Hertz Kicks Off Silicon Valley Connected Car Hackathon with BMW Ventures, AT&T, Nokia, nestGSV and other Partners

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hertz Corporation (NYSE:HTZ) and nestGSV, the world's first 'ecobator' (ecosystem + incubator), today announced Hertz's "Mobility and Connected Car" Hackathon, to be held at nestGSV in Redwood City, CA, Friday, April 19, 2013 and Saturday, April 20, 2013. The weekend of innovation will bring together developers, entrepreneurs, corporate partners, and industry experts throughout Silicon Valley for dynamic collaboration to create mobility solutions that offer customers the fastest, easiest and most valued experience afforded by the most technologically innovative products and services available for business and leisure travel.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110810/NY50373LOGO )

More than 400 developers are signed up to gather, learn and create apps that will point to the future of the automotive and travel sectors. Participants will join teams and develop the next connected car apps until the buzzer sounds Saturday afternoon for them to present their creations. Each team will have 3 minutes to pitch their creation to a panel of expert judges. Full schedule of events: http://hertzhackathonsv-efbevent.eventbrite.com

"Hertz is a technology driven company, and we're committed to enhancing the Hertz customer experience both within and beyond the car," said Mark Frissora, Chairman and CEO of Hertz. "This weekend's hackathon and our Silicon Valley initiative are geared toward driving the innovative technology and service solutions to provide the fastest, easiest and most connected experience our customers have come to expect from a leader like Hertz."

"We are delighted to participate with Hertz, nestGSV and the other partners in this hackathon to find the next great innovations and startups focused on changing the face of mobility," said Mark Platshon, Advisor to BMW i-Ventures, Venture Partner at Castrol Innoventures and Partner at Birchmere Ventures. "It is especially exciting to work together with a company like Hertz that has the scope and reach to impact consumers around the world as we bring such innovations to market."

The Hackathon: Innovation in Action 
Hertz CIO, Joe Eckroth and Vice President of Global Information Technology, Rob Moore, will present the vision, direction and opportunity for developers, who will also learn about integrating prize APIs from leaders at Nokia, HERE, AT&T, ChargePoint, Twilio, VoicePark, RechargeCar and Kiva. Each participant gets 3 minutes to present their idea and teams formed Friday night will work throughout Saturday to produce their apps. Guides will be available throughout the entire day to help code solutions.

Winning participants in the hackathon will be rewarded with more than $50,000 in cash as well as other prizes, access to business leaders in the connected car, mobility and transportation space — including Hertz, AT&T, Nokia and others— and will receive support by Hertz and nestGSV to further develop and bring their products to market. 

Selected startups that are aligned with Hertz's innovation strategy will be accelerated over a 3-month period in a Hertz Accelerator program, located at, and run by nestGSV.

"nestGSV is dedicated to helping the entire ecosystem of innovation — from entrepreneurs to investors to global organizations — to identify, partner and drive the most exciting technology solutions into the market," said nestGSV CEO Kayvan Baroumand. "The commitment of such industry leaders as Hertz, AT&T and our other partners to the process of incubation, education, and events like this hackathon are shining examples of how entrepreneurs with great ideas and organizations of all sizes can meet and work together to bring great ideas to consumers and businesses around the world."

About The Hertz Corporation
 
Hertz, the largest worldwide airport general use car rental brand, operates from approximately 8,800 locations in approximately 150 countries. Hertz is the number one airport car rental brand in the U.S. and at 111 major airports in Europe. Hertz is an inaugural member of Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards Hall of Fame, was named by the magazine's readers' as the Best Car Rental Agency, and was voted the Best Overall Car Rental Company in Zagat's 2012/13 U.S. Car Rental Survey.  Products such as Hertz Gold Choice, NeverLost®, and unique cars and SUVs offered through the Company's Adrenaline, Prestige and Green Traveler Collections, set Hertz.  Hertz owns the vehicle leasing and fleet management leader Donlen Corporation, operates the Hertz On Demand car sharing, and owns a leading North American equipment rental business, Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation, which includes Hertz Entertainment Services. 
www.hertz.com

About nestGSV
nestGSV is more than just a place; it's a way of doing business. As the world's first "ecobator", nestGSV furnishes a rich ecosystem of services essential to the success of emerging technology companies. We bring together entrepreneurs, investors, large corporations, professional service providers, governments and educational institutions to drive collaborative innovation, successful market adoption and growth. Our ecobator model fosters supportive relationships between players in the innovation economy that create mutual benefit for all involved parties. For further information, visit the nestGSV website at http://www.nestgsv.com. 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joinnestgsv and Twitter: @nestgsv

SOURCE The Hertz Corporation