MONTREAL, Quebec, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Entrepreneurs Stephane Manos and Ouissam Youssef, founders of Valsoft Corporation, will make a donation to Concordia University’s idea incubator, District 3, to support the department’s entry into the ANA Avatar XPRIZE. Previously spread over three years for the benefit of Concordia’s Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science Capstone project, Manos and Ouissam’s donation will be converted into a one-time advance and renamed as the Valsoft Avatar Project.
The $10-million ANA Avatar XPRIZE is a four-year global competition focused on the development of a robotic avatar system that will transport a human’s senses, actions, and presence to a remote location in real time, leading to a more connected world. In the near future, avatars are expected to provide care to anyone instantly, regardless of distance; intervene in disaster zones too dangerous for humans; and deliver rare trade skills for critical remote repairs. International entries will close on September 30, 2019, whereupon selected teams will embark on a 3-year development path, culminating in a Grand Prize Winner announcement in April 2022.
Concordia University’s District 3 is a community dedicated to collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship, located in a dynamic workspace on university grounds. The think tank empowers Concordia students, faculty, and alumni from various disciplines to collaborate on challenging real-world initiatives that transform bold ideas into tangible ventures for the betterment of society. “The ANA Avatar XPRIZE has galvanized Concordia’s technology and creative thinkers, and inspired our own company,” said Stephane Manos. “District 3 is deploying intense efforts and resources to attract and qualify two teams for the competition, and we have decided to support their mission by making our entire donation available in 2019.”
Only thirty international teams will be accepted, with applications being submitted by some of the planet’s leading technology institutions, including MIT and Stanford. Ten teams will be eliminated each year, until three finalists are selected in June 2021. “The ANA Avatar XPRIZE embodies all our values: entrepreneurship, dynamic competition, and world-changing innovation,” added Ouissam Youssef, “We truly admire the way a prize of this magnitude can blitz a goal, stimulate global collaboration, and achieve breakthroughs. We hope that the Valsoft donation to the Avatar XPRIZE will be instrumental in securing a place at the table for Concordia, District 3, and Montreal minds.”
Graduates of Concordia University, Manos and Youssef have built Valsoft Corporation, a Montreal-based company devoted to the acquisition and development of software businesses in niche vertical markets, into an international leader in hospitality, transportation, education, and government management solutions. “Ouissam and I have entrepreneurship embedded in our DNA,” concluded Manos. “If we can give back, inspire and enable fellow Concordia students to make an impact, count us in.”
Sources: Valsoft Corporation and Concordia University
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Leeja Murphy, Agence Pink
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