Pontos’ portfolio company R8 Technologies (R8tech) has won the GREAT Tech for Change category at the Tech Rocketship awards Europe 2020–21 hosted by United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade (DIT). The recognition will further strengthen the company’s presence in UK and internationally. As a category winner, R8tech will receive a personalised business development programme in the UK tailored to its specific business needs.

“R8tech’s unique AI-based solution strongly supports the sustainability and efficiency goals of real estate companies. The UK market is very attractive for us due to its high concentration of this type of companies. The cooperation with DIT values for us in building reliability, visibility and networking for developing our operations in the UK,” said Siim Täkker, the CEO of R8 Technologies.

The first-ever European version of the Tech Rocketship Awards, which is the celebrated start-ups programme of the UK’s Department for International Trade, yielded hundreds of entries from all corners of Europe and Israel. 24 companies pitched against each other across two semi-finals, and 8 scale-ups were chosen as Best in Category.

The awards are now entering the Grand Finale, where the best eight category winners companies will battle to be crowned one of the top three winners by high-profile judges. “I’m pleased to be part of the judging panel for the upcoming Tech Rocketship Awards and to help identify some of the incredible European tech businesses that are ready to scale-up and go global,” said Lord Grimstone of Bescobel, Minister for Investment in the United Kingdom.

For more information on the competition, visit the Tech Rocketship Awards Europe website.

Pontos Group is a Finnish family office that invests in real estate, real estate development, real estate digitalization, growth companies and private equity funds. The company is an active and long-term owner committed to the continuous development of its portfolio companies. It invests in real estate and companies in Finland and its surrounding area as well as private equity funds globally. Pontos seeks to increase investments in the digitalization of the real estate industry and the development of real estate lifecycles, all the way from construction to usage. The company seeks to develop cities and population centers in a way that is sustainable for people and the environment. 

R8 Technologies is a company that’s focused on decreasing energy consumption in commercial properties whilst keeping an outstanding indoor climate for every room. R8tech is a member of PropTech Finland, UK PropTech ja GreenTech Alliance. The company is active in 12 different countries across the EU, including Portugal, Finland, Austria, Netherlands and Poland. Company’s headquarters is located in Tallinn, Estonia. The clients include WeWork, CBRE, EDP, Sokotel, EfTEN Capital. In 2019, R8tech was awarded Winner of Ramboll Bright Ideas Challenge. In 2020, R8tech was awarded Best Building Energy Efficiency Solution by Wealth&Finance International. More information: https://r8tech.io.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) helps UK businesses export, drives inward and outward investment, negotiates market access and trade deals, and champions free trade. For more information visit www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-trade or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter @tradegovuk