craftsmanship. This approach has earned it an unparalleled number of world firsts in the field of Haute Horlogerie.

Endeavour Vision is a premier European venture capital firm investing in high potential companies in the information technology and life sciences sectors. Since 1989, the principals have made over 63 investments in 12 different countries. The goal of Endeavour Vision is to contribute to the success of companies who demonstrate great potential by teaming up with entrepreneurs and sharing skills, expertise and network To better support Entrepreneurs, the firm has developed two institutions: the European Tech Tour Association, a non-profit foundation generating networking opportunities for Entrepreneurs with VCs, Corporations and other Entrepreneurs, and the CEO-Circle, a group of world-class entrepreneurial CEOs who are committed in helping with the development of portfolio companies.

Some investments made by the principals include Sandisk, Dolphin Interconnect, SCM Microsystems, Virata, Altitun, Cirpack, Media Lario, Tagsys RFID and Sequans, (Information Technology); and Actelion, Axovan, Endoart and Novimmune (Life Sciences).

Weber Shandwick is a Communications Partner of the European Tech Tour, supporting both the European level organization and the various country tours.  Weber Shandwick, a unit of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), is one of the world's leading public relations agencies, with offices in major media, business and government capitals around the world. Weber Shandwick is a leader in marketing public relations, public affairs and corporate communications counseling, and also provides services in advocacy advertising, market research and visual communications.

Capital-E provides early stage capital for enabling electronics. The venture capitalist cultivates a special competence in co-founding technology ventures from lab to business. The fund seeks to enhance value by adding sustainable intellectual property to already performing firms. Through an entrenched relationship with imec, the largest independent research center in micro- and nano-electronics in Europe, ventures can directly rely on the support of over 1300 scientists with industrial focus. From idea validation up to complex products using semiconductors in one way or another. Capital-E has access through Imec to over 500 industrial partners worldwide such as Philips, Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Intel, Matsushita/Panasonic, Texas Instruments, Samsung and TSMC to speed-up the process of market-ready products or services.

Doughty Hanson & Co is one of Europe's largest independent private Equity fund managers, with funds focused on private equity, European real estate, and technology start-up companies . Headquartered in London, the firm has offices throughout Europe as well as in the United States. Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures invest in outstanding management teams to build world-class companies. The fund provides early-stage venture capital financing to technology companies throughout Europe, focusing on software, communications technologies and semiconductors. For more information, please visit www.doughtyhanson.com.

IBM develops, manufactures and markets state-of-the-art semiconductor and interconnect technologies, products and services including industry-leading Power Architecture microprocessors. IBM semiconductors are a major contributor to the company's position as the world's largest information technology company. Its chip products and solutions power IBM eServer and TotalStorage systems as well as many of the world's best-known electronics brands. IBM semiconductor innovations include dual-core microprocessors, copper wiring, silicon-on-insulator and silicon germanium transistors, strained silicon, and eFUSE, a technology that enables computer chips to automatically respond to changing conditions. More information is available at: http://www.ibm.com/chips.

Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet, semiconductor manufacturing and clean tech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$7.5 billion in approximately 1,000 companies in 45 countries. In that timeframe, 168 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 212 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2007, Intel Capital invested about US$639 million in 166 deals with approximately 37 percent of funds invested outside the United States. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit www.intelcapital.com .

Northzone Ventures has to date raised five funds totalling € 345 Million. We have managed to consistently deliver top tier returns to our Limited Partners thanks to a consistent and focused investment strategy and a hands-on operating modus when supporting our portfolio companies. We have over the years built a strong line-up of well known LPs in our funds as well as a strong roster of co-investment partners for our portfolio companies.

Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in Paris. We invest in early stage companies and corporate spin-offs, in the technology and life sciences spaces:

- 460 companies financed in Europe since 1972
- Over 1 in 5 companies financed have gone public
- Over 1 in 5 companies financed have been acquired
- 40 jobs created per company on average between financing and exit
- Revenues multiplied by 8 on average between financing and exit.

Synopsys is the leading provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software and services used to design complex integrated circuits (ICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and systems-on-chips (SoCs) for the global semiconductor and electronics industries. Synopsys solutions include pre-designed and pre-verified blocks of intellectual property (IP) that can be easily inserted into design flows, as well as technology to address yield and manufacturing issues early in the design process. Compute power, multi-media, graphics and communications features are converging in consumer products, putting additional pressure on engineers to create designs that are especially sensitive to cost, power consumption and size. Synopsys gives its customers a competitive edge in bringing the best products to market quickly while reducing costs and schedule risk. From high-level synthesis to silicon, Synopsys provides solutions to the most difficult challenges that confront engineers who are pushing electronic design to the limit. Synopsys technology can be found in virtually every chip in the world.

Wellington Partners invests venture capital in young and creative Information and Communication Technology ( ICT) and Life Science companies that embrace, create and utilize global technology trends. Wellington Partners invests in early-stage technology and life science companies throughout Europe, with a particular focus on German-speaking countries. Wellington Partners currently has € 350 million under management and typically invests between € 1 and € 10 million.

Logitech designs, manufactures and markets personal peripherals that enable people to effectively work, play, and communicate in the digital world. The company's products combine essential core technologies, continuing innovation, award-winning industrial design and excellent price performance.

The Chilli is a unique media platform for high-tech entrepreneurs, investors and advisors. The Chilli is an established global brand in the technology entrepreneurial food chain in Europe, US and now expanding out in Asia. Our information and in-depth analysis are available through regular newsletter updates, online products and live at seminars, conferences and events.

Red Herring is a media company whose mission is to cover innovation, technology, financing and entrepreneurial activity. Its staff of award-winning journalists tell readers what's first, what matters and most importantly, why.