WIRELESS entrepreneurs from Cambridgeshire will have the opportunity to pitch their innovative technologies and business plans to major industry players later this year.

WIRELESS entrepreneurs from Cambridgeshire will have the opportunity to pitch their innovative technologies and business plans to the likes of Google, Microsoft and Orange, along with some of the world’s leading angel and VC investors, later this year.

The pitch event will mark the finals of the Discovering Start-Ups competition, run by Cambridge Wireless and supported by the East of England Development Agency. The new initiative is designed to showcase and support the next generation of wireless technology companies.

The judging panel for the dragon’s den style finals in December includes Tim Regan at Microsoft; Frederic Rombaut, head of Qualcomm Ventures Europe; Wolfgang Schuster from Vodafone Group R&D; Jean-Louis Fuccellaro, managing director, Orange Labs UK, and Clive Grinyer, director customer experience, CISCO.

And from the investor community, the judges include Jamie Urquhart of Pond Venture Partners and co-founder of ARM; Bruno Dizengremel of Innovacom, the VC arm of Orange; and Chris Winters, New Venture Partners.

In addition to presenting to this line-up, entrants to the Discovering Start-Ups 2010 competition also get the chance to win cash prizes, business consultancy and services.

In parallel with the competition, Cambridge Wireless is also running a series of master-classes designed to give start-up companies some of the skills they need to succeed.

“This is a unique opportunity for new local wireless businesses to pitch their ideas to a panel with years of industry experience and successful track records of spotting and backing winning technologies and businesses,” said David Cleevely, chairman of Cambridge Wireless.

INFORMATION: There are five entry categories in Discovering Start-Ups: cognitive and/or green radio, hot applications and services, wireless health and wellness innovations, technology design in wireless, and emerging disruptive ideas. Any business or R&D organisation with a new product or service that falls into one of these categories is eligible to enter. The closing date for entries is October 29, and the final pitches and awards takes place on December 9 at Newnham College, Cambridge.