Epson Invites Developers and Startups to Participate in its Second “U.S. Innovation Challenge”

Offering an attractive ecosystem of over tens of millions of printers and scanners sold across more than 150 countries, Epson today announced it will be hosting its second U.S.-based “Epson Innovation Challenge,” offering developers a unique opportunity to partner with a trusted brand with global reach. Held in San Francisco, San Jose and remotely from July 12-20, the event challenges innovators to develop a working MVP (minimum viable product) concept using Epson Connect^™ and an Epson printer or scanner. Applications are open now through July 5.

“Epson is committed to providing an attractive platform for innovative partners to develop new solutions and user experiences on top of Epson’s print and scan products that will foster communication and collaboration while utilizing Epson Connect, our secure cloud service,” said Junkichi Yoshida, COO, Epson Printing Solutions.

Epson has built a global reputation for user-friendly precision hardware products that can be found anywhere from consumer homes, in education, small and medium businesses to government agencies. This Innovation Challenge gives developers a unique opportunity to integrate the Epson Connect API with their existing products or to build new solutions utilizing the power of the secure cloud service for scanning and printing, with access to millions of users. Sectors that can benefit from such solutions could include Healthcare, PropTech, Hybrid Work or to provide secure printing and scanning in InsurTech and Fintech.

“The Epson Innovation Challenge is a great opportunity for startups and innovators to rapidly test their creativity and pitch to Epson’s top management team, directly engaging with our Digital Innovation team and winning fantastic prizes,” said Jack Rieger, director, Digital Innovation, Epson America, Inc. “We are looking forward to the exchange of ideas in the developer community leveraging the Epson Connect secure cloud service through this hackathon series.”

Epson is working with San Francisco-based Foundry 415 Innovation Group, an experienced operator for startup accelerator and corporate innovation programs, to host the event. “We had an incredible group of startups in our first U.S. Challenge and are looking forward to this second Innovation Challenge,” said Christian Litsch, head of corporate innovation services, Foundry 415. “We’re very excited that Mr. Yoshida, COO, Epson Printing Solutions will be in San Francisco for the Demo Day. We’ve planned an exciting week packed with insightful workshops, including with renowned Demo Pitch Coach Nathan Gold, known to help Shark Tank appearances, TED talks and various startup teams deliver impactful presentations.”

The challenge awards (terms and conditions) include first, second and third place cash and Epson product prizes. Interested developers can find more information on the Epson Innovation Challenge website and can prepare by registering for an Epson Connect account.