IBM CEO Ginny Rometty pitched mobile developers on Watson and launched a global competition to promote apps for the cognitive computing platform.
In a keynote at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Rometty outlined IBM's mobile strategy for Watson. Big Blue recently formed a Watson business group to focus on monetizing cognitive computing.
Rometty said that the IBM Watson Mobile Developer Challenge will run three months to court applications that leverage Watson’s technology. IBM said it will select three winners and support the developers to bring their apps to market.
For IBM, creating an ecosystem around Watson is critical. The reality is that IBM can't possibly develop Watson apps to target every use case across enterprises and industries.
Here's how the contest works:
So far, IBM has collected cognitive computing app ideas from 1,500 people and companies.
Previously: IBM's Watson Group invests in Welltok | IBM Watson heads to Africa with $100m investment | IBM CEO Rometty: Watson, cognitive computing mainstreaming begins | IBM forms Watson Business Group: Will commercialization follow?