In partnership with Techstars, Arcadis wants to hear your innovative ideas for disrupting the natural and built environment, and we want to work together with you to shape the future of cities. Amid a growing global trend towards urbanization, cities are increasingly under pressure. Fewer resources, rising citizen expectations, and increased social, technological, and environmental stress are some of the challenges. Sustainable development and ensuring future resiliency will require innovation and leveraging technology to solve increasingly critical urban problems.

Arcadis, the leading global Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets, has been improving quality of life for over 125 years. The focus areas of our work include infrastructure, water, buildings, and environmental solutions, and we have strong relationships with key decision makers at our clients worldwide.  The industries we operate in are being disrupted by digital; the future build and use of assets must leverage technology while being human centric in design, taking into consideration how people live, work, and travel in cities.

We have launched the Arcadis City of 2030 Accelerator, in partnership with Techstars and want to work with startups developing technologies that will revolutionize how people live, work, and travel in cities both now and in the future.  This initiative is part of the broader Arcadis Vision 2030 program with the goal of anticipating the future needs of cities and positioning our company to be able to meet them – playing a key role of improving quality of life for citizens. Our deep asset knowledge, combined with our corporate focus on digital, makes us your preferred partner. Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed.

Specifically, we are interested in companies focused on asset and human centric platforms related to design and build infrastructure related assets. Examples of this can include developing innovative ways of digitizing and automating tasks throughout the asset life cycle or creating new business models related to BIM (building information modeling).  This is an opportunity to partner with an established company such as Arcadis that can leverage its knowledge and network to help startups grow their business and materialize innovative ideas.

From the human aspect, we are looking at ways to engage with end users to become data aggregators or sources of insights to inform better design and operation of built assets. This could include solutions to help improve planning and permitting of new infrastructure by engaging and co-creating with communities. But these are all just examples – we want to hear any innovative idea that has the potential to help enhance city life.

Each company accepted into the 3 month program will receive a $20,000 stipend to fund pilots, prototypes, etc., and a $100,000 convertible note for use if needed. Various mentors with industry, investment, or entrepreneurship experience to help scale the business will be assigned.  Mentors will be available to meet regularly, sharing their knowledge and guidance to program participants, as well as opening their networks when appropriate. The end of the program will feature a Demo Day where startups can showcase their ideas, gain deeper partner engagement and support, as well as connect with investors for possible fundraising efforts.

The program will be based in Amsterdam, a place that has one of the best startup ecosystems in Europe and that in recent years has evolved into a “smart city” through its use of information technology to connect and improve city services.  The municipal government has its own CTO and an official Amsterdam Smart City initiative that includes more than 100 partners working on projects to make the city more livable and futureproof. This creates the perfect environment for startups to thrive and test ideas, particularly around urban innovation.

Would you like an opportunity to shape the future of city life with a solid partner that has substantial expertise in this domain?  Apply today to the Arcadis City of 2030 Accelerator – applications close November 11, 2018. For more detailed program and logistics information, see the Techstars FAQ.

To apply to the program, proceed to the application.

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