Omniflow Named Winner of the Second Annual Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge
The North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA) has announced that Omniflow has triumphed in the 2025 Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge held during the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. As a collaborative entity consisting of more than 50 municipalities, agencies, corporations, and academic institutions, the NTXIA aims to create a highly connected regional hub for innovation-related initiatives. Omniflow, a Portuguese company known for its carbon-neutral smart IoT applications, competed against prominent global startups and successfully secured funding, travel, and various pilot opportunities in the United States.
This year’s challenge was characterized by a fierce competition among five remarkable startups, each presenting innovative solutions aimed at addressing specific urban needs. The excitement at the event was palpable, as NTXIA Executive Director Jennifer Sanders noted the remarkable enthusiasm exhibited by the finalists. This year’s challenge featured Omniflow alongside other innovative startups like Advanced Services in Mobility and Helpful Places, making the selection of a winner an arduous task for the judges.
The Smart City Expo serves as a platform where urban technologists and innovators come together to showcase ideas designed to enhance city living. Headquartered in Portugal, Omniflow offers groundbreaking solutions that allow urban infrastructure to become carbon-neutral. Their technology integrates renewable energy sources, including solar and wind, to power various IoT applications. This includes transforming conventional streetlights and benches into intelligent systems capable of supporting numerous services like smart lighting and environmental monitoring.
Pedro Ruão, the CEO of Omniflow, expressed his excitement about winning the challenge and emphasized how this milestone aligns with the company's vision of integrating sustainability into urban development. He stated, "We are eager to collaborate with NTXIA and the cities of North Texas to demonstrate how our innovative solutions can boost public safety and energy resilience while maintaining environmental sustainability."
As part of their prize, Omniflow will receive funding for potential pilot projects along with opportunities to engage with various municipal departments across North Texas, including education, healthcare, and public safety. The event also highlighted key partnerships formed with entities such as the Frisco and McKinney Economic Development Corporations, Plug and Play, and Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, all of which are instrumental in facilitating the entry of international startups into the U.S. market.
The journey doesn't end here for Omniflow; the NTXIA is set to coordinate an organizational trip for the startup to begin exploration and engagement in the U.S. market. The initiative aims to combine cutting-edge technology with practical urban needs, ultimately improving the quality of life for residents.
The challenges faced by companies venturing into new markets were acknowledged by Emily Heintz, Executive Director of Curiosity Lab, who remarked on the lab's mission to provide a supportive entry point for innovators. Similarly, leaders from Frisco and McKinney emphasized the importance of integrating technology into urban planning to foster a more connected, intelligent, and sustainable future.
With NTXIA at the helm, the expectation is that Omniflow's presence will catalyze further innovation within North Texas. David Steele from Plug and Play echoed this sentiment by emphasizing the necessity of supporting bold technological ideas and helping them scale effectively.
As NTXIA prepares for the next phase of this collaboration, Omniflow looks to pave the way for other startups by demonstrating that ingenuity and sustainability can operate in tandem, setting a groundbreaking precedent for what smart cities should aspire to become.
For more details on Omniflow, visit their website at www.omniflow.io and check out NTXIA’s initiatives at NTXIA.org, including their upcoming Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge for 2026.
This year’s challenge was characterized by a fierce competition among five remarkable startups, each presenting innovative solutions aimed at addressing specific urban needs. The excitement at the event was palpable, as NTXIA Executive Director Jennifer Sanders noted the remarkable enthusiasm exhibited by the finalists. This year’s challenge featured Omniflow alongside other innovative startups like Advanced Services in Mobility and Helpful Places, making the selection of a winner an arduous task for the judges.
The Smart City Expo serves as a platform where urban technologists and innovators come together to showcase ideas designed to enhance city living. Headquartered in Portugal, Omniflow offers groundbreaking solutions that allow urban infrastructure to become carbon-neutral. Their technology integrates renewable energy sources, including solar and wind, to power various IoT applications. This includes transforming conventional streetlights and benches into intelligent systems capable of supporting numerous services like smart lighting and environmental monitoring.
Pedro Ruão, the CEO of Omniflow, expressed his excitement about winning the challenge and emphasized how this milestone aligns with the company's vision of integrating sustainability into urban development. He stated, "We are eager to collaborate with NTXIA and the cities of North Texas to demonstrate how our innovative solutions can boost public safety and energy resilience while maintaining environmental sustainability."
As part of their prize, Omniflow will receive funding for potential pilot projects along with opportunities to engage with various municipal departments across North Texas, including education, healthcare, and public safety. The event also highlighted key partnerships formed with entities such as the Frisco and McKinney Economic Development Corporations, Plug and Play, and Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, all of which are instrumental in facilitating the entry of international startups into the U.S. market.
The journey doesn't end here for Omniflow; the NTXIA is set to coordinate an organizational trip for the startup to begin exploration and engagement in the U.S. market. The initiative aims to combine cutting-edge technology with practical urban needs, ultimately improving the quality of life for residents.
The challenges faced by companies venturing into new markets were acknowledged by Emily Heintz, Executive Director of Curiosity Lab, who remarked on the lab's mission to provide a supportive entry point for innovators. Similarly, leaders from Frisco and McKinney emphasized the importance of integrating technology into urban planning to foster a more connected, intelligent, and sustainable future.
With NTXIA at the helm, the expectation is that Omniflow's presence will catalyze further innovation within North Texas. David Steele from Plug and Play echoed this sentiment by emphasizing the necessity of supporting bold technological ideas and helping them scale effectively.
As NTXIA prepares for the next phase of this collaboration, Omniflow looks to pave the way for other startups by demonstrating that ingenuity and sustainability can operate in tandem, setting a groundbreaking precedent for what smart cities should aspire to become.
For more details on Omniflow, visit their website at www.omniflow.io and check out NTXIA’s initiatives at NTXIA.org, including their upcoming Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge for 2026.
Topics Consumer Technology）
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