Today, with 150 million startups worldwide and another 50 million launching each year, innovation and creativity are reshaping industries. However, roughly 1 in 5 startups fail in the first year because of a variety of difficulties, from financial struggles to poor product-market fit.
Recognizing this, OPPO actively engages with startups, providing essential support to help them navigate obstacles and bring their innovations to fruition.
“At OPPO, we understand the diverse needs of startups. We offer comprehensive support, including funding, technology, and marketing, to foster their growth and extend the benefits of technology to more people. Through these strategies, startups such as AlpsenTek, HUAYI, and CloudSteth are expected to apply their innovations to real life,” said Yan Ren, Director of Open Innovation, OPPO. “As AI has become one of the most promising areas these days, OPPO is actively entering this space and seeking further collaboration with startups to unlock new possibilities with AI.”
Go beyond investment
To be successful, startups need more than just an idea. AlpsenTek, specializing in machine vision, leveraged OPPO’s financial and technical support to integrate its cutting-edge hybrid vision sensor ALPIX-Eiger® with AI algorithm capabilities. Leveraging Qualcomm’s Snapdragon® Mobile Platforms, OPPO led the development of a set of AI Motion algorithms that can process the information from the sensor to de-blur images and help users capture true-to-life moments on the fly. This has helped AlpsenTek’s leading technology be applied to smartphones and given it the chance to further drive AI-related innovation for both sides.
As OPPO has been investing in XR, another startup – DeepMirror – has joined OPPO’s innovation networks. To help the company be quickly recognized by the industry, OPPO invited DeepMirror to showcase its latest AR game on the global stage, MWC24. Powered by its cloud-based service, MirrorVerse, visitors can interact with real environments inside games, adding more fun to the experience.
Co-create to drive disruption
To cultivate new technologies, co-creation is the name of the game. Whether for a big company or a startup, co-creation provides both parties with a way to make one plus one sum to something more than two.
A good example of this kind of R&D partnership is with one of our startup friends, HUAYI Medical Technologies. Founded in 2021, HUAYI is a high-tech startup that specializes in contactless health monitoring technology and products. The company’s core technology solution is called “WonTrackR,” which combines millimeter wave technology, radar/physiological signal processing and reconstruction, and AI modeling. Unlike the cold, mechanical medical equipment of old, a device featuring WonTrackR can be placed anywhere at home to monitor various health metrics, taking care of family members in a warm and unintrusive way.
Another example is CloudSteth. CloudSteth’s intelligent auscultation system can automatically analyze heart and lung sounds through AI to help children with pneumonia, asthma, and congenital heart disease get diagnosed earlier and receive the medical treatment they need sooner. Through close cooperation with leading hospitals in China, the company has accumulated rich experience in medical treatment.
Both startups’ solutions are making meaningful advancements in preventive healthcare and telemedicine, which is one of OPPO’s core research fields. During INNO DAY 2022, OPPO unveiled its OHealth H1 family health monitor to help diagnose illnesses and provide treatment suggestions. Currently, OPPO is joining with HUAYI and CloudSteth to conduct clinical trials aimed at increasing the accuracy of AI algorithms in data monitoring and refining IoT products like OHealth H1.
Drawing on long-term empowerment
For OPPO, empowering startups is not a one-off, but a part of its permanent mission. Initiatives like the OPPO Inspiration Challenge provide startups with ongoing support and global recognition opportunities.
For example, OPPO worked together with Tangtangquan to implement its digital therapeutic solution on the OPPO Watch 3 and 4, which has so far helped more than 20,000 users monitor their blood glucose and manage their health more conveniently. In December 2023, OPPO invited Bluepha Co., Ltd to showcase its green material alternative to plastic – Bluepha™ PHA- to a global audience during COP28. The material was crafted into the phone case for OPPO Find N2 Flip, proving its potential for commercial use in the future.
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