Tesco has partnered with Israel’s leading venture capital firm JVP on its new start-up platform.

The scheme, JVP Play, has been designed in close collaboration with Tesco Labs, the research and development team at the retail giant.

Tesco Labs will act as a “strategic partner” on the programme. It will help select the start-ups and “real-world test” the products developed.

This is the first time that Tesco Labs has collaborated in this way with any start-up outside of the UK.

Other JVP Play partners include financial services leader Barclays and technology giant Microsoft.

The start-ups will be selected based on the value of their technology and the scale of the problem it addresses.

Those selected will be assigned a team of mentors from Tesco Labs and the other strategic partners who will help define the vision, potential markets and messaging around the product.

Tesco Labs head of technology research Paul Wilkinson said: “We strive to work at the cutting edge of technology in order to ensure that we can continually provide the best experience for our customers.

“Being able to discover and engage with start-ups plays a key role in this, and we’re delighted to be part of JVP Play, where we look forward to meeting the brightest and best – who may be able to help us shape the future of retail.”