IoChem-BD, the ICIQ Open Data platform, moves towards market

The project has been selected to participate in The Collider entrepreneurship programme, and it is now in the first stage of this business accelerator platform promoted by the Barcelona Mobile World Capital Foundation

From left to right: Dr. Mireia Segado Centellas, Dr. Diego Garay Ruiz, Prof. Carles Bo and Moisés Àlvarez.

The ioChem-BD platform is an open software that started in 2015 led by Prof. Carles Bo and the software engineer Moisés Àlvarez with the support of the computational groups (Prof. Núria López and Prof. Feliu Maseras) at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ-CERCA) in collaboration with URV, UAB and ICREA. Over these years, the platform has received extensive support from the Red Española de Supercomputación BSC-RES. In February, ioChem-BD reached a new milestone with 500 open datasets linked to journal research articles identified by DOIs and more than 300k indexed structures of molecules and materials.

IoChem-BD is an open-access and open-source initiative that allows researchers to further analyse data published by their peers, or to start new studies based on existing work. According to MWCapital, the platform has business potential.

After a thorough review of the application, the Mobile World Capital Foundation was impressed by ioChem-BD Project’s value proposal: “We feel that you would make an excellent addition to our Venture Builder”, states the programme organization, adding that the Mobile World Capital Foundation is excited to welcome ioChem-BD Project to The Collider Venture Builder and hopes that the team “finds it a fulfilling and helpful experience that gets them on the road to achieving great things for their project”.

Our new tools are designed to optimize resources and to accelerate the computational discovery of new chemical processes and materials design“

Prof. Carles Bo

Currently, ioChem-BD is widely used by academic groups worldwide as a freely available web service for storing and sharing results of research projects. According to Prof. Carles Bo, the platform converts raw data generated in computational simulations and from distinct sources into enriched and unique databases, which allow further advanced data analysis and data reuse. “Our new tools are designed to optimize resources and to accelerate the computational discovery of new chemical processes and materials design”, states Prof. Bo.

In this first stage, which will run until the end of May, the ioChem-BD team will receive support for the preparation of the business plan, an MBA-style formation. This phase consists in the technological validation of the project and will also involve the participation of the Knowledge and Transfer Unit from ICIQ.

Each stage of the program provides new perspectives on business ideas, bringing them one step closer to their Minimum Viable Product (MVP). At the end of each stage, a business pitch assesses all the projects. Only the remaining projects at the end of the programme will be able to become a spin-off.

Jolt as a successful case of The Collider programme

Jolt Solutions is an ICIQ spin-off that was created as a result of The Collider programme. It was selected to participate in the previous edition, where the Jolt team had the opportunity to optimize its technology, prepare their business plan and ultimately become a startup company with significant market potential.

The Venture Builder Collider is specialized in deep tech startups that bridges the gap between science and market. Based in Barcelona, The Collider has a proven track record of helping startups bring their ideas to the market, as it did with Jolt Solutions. By connecting scientific researchers with entrepreneurial talent, the programme transfers state-of-the-art technology into products or services for society.