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SAP Launches First SAP.iO Program in China

SAP announced its first SAP.iO program in China focused on intelligent manufacturing. Five Chinese startups have been selected to join the cohort at the new SAP.iO Foundry Shanghai.

The SAP.iO program is designed to accelerate early-stage business-to-business startups that can extend the SAP portfolio and deliver additional innovation to customers.

“Intelligent manufacturing is not only the national policy of the Chinese government but also the only way forward for China’s economic growth and the transformation of manufacturing enterprises,” said Dr. Chenhong Huang, Global Executive Vice President, SAP SE, and President, SAP Greater China. “Engaging with partners such as startups is critical to succeed in the rapidly growing enterprise software market. SAP.iO complements intelligent manufacturing software from SAP with startup innovation.”

The new Shanghai location reflects SAP’s continued commitment to the vibrant Chinese ecosystem. It extends SAP’s global network of equity-free startup accelerators in the Asia Pacific Japan, North America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions as its tenth SAP.iO Foundries location. During the 12-week program, the selected startups will have access to curated mentorship from SAP executives, exposure to SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs) and opportunities to collaborate with SAP customers.

“We will be working hand in hand with these amazing startups over the next three months to help them integrate with SAP technology and deliver high value to our customers,” said Lalitha Bhaskara, Vice President, SAP.iO Foundries for Asia Pacific Japan & China, SAP.