SXSW Pitch Archive

SXSW Pitch Presented by Cyndx Awards Ceremony - Photo by Camille Mayor

SXSW Pitch (formerly SXSW Accelerator®) features interactive technology companies from across multiple categories. Each March, these companies dazzle a live audience with their company pitch and Q&A with our panel of judges. Ten category winners are announced at the SXSW Pitch Awards ceremony after the two-day competition at SXSW.

Browse winners, finalists, judges, and other SXSW Pitch participants below.

2022
Winners | Finalists & Alternates | Emcees & Judges | Coaches & Qualifiers

2021
Winners | Finalists & Alternates | Emcees & Judges | Coaches & Qualifiers

2020
Finalists | Alternates | Emcees & Judges | Coaches & Qualifiers

2019
Winners | Finalists | Emcees & Judges | Coaches & Qualifiers

2018
Winners | Finalists | Emcees & Judges | Coaches & Qualifiers

More Past Winners:

2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010


2022 Winners

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice

2022 Winner: Hume AI

Enterprise & Smart Data

2022 Winner: Syrup Tech
 

Entertainment, Gaming & Content

2022 Winner: Action Face

Extended Reality & Immersive Technology

2022 Winner: MATSUKO

Future of Work

2022 Winner: Anthill


Health, Wearables & Wellbeing

2022 Winner: Sonavi Labs

Innovative World Technologies

2022 Winner: Hilos

Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics

2022 Winner: JusticeText

Social & Culture

2022 Winner: MOGL

SXSW Pitch 2022 also crowned its “Best In Show” winner, Hilos. Special awards were also presented to Kiro Action for “Best Bootstrap,” Unpacking for “Best One Minute Speed Pitch,” and Sonavi Labs for “Best DEI.”

2022 Finalists & Alternates

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice

Finalists

beingAI
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

beingAI is the world’s first transmedia AI company creating AI beings that build long-term engagement and trust with digital-native consumers anywhere, anytime, across devices and media platforms. Our mission is to bring empathy and positivity into how we nurture and experience AI, so we can collaborate with AI to help humanity thrive.

CIRQ+
Scottsdale, AZ

CIRQ+ is an AI, automation, and robotics platform for commercial properties helping protect people against pathogens while reducing costs with plug and play technology. In response to COVID-19, CIRQ+, created CBOT, the world’s first IOT autonomous disinfection robot that disinfects without manual labor creating healthier and safer spaces for all.

Hume AI
New York, NY

Hume AI provides the science and technology needed to build AI with empathy. Our platform brings emotional awareness and responsiveness to voice assistants, telehealth, social networks, and other AI systems. Together with our sister non-profit, we are paving the way for AI optimized for well-being.

Mod Tech Labs
Austin, TX

MOD helps creative agencies digitize the real-world with AI-powered capture and 3D software workflows for enhanced retail marketing and monetization. Transforming photos and videos into 3D digital content faster with a no-code automated SaaS platform. Enabling 3D visuals of products, people, and worlds across devices and interactive content needs.

Sylvester.ai
Calgary, Canada

Sylvester.ai creates predictive healthcare products powered by artificial intelligence and validated science to improve animal health outcomes across species. We believe animals can live healthier, longer lives when humans are able to be more proactive in their care.

Alternates

Barometer
Chattanooga, TN

Barometer uses AI to analyze text, from tweets, to news, to podcast transcripts, and outputs consistent ratings to inform decision makers at companies and marketing agencies, managing content at scale.

The Collaboratory
Chicago, IL

The Collaboratory’s first-of-its-kind search engine leverages cutting edge NLP to help life science professionals get the technical documents they need (both public and proprietary) faster than ever. Using our platform, biopharma companies can reduce their R&D costs and accelerate time to market.

Hummingbirds AI
Miami Beach, FL

Hummingbirds AI is an Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision startup. Our goal is providing trustable AI and helping global enterprises to optimize employee performance, security and enhance companies’ efficiency. We're on a mission to democratize responsible AI for the enterprise. Saving the planet one company at a time.

Enterprise and Smart Data

Finalists

CaseCTRL
Houston, TX

Better surgeries. Happier Patients. CaseCTRL's patent-pending SaaS surgical management platform streamlines surgical scheduling and coordination workflows enabling collaboration across surgeons, schedulers, administrators, billing, and staff. CaseCTRL reduces surgery cancellations, complications, operational costs, and administrative burden while maximizing surgical case revenue and patient satisfaction. Built by surgeons for surgical practices.

KeyCaliber
Washington, DC

KeyCaliber automatically identifies critical cyber assets using machine learning, empowering cybersecurity and infrastructure programs with the essential business context and self-awareness needed to optimize resources and ensure business resilience

Mozart Data
San Francisco, CA

Mozart Data is an out-of-the-box Modern Data Stack that provides the easiest and quickest way to consolidate, organize, and analyze your data, without engineering or technical knowledge. Go from unstructured, siloed, and messy data to analysis-ready with just a few button clicks, SQL, and only a few hours.

Syrup Tech
New York, NY

Syrup Tech is an end-to-end inventory excellence engine for apparel & fashion. We use sophisticated AI/ML to boost profitability through fewer lost sales, enhance sustainability through reduced excess and overproduction, and significantly improve the workflows for merchandisers and planners. The inventory revolution is here.

ZeBrand
New York, NY

ZeBrand is an AI-driven brand-building platform that helps emerging businesses brand their way to growth by defining a solid brand strategy, designing digital brand guidelines, and delivering brand assets at a fraction of the cost–no skills required.

Alternates

NachoNacho
San Francisco, CA

NachoNacho is a fintech-enabled B2B SaaS marketplace. It is a one-stop shop for businesses to manage and buy all SaaS: (1) Consolidate all existing SaaS spend in 1 account. Create a separate virtual credit card for each subscription, with tight limits. (2) Get massive discounts on hundreds of SaaS products.

QualSights
Chicago, IL

Ranked the #1 fastest growing market research platform by Inc. Magazine, QualSights is an immersive insights platform that leverages innovative technology to help companies quickly generate the most authentic insights from consumers anywhere in the world.

Westcott
Los Angeles, CA

Signals-driven automated advertising platform bringing the speed and precision of high-frequency trading to ad-buying for music and streamed media.

Entertainment, Gaming & Content

Finalists

Action Face
Berkeley, CA

Action Face is the first 3D scanning app that instantly transforms users into 3D action figures that they can customize and purchased - at an affordable price as a physical 3D print. They also get a free 3D animation of their figure they can share with friends.

Feelbelt
Berlin, Germany

Feelbelt innovates the experience of multimedia content through haptic feedback. In the perception of content and sound, the fourth dimension - the sense of touch - has long been neglected. The technology of the feelbelt transmits all audible frequencies from 1-20,000hz in form of mechanical impulses directly onto the body.

Nailbot
Carlsbad, CA

Preemadonna is a California based technology startup that powers creative expression with interactive experiences by and for its community of creators. Preemadonna’s first product, Nailbot, prints personalized art on nails in five seconds.

Pianity
Paris, France

Pianity is an NFT music platform where musicians and their community can create, sell, buy and collect limited edition tracks. By restoring the status of art to music, Pianity provides a new source of income for artists, allowing them to be more independent and to live better from their passion.

Social Cipher
Los Angeles, CA

Social Cipher builds social-emotional learning games for youth of all neurotypes and software for the professionals who work with them.

Alternates

Happaning
London, UK

What’s Happaning? Like Google street view, but with video; Happaning lets you navigate events from any perspective, at any time, and from anywhere in one immersive live/on-demand experience. We call our tech multi-Vantage Videos, or simply ViiVid®. The world's first crowdsourced storytelling platform.

Ristband
Wilmington, DE

Ristband is more than a game. We’re the ultimate destination for live music in the metaverse. Artists perform shows, fans discover new music, play games, and hang out with friends. Any concert happening in real life can also take place in Ristband.

Offbeat Media
Atlanta, GA

Offbeat Media Group is the entertainment company creating media for the digital generation. Offbeat uses a proven track record for up-and-coming trend-setting on social and digital storytelling with innovative properties to create original content. Offbeat engages a global 1B+ follower network through owned media properties across social media.

Extended Reality & Immersive

Finalists

iQ3Connect
Woburn, MA

iQ3Connect’s no-code SaaS platform provides the digital fabric for creating, delivering, and consuming complex 3D immersive applications in the enterprise Metaverse using open standard web browsers. Our mission is to help enterprises become virtual-first, sustainable businesses.

Matsuko
Kosice, Slovakia

Hologram Meetings. Star Wars-like holograms, MATSUKO brings physical presence in remote communication. MATSUKO is a SaaS, like Zoom but in 3D. No avatars, No scanning, No setup. Put on your XR glasses and you see your colleagues next to you in a lifelike way. We target businesses, their remote teams.

Mictic One
Zurich, Switzerland

Mictic AG is a fast-growing startup dedicated to developing innovative user experience in augmented reality. The Zurich based company applies proprietary technology to profoundly change the way people interact with music. Rock, Hip-Hop, EDM, Classical, Jazz: You’ll make REAL music out of thin air without the need of screens or headsets, and while staying in your true environment. Let’s introduce you to the instrument of the 21st Century!

Reality Crisis
Helsinki, Finland

Reality Crisis is an Augmented Reality mobile game development studio. Our mission is to build extraordinary communities where anyone interested in skateboarding from casual fans to icons of the industry can converge in spaces that blur the physical and virtual worlds.

Zaubar
Berlin, Germany

ZAUBAR is taking the metaverse to the streets. We're a platform for passionate locals to create and make money with immersive urban experiences powered by the best location-based AR tech, our own AI and NFT scavenger hunts. Expert team, 1M+ USD LTM revenue and ready to be AR's killer app!

Alternates

oVRcome
Christchurch, New Zealand

oVRcome makes treatment for anxiety disorders such as phobias and social anxiety easier to access using evidence based virtual reality exposure therapy via a smartphone. 80% of people with an anxiety disorder receive no treatment, and our goal is to reduce barriers to accessing treatment using innovative technology.

Summit Technology Laboratory
Irvine, CA

STL is a deep-tech startup with patented technology that automates the precision projection of light, animating any complex surface (e.g. curved walls, domes, non-static surfaces, objects, medical patients) with digital content (data visualizations, 3D video, medical stencils) allowing for immersive shared human interaction and understanding.

WalkThru
Austin, TX

WalkThru combats the silent epidemic of social isolation in older adults through immersive Virtual Reality. At its core, WalkThru is a mobile VR streaming platform licensed to long-term care facilities enabling community operators to offer unique and engaging solutions for their residents.

Future of Work

Finalists

Anthill
Chicago, IL

Anthill enables companies to connect with, retain, and grow their employees who don't sit at a desk. We make it easy to include everyone in HR/Operations systems – if employees know how to text, they know how to use Anthill.

I’mbesideyou
Minatoku, Japan

“The whole society becomes a school”. Our multimodal AI analytics visualizes psychological safety and mental health status in online meetings. It brings continuous improvement to online 1on1 education, coaching and dating. We have 119 patents applied globally. All our team members are kind geniuses comprised of Japanese experts and IITians.

Lucy
Singapore, Singapore

Lucy is a digital neobank and integrated empowering community toolkit that helps entrepreneurial women become unstoppable. Lucy has been designed from the ground up to provide the tools they need to take control of their financial future, to realise their potential, to grow and thrive.

Normal
Singapore, Singapore

Normal is making expert consulting drastically more affordable to 350 million+ small businesses around the world. Their AI-powered platform offers automated, personalized business strategies for a low-cost monthly subscription, focusing on sustainable & socially responsible actions that help small businesses become more profitable and future-proof while creating a positive impact.

OnLoop
Singapore, Singapore

OnLoop is designed to reinvent how hybrid teams are assessed and developed; multi-platform across mobile, web and Slack to accommodate all styles of working. It leverages the very latest in natural language AI (OpenAI's GPT-3) and behavioral science to help teams drive an impactful loop of fluid and dynamic goals, regular reflection, feedback and learning.

Alternates

Pond
Fort Wayne, IN

Pond is a social impact platform that empowers nonprofit organizations to find and fund the solutions they need to ‘level-up’ their impact. By creating an ecosystem where nonprofit leaders, tech solutions, and service providers connect directly, we’re redirecting money from advertising budgets into the pockets of nonprofits

Unpacking
Atlanta, GA

Unpacking is the world's leading professional network for diversity, equity, and inclusion. We service individuals and teams with gamified certifications, a collaborative community, and on-going content to reduce turnover and shape healthy cultures for the future of work.

Vodium
Nashville, TN

Our mission at VODIUM is to empower professionals to be the most effective communicators on video. With its transparent technology, VODIUM allows you to read your remarks while maintaining eye contact while presenting virtually. VODIUM was founded by a diverse, female team at the start of the pandemic. VODIUM.US

Health, Wearables & Wellbeing

Finalists

Sonavi Labs
Baltimore, MD

Sonavi Labs is on a mission to improve patient outcomes globally by combining the most advanced acoustic technology available with clinically proven diagnostic AI software. Sonavi Labs created Feelix, a telehealth system that features apps and patented hardware embedded with diagnostic software capable of diagnosing and remotely managing respiratory diseases.

Nephrodite
Austin, TX

Nephrodite is developing HollyTM, a combined implantable and wearable device that represents a change in the way End-Stage Renal Disease and dialysis care is delivered. Our device will offer mobility and independence to patients enjoying freedom to do as they choose with their time.

NXgenPort Inc
St. Paul MN

NXgenPort Inc is addressing an unmet need in cancer care by remotely monitoring patients between chemotherapy visits with an implanted Smart Port. By measuring cell counts and heart function in vivo, NGP will alert physicians to signs of infection, reduce hospitalizations, and gather important physiological data to improve patient outcomes.

Botanisol Analytics
Boston, MA

We make autonomous disease screening kiosks. Imagine a world in which you can get screened for multiple pathogens simultaneously. That's the world we are building.

SmartTab
Denver, CO

SmartTab is developing an advanced platform of ingestible capsules for oral drug delivery of biologics and targeted medications. The platform is intended to replace both traditional coated capsules and injections. We're on a mission to provide novel administration routes and effective therapies that improve patient lives.

Alternates

Flaus
Los Angeles, CA

Flaus is a DTC oral beauty brand making it easier for people to look after themselves and the planet with our beautiful, impactful innovations — starting with a revolutionary electric flosser that makes flossing as quick and easy as brushing your teeth. Flaus is a Public Benefit Corporation.

Pluto Health
Durham, NC

Pluto is a multi-functional, automated technology that aggregates electronic health record data within minutes, harmozines it to highly usable levels, identifies gaps in care, and connects patients with care insights and opportunities. Pluto is a mission-focused company, with a fiercely patient-centric ethos and the highest of privacy and security.

Vincere Health
Boston, MA

Vincere Health is a Harvard-founded tech-enabled smoking cessation provider built to address the behavioral health needs of the most vulnerable people in society. We uniquely combine remote monitoring, instant behavioral rewards, centered around a deeply personal one-to-one clinical counseling experience with patients.

Innovative World

Finalists

Dastgyr
Karachi, Pakistan

Solving for fragmentation of trade by connecting sellers to retailers in a B2B marketplace model that also enables access to capital.

Hilos
Portland, OR

We believe that how we make things matters, using generative design and 3D printing to create a radically new way to make shoes: digitally crafted on-demand only after a customer’s purchase and taken back at end of life for disassembly and reuse. The future of retail is on-demand and zero-waste.

Interstellar Lab
Paris, France

At Interstellar Lab we develop and build controlled-environment modules to grow plants sustainably on Earth and in space. Our first product BioPod is an inflatable pod designed for food production and biodiversity conservation on Earth.

SAVRpak
San Juan Capistrano, CA

SAVRpak is a small sachet constructed from plants, engineered to keep food fresh longer, without chemicals. Using the laws of thermodynamics; the patented technology extracts and traps moisture away from food. SAVRpak keeps takeout and delivery fresh/crispy, as well as extending the shelf life of produce.

WearWorks
New York, NY

WearWorks® is a haptic platform company. We build products and experiences that communicate information through touch. Our mission is to reimagine your skin as a new high fidelity communications channel. Wayband®, is a haptic navigation app and a haptic wristband that gently guides you to your destination using only vibration.

Alternates

3F Waste Recovery
Newfoundland, Canada

At 3F, we leverage clean technologies to compel natural resource primary processors into the circular economy, using market forces, targeting by-product streams in the optimal sequence.

BoxedUp
Atlanta, GA

BoxedUp is an on-demand rental marketplace, connecting professional content creators with equipment owners. By aggregating listings from individual owners, local rental shops, and manufacturers, BoxedUp provides owners with a platform to monetize their gear, and content creators the equipment they need, delivered nationwide.

Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics

Finalists

4.screen
Munich, Germany

4.screen develops the digital infrastructure of connected cars. We provide an API-based infrastructure that enables local businesses and global brands to communicate in real-time with cars. Allowing drivers to enjoy frictionless access to the mobility ecosystem, to see relevant content, and to benefit from value-added services such as sponsored charging.

HeyCharge
Munich, Germany

HeyCharge delivers highly-scalable, ultra-low-cost electric car charging systems for apartment buildings and more. Their core innovation is a patent-pending system enabling smart charging infrastructure with no internet connection -- perfect for underground parking garages!

Glaza
Los Angeles, CA

Glaza’s software uses the front-facing camera of a device to track where the driver is looking on the screen. When the driver blinks, it registers that as a tap. Eyesight is a natural “cursor” so the software gets rid of the need to use the driver’s fingers and allows the driver to interact with the car’s infotainment system hands-free.

JusticeText
Irvine, CA

JusticeText is building the first centralized infrastructure to store, catalog, analyze, and share video evidence in the criminal justice system. The platform is explicitly designed to improve outcomes for low-income criminal defendants by enabling greater transparency and accountability around police interactions.

Kiro Action
Austin, TX

Kiro Action, a modern refuge that is deployed in 4-hours by 4 people with no special machinery or heavy equipment built to the code of commercial and home applications. The same product can be a backyard office, yoga studio, flex room and shelter the unhoused. Scalable, flat-packed, cost effective and dignified housing.

Alternates

HOPE Hydration
New York, NY

HOPE Hydration is a water-tech startup deploying smart-city water fountains, pushing cities towards plastic-free and powering next-gen urban technologies.

N5 Sensors
Rockville, MD

N5’s mission is to keep people and communities safe from environmental hazards such as wildfires through a cloud-connected ecosystem of smarter sensors and by leveraging the endless possibilities of shared data and AI.

Vend Park
Boston, MA

Vend is an end-to-end SaaS management and digital wallet that is disrupting the mobility industry starting with parking. Vend replaces inefficient and expensive operations with a fully digital solution that lowers costs and unlocks the true value of parking real-estate.

Social and Culture

Finalists

MOGL
Miami, FL

MOGL is a marketplace that connects collegiate athletes and businesses for marketing opportunities in a compliant way in the name, image, and likeness era. MOGL is free to join and democratizes access to athletes for businesses and brands who are looking to build awareness for their products and services.

IMMAD
Quincy, MA

IMMAD-Impairment Marijuana and Driving is company specializing in research and development of products for the responsible use of marijuana. IMMAD-VR is a simple test of peripheral vision using Virtual Reality goggles. If a driver cannot see accurately, they cannot drive safely. IMMAD-VR will save lives.

Sustain.Life
New York, NY

Sustain.Life is the SaaS platform helping companies across industries measure and reduce their environmental impact. Launched through the 4Sided Venture Studio in 2021, Sustain.Life enables organizations to future-proof themselves by embracing sustainable practices that manage carbon emissions, reduce costs and distinguish them to customers, partners, investors and recruits.

Pinwheel
Austin, TX

Pinwheel is striving to create a world where kids will grow up to be masters of technology regulation instead of screen-addicted consumers. We offer parents a smartphone system designed with children’s well-being and development in mind. An early-stage B2C CPG + SaaS company, Pinwheel saw 8x revenue growth in 2021. Today’s parents demand better for their kids, and they’re finding it in Pinwheel.

Veriphix
Washington, DC

Veriphix is a behavioral science-based AI technology for brands and agencies that links the digital, physical and cognitive dimensions. Veriphix uses patent-pending AI to surface specific cognitive triggers (“nudges”) most likely to succeed in achieving population-level cognitive and physical change.

Alternates

Artnado
Moosic, PA

Artmatcher was founded to solve structural issues in the art markets, including education, inclusiveness, access, and openness. By creating a user-friendly platform, our machine learning can connect buyers and sellers, enhance communication, and guide users through curated experiences in the physical and online worlds.

College Cash
Ft. Worth, TX

College Cash leverages user generated content for brands and organizations to reduce student loan debt. We do this in a tax deductible way, that allows brands to engage users with the end result being reduction of their student loan debt. In essence we've created a solution that allows everyday behavior from posting pictures to gig-economy jobs to be used to help reduce student loan debt.

Vetted Pet Health
Chicago, IL

Going to the vet once a year isn't enough to keep our pet's in excellent health. Vetted is an annual membership that solves preventative health for pets in between the annual vet visit. We do this by empowering pet parents from home. Vetted members get three vet-curated kits delivered to their home as well as access to the Vetted mobile app, ensuring the gold standard of care from home (through automated care-task reminders, a digital health log, and access to chat with a pet professional). Vetted is revolutionizing pet care one pet parent at a time.

2022 SXSW Pitch Advisory Board

The individuals listed below were instrumental to the success of the 2022 SXSW Pitch. Their hard work, diligence and support in bringing together the future of the technology industry to our event is greatly appreciated.

Aliya Aaron
Nursing Innovation Hub, Inc.
Miami, FL

Rafat Abushaban
Riable
Gaza, Palestine

Nilma Achwal
The Female Founders Lab
Los Angeles, CA

Lydia Aguiar
Amazon Web Services
Washington, DC

Meredith Ahr
Jackson Hole, WY

Cristina Alessi
Curitiba Agency of Development and Innovation
Curitiba, Parana

Amber Allen
Double A Labs
Austin, TX

Karen Allen
Twitch for Musicians
Los Angeles, CA

Javier Altamirano
Sportradar
Minneapolis, MN

Robbi Kathleen Anthony
Euphoria.LGBT Inc.
Austin, TX

Claudia Aparicio
GrowthX - SingularityU Colombia
Bogota. Colombia

Kahlil Ashanti
Mantis XR
Vancouver, Canada

Mevish Aslam
Sprinters
Brimingham, United Kingdom

Kathleen Baireuther
Ford Motor Company - Autonomous Vehicles LLC
Austin, TX

Elyse Ball
UARF
Akron, OH

Dave Barcos
North Bank Innovations
Vancouver, WA

Harley Blakeman
Honest Jobs
Denver, CO

Ben Blanquera
Covail
Dublin, OH

Marjan Blumberg
Marjan B. Consultancy
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Jan Bormans
European Startup Network
Brussels, Belgium

Tim Brownstone
KYMIRA
Reading, England

Leigh-Ann Buchanan
aīre ventures
Miami, FL

Marcus Bullock
Flikshop
Washington, DC

Sarah Burgaud
StartOut
San Francisco, CA

Shawna Butler
Exponential Medicine
Austin, TX

Bobbie Carlton
Innovation Women
Lexington, MA

Rosario B. Casas
VR Americas & BCPartners Tech
Bogota, Columbia

Niko Chauls
Verizon
Seattle, WA

Raymond Chin
Wunderman Thompson
Shanghai, Shanghai

Rendi Clark
Boulder Startup Week
Boulder, CO

Bart Collet
Healthskouts & Hyperadvancer
Antwerp, Belgium

Steven Cook
FortuneCMO, LLC
Charleston, SC

Lindsey Cox
The Company Lab
Chattanooga, TN

Darragh Dandurand
DD Production
Philadelphia, PA

Marchondes Moreira De Araujo
Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Brazil (MCTI)
Brasilia, DF

Diego De Biasio
Technoport SA
Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

Ashley DeWalt
Divinc
Houston, TX

Simone Driessen
Startup Foundation
Rotterdam, Netherlands

Siobhan Dullea
MassChallenge
Boston, MA

Tarek El Saad
inMoment
Toronto, Canada

Craig Elias
Bow Valley College Interpublic Group Medibrands
Calgary, Canada

Ellen Erickson
Global Entrepreneurship Network
Washington, DC

Paola Ferrario
Paola Ferrario
Battle Creek, MI

Pedro Ferreira
Xperience Plus
Frankfurt, Germany

Alvin Foo
DAOventures
Shanghai, China

Nicole Forbes
Amazon
Austin, TX

Jessica Ford
Techstars
Anaheim, CA

Devon Fox
PGA Tour
Ponte Vedra, FL

Deneisha Franklin
HubSpot, Black Tech Columbus
Columbus, OH

Kathleen Fritzsche
Kathleen Fritzsche
Berlin, Germany

Kyla Frye
WT Enterprise Center
Amarillo, TX

Tim Fulton
Confluence Consultants
Columbus, OH

Ashley Gentry Yue
Edelman
Austin, TX

Timmy Ghiurau
Volvo Cars
Gothenburg, Sweden

Gregory Gibson
HBCU Battle of the Brains/HSI Battle of the Brains/Black Sports Business Symposium
Austin, TX

Magdalena Giuria
BRAVA / Universidad Catolica del Uruguay
Montevideo, Uruguay

Jacob Gordon
Artiphon
Brooklyn, NY

Brett Greene
New Tech Northwest
Seattle, WA

Maria Gross
Germantech
Berlin, Germany

Nate Gross
Doximity & Rock Health
San Francisco, CA

Lorin Hamlin
Under Armour
Baltimore, MD

Raymond Hannes
Seeding Studio
Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Norbert Hernann
Berlin Government
Berlin, Germany

Natara Holloway
National Football League
New York, NY

Harvey Hudes
Caliber Corporate Advisers
New York, NY

Jonathan Hursh
Utopia
San Francisco, CA

Daryl Hyun
EchoScope Inc.
Boston, MA

Jens Ingelstedt
WeWork
Stockholm, Sweden

Kayla Isabelle
Startup Canada
Ottawa, Canada

Melinda Jacobs
Subatomic / Perkio
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Maxim Jago
Maxim Ltd
London, England

Ashley Jennings
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX

Cate Johnson
ArborRevolutions
Boulder, CO

Keith Jordan
Mastercard
Dublin, Ireland

Dalia Kamar
EquiTie
Cairo, Egypt

Alex Kovbasko
Sweden Foodtech
Stockholm, Sweden

James Kwan
Jumpstart Media Limited
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Karim Lakhani
Harvard Business School
Cambridge, MA

Brian Lang
Energizing Health
Houston, Tx

Jay Latta
STINT - Strategic Intelligence for New Technologies
Munich, Germany

Sara Ledterman
3+ Ventures
Folsom, CA

Jennifer Lee
Plympton
San Francisco, CA

Maren Lesche
Vision Health Pioneer Incubator
Berlin, Germany

Ikram Mansori
Curah
San Francisco, CA

Luis Martinez
We Tha Plug
San Diego, CA

Martin Martinez
Founder Institute Texas
Austin, TX

Eric Mathews
Start Co.
Memphis, TN

Jean Paul Mau-Asam
New Dutch Wave
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Caitlin McAllister
Workbox Company
Chicago, IL

Mike McCready
Lethbridge College
Alberta, Canada

Elizabeth McGee
Intel
Houston, TX

Patrick McHugh
Euphoria.LGBT
Austin, TX

Jon Mertz
Santa Fe Innovates
Santa Fe, NM

Katie Milligan
Heartland Forward
Bentonville, AR

Vanessa Miranda
IPSY
Chula Vista, CA

Martin Montero
Startup Champions Network
Mexico City, Mexico

Jessica Moose
Santa Fe Business Incubator
Santa Fe, NM

Violeta Moran
Fundacion Emprender
Manta, Ecuador

Ludek Moravec
Embassy of the Czech Republic
Washington, DC

Alexa-Rae Navarro
Startup San Diego
San Diego, CA

Joshua Ness
Verizon
New York, NY

Andrew Ngui
Greater Peoria Economic Development Council
Peoria, IL

Aline Noizet
Digital Health Connector
Barcelona, Spain

Christine Ntim
Global Startup Ecosystem
New York, NY

Nadyli Nunez
Ascender
Pittsburg, PA

Andra Nuta
Techstars
Berlin, Germany

Emmanuel Nyame
United Nations Foundation
Accra, Ghana

Janice Omadeke
The Mentor Method
Austin, TX

Cagdas Onen
Oppsense
Toronto, Canada

Liisi Org
Startup Estonia
Tallinn, Estonia

Leon Pals
Startup Foundation
Rotterdam, Holland

Mark Paltshon
Redwoods Investment Climate Holding
Melno Park, CA

Kelly Pease
Workbox
Chicago, IL

Amy Peck
EndeavorVR
Austin, Tx

Sara Polak
Paioneers
Prague, Czech Republic

Sammy Popat
MAVRIC@University of Maryland, College Park
College Park, MD

Joanna Popper
Hewlett Packard
Los Angeles, CA

Valentina Primo
Startups Without Borders Ltd
Rome, Italy

Varun Ramdevan
Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Cambridge, MA

Alessandro Ravanetti
Barcelona, Spain

Eric Redmond
Nike
Portland, OR

Erin Reilly
Texas Immersive Institute
Austin, Tx

Miki Reynolds
Grid110
Los Angeles, CA

Mike Roberts
Creating Coding Careers
San Diego, CA

Elianne Rodriguez
LIST Ventures
Monrovia, CA

Will Rogers
Imaginable Media
San Francisco, CA

Cinthya Romero
TalentProspect / NovusConcillium
Guadalajara, Mexico

Emily Ross
Inkvine Communication
Ballinam, Ireland

Damian Routley
Founder Factory
London, England

Ghader Sadeghi
Raychat
Tabriz, Iran

Mark Sanders
Austin Technology Incubator
Austin, TX

David Santana
AWS
San Francisco, CA

Paola Santana
Social Glass
San Francisco, CA

Matthew Cohen Santorelli
Boomy
New York, NY

Joy Schoffler
Distinctive Edge Partners
Austin, TX

Daniel Schutte
The Venture Center
Little Rock, AK

Steve Schwartz
ProInfluence
Redmond, WA

Richard Seline
Resilience Innovation Hub & Collaboratory Network
Houston, TX

Elisa Sepulveda
Founder Institute
Austin, TX

Jonty Sharples
WhereIsMyTransport
London, England

Tayla Sheldrake
MotionLab.Berlin
Berlin, Germany

Yuan Shi
Creative Destruction Lab
Vancouver, Canada

Tal Shmueli
Startup Nightmares
Tel Aviv, Israel

Alan Smithson
MetaVRse
Toronto, Canada

Julie Smithson
MetaVRse
Toronto, Canada

Christoph Sollich
The Pitch Doctor
Berlin, Germany

Nathalie Sonne
leAD Sports and Health Tech Partners
Berlin, Germany

Bob Sopko
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH

Erin Stadler
Boomtown Accelerators
Boulder, CO

Sanja Stankovic
german.innovation
Hamburg, Germany

Sarah Stephenson
36 Degrees North
Tulsa, OK

Thomas K.R. Stovall
Intention Mastery
Chicago, Ill

Ryan Sturgill
Gaza Sky Geeks
Gaza, Palestine

Pauly Suchy
Global Entrepreneurship Network
Cleveland, OH

Jennifer Tacheff
Manifest Advisors
San Francisco, CA

Todd Tate
Bully Meow
San Francisco, CA

Cecilia Tham
Futurity Studio
Barcelona, Spain

Frederik Tibau
Agoria
Brussels, Belgium

Leonie Timmermans
Techleap
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Rick Turoczy
PIE
Portland, OR

David Uhlif
JIC
Brno, Czech Republic

Lode Uytterschaut
Start it@KBC
Ronse, Belguim

Isaac Vanderburg
Launch Alaska
Anchorage, AK

Heidy Vaquerano
Fox Rothschild LLP
Los Angeles, CA

Pedro Vasconcellos
BeerOrCoffee
Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Minh Vu
Notely
Austin, TX

Lauren Washington
Fundr
Austin, TX

Michael Weatherby
BDO Canada
Surrey, Canada

Eric Weissmann
Cintrifuse
Cincinnati, OH

Cecilla Wessinger
Mass Collaboration
Tulsa, OK

Van West
Vocalytics
Newport Beach, CA

Sampson Williams
Axes and Eggs
Sunrise, FL

Austin Wilson
Tauon
Cleveland, OH

Kevin Winston
Digital LA
Los Angeles, CA

Samantha Wolfe
PitchFWD
New York, NY

Kat Yalung
Unleashed
Los Angeles, CA

Jason Yim
Trigger
Los Angeles, CA

Hubert Zajicek
Health Wildcatters
Dallas, TX

Jay Zalowitz
Ramblist/Hackermoon
San Francisco, CA

2022 Judges

SXSW Pitch relies on hand-picked judges, qualified to determine the viability of a startup based on their demonstrated business and investment experience. The judging process will determine which of the finalists has the most innovative product or service. The following individuals have agreed to contribute their expertise toward the success of the SXSW Pitch event.

The 2022 winners were announced during the SXSW Pitch Awards Ceremony on Sunday, March 13 with emcees Clyde Hutchinson and Anita Carmichael Roberts.

Kwame Anku
Blackstar Fund
Sacramento, CA

Lance Armstrong
Next Ventures
Austin, TX

Mike Asem
M25
Chicago, ILL

Brian Brackeen
Lightship Capital
Miami, FL

Reilly Brennan
Trucks Venture Capital
San Francisco, CA

Jim Breyer
Breyer Capital
Austin, TX

Zak Burns
NEA
New York, NY

Lisa Burton
Hearst Lab
New York, NY

Heath Bulter
Mercury Fund
Houston, TX

Noramay Cadena
Supply Chain Capital
Los Angeles, CA

Tipatat Chennavasin
The Venture Reality Fund
San Francisco, CA

Bryony Cooper
Arkley Brink VC
Berlin, Germany

Brian Dixon
Kapor Capital
Oakland, CA

Stacy Feld
Johnson and Johnson Innovation
San Francisco, CA

Gail Gannon
WaveEdge Captial
Woodside, CA

Maelle Gavet
Techstars
Boulder, CO

Marcus Glover
Lockstep Ventures
New York, NY

Marina Hadjipateras
TMV
New York, NY

Greg Horowitt
UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Monique Idlett
Reign Venture Capital
Miami, FL

Angela Jackson
New Profit
Boston, MA

Mohanjit Jolly
Iron Pillar
Palo Alto, CA

Rob Jonas
P-MRC Data
Los Angeles, CA

Laura Kilcrease
Alberta Innovates
Edmonton, Canada

Kay Koplovitz
Springboard Enterprise
New York, NY

Sarah Kunst
Cleo Capital
San Francisco, CA

Mingu Lee
Cleveland Avenue
Chicago, IL

Marc Lore
Serial Entrepreneur
New York, NY

Akif Malik
Podium VC
San Francisco, CA

Jesse Martinez
Latinx Startup Alliance
Houston, TX

Janneke Niessen
CapitalT
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sean O'Sullivan
SOSV
Princeton, NJ

Flavio Pripas
Redpoint eventures
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Katherine Rice
GingerBread Capital
Mill Valley, CA

Jessica Robinson
Assembly Ventures
Detriot, MI

Marissa Schlueter
OMERS Ventures
Palo Alto, CA

Deena Shakir
Lux Capital
Palo Alto, CA

Ivo Stivoric
X - The Moonshot Factory
Pittsburgh, PA

Pocket Sun
SoGal Ventures
Vancouver, Canada

Kindra Tatarsky
Touchdown Ventures
San Francisco, CA

Monique Villa
Mucker Capital
Nashville, TN

Martina Welkhoff
WXR Fund
Seattle, WA

Melissa Withers
RevUp Capital
Boston, MA

Jeremy Yap
Angel Investor
San Francisco, CA

2021 Winners

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice

Parrots
Seattle, WA

Enterprise & Smart Data

Persefoni
Tempe, AZ
View Deck »

Entertainment, Gaming & Content

holoride
Munich, Germany
View Deck »

Future of Work

Honest Jobs
Columbus, OH
View Deck »

Health, Wearables & Wellbeing

Leda Health Company
New York, NY
View Deck »

Innovative World Technologies

MolyWorks
Los Gatos, CA
View Deck »

Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics

MicroTraffic
Winnipeg, Canada

Social & Culture

Applied BioPlastics
Austin, TX
View Deck »

Best Alternative/One Minute Speed Pitch

Colorcast
Austin, TX
View Deck »

Best Bootstrap Company (the company who has done the most with least)

Refiberd
Cupertino, CA
View Deck »

Best DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)

Sisu Global Health
Baltimore, MD
View Deck »

Best in Show

holoride
Munich, Germany
View Deck »

2022 SXSW Pitch Qualifying and Coaches Committee

SXSW Pitch Qualifying and Coaches Committee contribute significantly to the success of SXSW Pitch.  The Qualifying Committee focuses on the intake of all plans submitted and is responsible for the validating the applications for accuracy, completeness, veracity and proper categorization. With their vast experience, SXSW Pitch Coaches work closely with the finalists in the months leading up to the event to assist them in their onstage presentations.


Facilitators

Greg Wright
Hatch Pitch
Head Coach

Mellini Monique Cross
Vocal Culture Garden
Performance Coaching Lead

Mariam Jacob
Hatch Pitch
Video Review Coaching Manager

Sharon Wallace
Executive Coach
Mbira Group
One-on-One Coaching Lead

Joshua Weibling
Hatch Pitch
Coaching Facilitator

Dean Cruse 

ALTR
Qualifier

Tanya White
Qualifier
 

Qualifiers and Coaches

Collin Anawaty
First Dollar
Qualifier

Katie Baker
Anthem
Coach

Mikell Becker
Sense-Comm Technology
Coach

Kara Bortone
Johnson & Johnson
Coach

Mary Brendza
Curated For You
Qualifier

Molly Cain
GovCity
Coach

Keith Casey
Casey Software
Qualifier

Kevin Coker
Proxima Clinical Research
Coach

Kyle Cox
ATP Fund
Coach

Michael Crider
Byrne Boadle
Qualifier

Liz Deering
Impact Haven
Coach

Candice Digby
Austin Design Week
Qualifier

Christine DiPietro
The Company Lab
Qualifier

Sloan Foster
Envisage Associates
Qualifier

McArthur Gill
Swan Bitcoin
Qualifier

Jonathan Ha
AMD
Coach

Yael Hochberg
Rice University
Coach

Jacqueline Hughes
Kauffman Fellows
Qualifier

Amy Hurwitz
Bostin Consulting Group
Coach

Kaz Karwowski
Rice University
Coach

Teri Kelly
Tableau
Qualifier

Barbara Kelso
Kelso Consultants
Qualifier

Katina Keynon
Applaudo Studios
Coach

Rashmi Kilam
Bouin Captial
Coach

Kerty Levy
Techstars
Coach

Paulo Machado
Health Innovation
Coach

Monique Maley
Articulate Persuasion
Coach

Deborah Mansfield
DMBS
Coach

Cara McCarty
Cognite
Qualifier

Jake McKee
Community5
Coach

Robert McKee
Cypress Associates
Coach

Rob Austin McKee
University of Houston
Coach

Bryan Mcquary
Carrier
Coach

Molly Montgomery
Founder’s Haven
Qualifier

Marc Nathan
T-Squared
Coach

Will Neder
CareSet Systems
Coach

Jon Nordby
Mass Challenge
Coach

Rachelle Oribio
SolverX
Coach

Darryl Peek
Google Cloud
Qualifier

Sofia Pessanha
CareRev
Coach

Mark Phillips
Are You Watching This?!
Qualifier

Isabella Schmitt
Proxima Clinical Research
Coach

Glen Simmons
Coach

Sarah Spear
Techstars Chapter/RetailMeNot
Coach

Kristin Spindler
Concordia University Texas
Coach

Mike Steely
SteelRock Ventures
Coach

Mark Streich
SquareFairy
Coach

Val Vacanta
LiveArea
Qualifier

Ashland Viscosi
Creative Meet Business
Qualifier

Adam Weinroth
Invoiced
Qualifier

Chris Westfall
Westfall and Associates
Coach

Tanya White
Qualifier

Wen Zhang
INNW Institute
Qualifier

Chen Zhang
Aquifer
Qualifier

2021 Finalists

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice

Finalists

Bloomfield Robotics
Pittsburgh, PA
Specialty crop growers across the US use Bloomfield’s Flash cameras and deep learning to inspect any type of crop. The result is very early and precise yield prediction, well-timed harvests and early detection of and protection from infestation and disease. In a sense, every single plant is monitored from seed through harvest, creating an unprecedented level of transparency in the life of every grower’s plants.

View Deck »

Cradlewise
San Francisco, CA
Cradlewise is a smart crib that spots the first signs of wakeup, learns from the baby's sleep patterns and starts rocking automatically along with soothing music to soothe the baby back to sleep.

Our Kettle
Berkley, CA
The first reinsurer in the world using deep learning to protect people against climate change.

View Deck »

Parrots
Seattle, WA
Parrots Inc. has built “Polly” which is an inclusive platform using AI and ML to give a smart voice and telecare to people with neurological disorders. Our solutions empower them with real-time communication, control their environments, and provide telecare services to improve patient-centered care and maximize independence.

Wisear
Paris, France
Wisear enables people to finally get seamless, voiceless & touchless control of their devices, by licensing our neuronal biosensing solution to device makers.

View Deck »

Alternates

Genus AI
San Francisco, CA
Genus AI is an artificial intelligence company focused on scaling emotional intelligence in interactions between brands and customers to drive business growth. The Genus AI Growth Platform includes all AI-powered digital tools needed for better customer understanding and engagement, which lead to next generation efficiencies for business growth.

Epic Blue
Brussels, Belgium
Epic Blue is a leading technology company providing high-performance and highly accurate location intelligence for business critical operations. We are re-inventing how people can be located in the most demanding environments, even when GPS or other infrastructures are not available.

View Deck »

Enterprise and Smart Data

Finalists

Matidor
Vancouver, Canada
Matidor offers the best way to visualize and collaborate on location-based projects by putting all key project information into one secure, centralized database, eliminating the need to switch between multiple fragmented tools. With its user-friendly GIS tools and easy integration with 3rd party data sources, Matidor makes it easy for non-technical users to update and share geospatial information.

View Deck »

Persefoni
Tempe, AZ
Persefoni is a ClimateTech startup that enables enterprises and institutional investors to calculate and report their carbon footprints through its SaaS platform. Launched in 2020, the company is based in Tempe, Arizona but operates across the globe. Our mission is to enable every organization and person with the technology to positively impact the health of planet Earth.

View Deck »

RudderStack
San Francisco, CA
RudderStack is the smart customer data pipeline. Easily build pipelines connecting your whole customer data stack, then make them smarter by pulling analysis from your data warehouse to trigger enrichment and activation in customer tools for identity stitching and advanced use cases like lead scoring and in-app personalization.

View Deck »

Slate Digital
New York, NY
Slate is both a content creation and digital asset management platform that gives enterprises the ability to control their brand output on social media and produce social content in seconds. Slate gained traction among top sports brands in 2020 for allowing them to streamline their social media content creation, empower influencers, and monetize their ephemeral content.

View Deck »

Vocalytics
Costa Mesa, CA
Vocalytics is a machine-listening platform that listens to ambient sound, analyzes events & trends, and sends real-time alerts when you need them most. We turn dumb noise into intelligent sound to improve health, safety, security, and experience with ambient intelligence solutions across healthcare, smart buildings, defense, and other sectors.

View Deck »

Alternates

Dearduck
Austin, TX
Dearduck help retailers talk to each customer like they are best friends.

View Deck »

Patturn
Fort Worth, TX
Patturn helps resellers monetize and crosspost their old, used, and vintage products across multiple marketplaces. In addition, it contains features that support ReCommerce. Whether it's managing online/offline inventory, shipping and fulfilling orders, or tracking costs on a per item level, Patturn is a built as an end-to-end software solution for resellers.

View Deck »

Entertainment, Gaming & Content

Finalists

Anything World
London, England
Anything World is a platform for creating endless 3D worlds. In realtime, using your voice if you wish, with AI behaviours applied!

View Deck »

DanceFight App
Austin, TX
DanceFight is a social head-to-head video competition platform that allows users to challenge each other to virtual “dance offs.” Within the context of a challenge, users record their dance, challenge friends or the world and the crowd then votes on their favorites. This generates leaderboards and a gamified environment that's engaging for creators and audience alike.

View Deck »

holoride
Munich, Germany
holoride takes everyday journeys and transforms them into hyper-immersive experiences by combining navigational and car data with XR. The technology has the power to change backseat entertainment forever, can help reduce motion sickness, and opens up a new layer of immersion in games and educational content.

View Deck »

Teleportal
Los Angeles, CA
Teleportal is a spatial computing company building technologies that empower people to develop and experience multi-user spatial software. With Vortex, Teleportal’s virtual production toolkit for mobile, the next generation of creators can collaborate on VFX and 3D animation videos in real-time.

View Deck »

Virsix Games
Austin, TX
Virsix Games is an award-winning, interactive gaming and entertainment company co-founded by Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari) and Zai Ortiz (Hollywood Creative Director behind J.A.R.V.I.S. in Iron Man). At Virsix Games we are creating next-gen play, gaming and entertainment, enhanced by cutting-edge technologies that get people playing together like never before.

View Deck »

Alternates

Colorcast
Austin, TX
Colorcast is changing live sports and events forever by supporting the creation and consumption of user-generated, synchronized, over-the-top audio content. We're basically "Twitch for TV" or "Clubhouse with Context."

View Deck »

Andromeda Entertainment
Austin, TX
The first game publisher to super-serve the growing interest in wellness with transformative interactive experiences.

View Deck »

Future of Work

Finalists

Clair
New York, NY
Clair is a social impact fintech that helps America's workers get paid as soon as they clock out of work. We do this by embedding our financial services and instant payment products within the payroll, workforce management, and freelancing apps that these workers already use every day.

View Deck »

Honest Jobs
Columbus, OH
The Honest Jobs marketplace helps people impacted by the criminal justice system find employment fast. Our proprietary technology analyzes job descriptions and considers the most important data points to make "smart matches" that are unique for each job seeker.

View Deck »

OthersideAI
Melville, NY
OthersideAI takes in a simple summary of what you want to say and generates a perfect email in your unique style, using the world's most powerful AI technology.

View Deck »

TalkMeUp
Pittsburgh, PA
TalkMeUp is an AI based software company focused on communication training. We integrate industry leading training methodologies and cutting edge AI technologies, and provide individuals and organizations with on-demand, analytical, and customizable communication training solutions, reducing training costs by over 90%.

View Deck »

v.one
Los Angeles, CA
v.one is the easiest place to build and monetize a native mobile app by bringing in designs right from canva.

View Deck »

Alternates

Hardly Dash
Dallas, TX
Hardly is here to help you work smarter—not harder. Our first product, Hardly Dash, improves your workflow by simplifying actions and keeping important information front and center. By using our wrist-activated shortcut buttons, you can navigate apps while your hands stay on the keyboard—saving you both time and headaches!

Lendtable
San Francisco, CA
Lendtable helps people build generational wealth, by giving them all of the money upfront to max out their 401k match, ESPP and employee benefits

Health, Wearables & Wellbeing

Finalists

AlphaBeats
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
AlphaBeats is an application that uses an ingenious algorithm to help the user relax with music. The AlphaBeats app turns your smartphone or wearable into a biosensor that registers your HRV or even brainwaves. Then our algorithm uses this biofeedback to tweak the quality of whatever music you like listening to. This stimulates your brain to slide into the relaxing alpha-mode faster.

View Deck »

Leda Health Company
New York, NY
At Leda Health, our mission is to support sexual assault survivors at all stages following a sexual assault. We work toward sexual assault prevention, care, and justice in an effort to better serve survivors and the communities in which they live.

View Deck »

Nourished
Birmingham, UK
Nourished is the world’s first personalised nutrition product. We've developed a patented 3D printing technology which allows us to combine 7 different, high impact active ingredients into customised nutrition gummy stacks. Our passionate & dedicated team are devoted to making truly tailor-made nutrition which is also 100% vegan, sugar free & packed in 100% plastic free packaging.

View Deck »

PillBot
Redwood, CA
Endiatx makes tiny pill robots that actively swim inside the stomach. We use a quad-pumpjet propulsion system to swim the way quadcopters fly. Skip an invasive and expensive hospital visit, and let your doctor give you a world-class active diagnostic in the comfort of your own home.

View Deck »

Sisu Global
Baltimore, MD
Sisu Global designs medical devices made for low-resource settings, from emerging markets to combat zones. Sisu is proving its model with Hemafuse: a handheld autotransfusion device addressing the global blood shortage. Hemafuse is currently sold in Africa: the first step of an expansion strategy focused on emerging markets and the military.

View Deck »

Alternates

Sonic Incytes Medical
Vancouver, CA
Sonic Incytes believes in creating accessible and affordable solutions for healthcare providers with health insights they can count on. Our lead product, Velacur, is redefining the standard of care in quantifying chronic liver disease with diagnostic accuracy comparable to MRI.

View Deck »

Oxiwear
Arlington, VA
OxiWear is committed to reducing patient vulnerability to hypoxic injury through wearable, continuous oxygen monitoring, to help increase safety and peace of mind for those prone to silent-hypoxia, to help reduce healthcare costs and save lives.

View Deck »

Innovative World

Finalists

ConstellR
Freiburg, Germany
We provide precise, global temperature data for a growing planet. As a spin-out of Europe's largest organization for applied science, we employ space technology to enable a sustainable agriculture on the planetary scale.

View Deck »

Dimer
Los Angeles, CA
We are Dimer. Our mission is to prevent infections by making hospital grade UV disinfection available in all work environments. Our unique patented designs consistently deliver faster and more comprehensive disinfection than our competition at a fraction of the cost.

View Deck »

Future Fields
Edmonton, Canada
Future Fields makes the most important ingredient for lab grown meat - cell growth media. We harness the power of nature to produce recombinant proteins 1000 times cheaper than anyone else through our novel, bioreactor-free technology.

View Deck »

Lofty AI
Los Angeles, CA
We help real estate investors instantly find the best A.I. vetted, off-market properties across the U.S.

View Deck »

MolyWorks
Los Gatos, CA
MOLYWORKS Materials Corporation, a California-based, developer of the circular economy for metal was founded in a shipping container on our home driveway. The MolyWorks’ Greyhound has expertise in over 21 metals for AM and has been contracted for land, air, sea, and space applications.

View Deck »

Alternates

AgUnity
Queensland, Australia
AgUnity Response creates resilient food supply chains in the face of COVID-19 with our technology platform that enables farmers to safely connect with buyers and ensure uninterrupted food supply chains worldwide.

View Deck »

Exosonic
Los Angeles, CA
Exosonic is developing the world’s first quiet supersonic passenger airliner to fly supersonic everywhere -- overland and overwater with a muted boom. The company already has interest from a major international carrier and the USAF to produce both commercial and executive transport versions of the airliner.

View Deck »

Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics

Finalists

ClearFlame Engine
Geneva, ILL
ClearFlame Engine Technologies provides the fastest pathway to scalable and equitable emissions reductions for heavy duty engines. Our patented technology meets all emissions regulations using decarbonized liquid fuels, leveraging existing global infrastructure. We offer lower costs than using petroleum fuels enabling rapid adoption in developing nations and frontline communities.

Lucky
New York, NY
Lucky enables eCommerce brands to utilize retailers and specialty stores as distribution networks.

MicroTraffic
Winnipeg, Canada
MicroTraffic measures near-misses at intersections with AI-powered computer vision. We help cities to plan and monitor the effectiveness of intersection safety improvements by combining our diagnostic technology with their existing overhead cameras.

TransPod
Toronto, Canada
TransPod is developing the next generation of affordable and sustainable ultra-high-speed transportation for a better connected and fossil fuel-free society.

View Deck »

VideowindoW
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
VideowindoW is a startup based in the Delft University in The Netherlands. Our 8 people strong team aims to disrupt conventional glare control by developing a transparent, interactive video screen in glass façades. Offered as a service, VideowindoW reduces the carbon footprint, adds experience and yields an immediate return by showing commercial content.

View Deck »

Alternates

Airflow.Aero
Orinda, CA
Airflow is building the first electric Short Take-Off and Landing (eSTOL) aircraft designed for sustainable same-day e-commerce. ‍ Airflow’s eSTOL aircraft can move cargo quickly and cost-effectively by flying over traffic.

View Deck »

Dastgyr Technologies
Singapore, Singapore
30% of the entire GDP of Pakistan is spread across 2 million small retailers. However, the industry is highly fragmented causing retailers to face procurement challenges as they are charged high prices, face in-convenience, and can’t get a loan.

Social and Culture

Finalists

Applied BioPlastics
Austin, TX
Applied Bioplastics enables manufacturers to materially and affordably reduce their CO2 footprint. We have brought together the IP, the team, market-ready products, and interested buyers to substitute carbon-negative plant material for petrochemical feedstock without sacrificing quality or margin.

View Deck »

Collective Liberty
Washington, DC
Collective Liberty gets actionable intelligence to law enforcement, equipping them with curated data to arrest & convict human traffickers.

View Deck »

Dayrize
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dayrize is a consumer marketplace that has developed a proprietary scoring tool driven by machine-learning (AI) that will assess and standardise the sustainability credentials of products across all categories. For the first time, consumers will be able to compare and buy products based on their measured environmental impact.

View Deck »

Refiberd
Cupertino, CA
Refiberd is solving the 93 million ton problem of global textile waste. We are developing a novel textile recycling system that uses AI and a patent-pending green chemical recycling process to convert used, discarded textiles into new, reusable thread.

View Deck »

Readocracy
Toronto, Canada
Readocracy gives you credit for all the articles, books, podcasts, videos you consume and contribute. So you can understand your information diet, showcase the best of it to prove yourself on any subject, and unlock exclusive perks. All privacy-first. For a less polarized world where how we inform ourselves counts.

View Deck »

Alternates

Agrona
Cairo, Egypt
Agrona makes wood out of agriresidues without cutting a single tree. We are not only protecting forests but we also save the earth GHG gasses when burning the agriresidues; instead we turn it to composite panels that are strong, durable to be used in many furniture and construction applications

View Deck »

Euphoria.LGBT
Austin, TX
Euphoria builds first-in-the-world technology solutions to restore individual agency to the process of gender transition. We help transgender individuals accomplish life-saving transition goals in a manner that is quicker, safer, and more dignified than ever before. Euphoria aims to augment the phrase “It Gets Better” into “How It Gets Better.”

View Deck »

2021 Emcees and Judges

Kwame Anku
Black Star Fund
Sacramento, CA

Lance Armstrong
Next Ventures
Austin, TX

Mike Asem
M25
Chicago, IL

Reilly Brennan
Trucks Venture Capital
San Francisco, CA

Lisa Burton
Hearst Lab
New York, NY

Adi Levandon Chazan
Flint Capital
Tel Aviv, Israel

Jeffery Cyr
Raven Capital Partners
Ottawa, Canada

Vincent Diallo
Interlace Ventures
San Francisco, CA

Brian Dixon
Kapor Capital
Oakland, CA

Stacy Feld
Johnson and Johnson Innovation
San Francisco, CA

Renata George
Zenmen Corporate Venture
San Francisco, CA

Samara Hernandez
Chingona Ventures
Chicago, IL

Greg Horowitt
UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Mohanjit Jolly
Iron Pillar
Palo Alto, CA

Justin Kan
GOAT
San Francisco, CA

Laura Kilcrease
Alberta Innovates
Edmonton, Canada

Alex Pall
The Chainsmokers
Los Angeles, CA

Rokas Peciulaitis
Contranian Ventures
Vilnius, Lithuania

Emmalyn Shaw
Flourish Ventures
Redwood City, CA

Bryan Stolle
Wildcat Venture Partners
San Mateo, CA

Stefanie Thomas
Impact America Fund
Washington, DC

Drew Taggart
The Chainsmokers
Los Angeles, CA

Werner Vogels
Amazon
Seattle, WA

Martina Welkhoff
WXR Fund
Seattle, WA

2021 Coaches & Qualifiers

Facilitators

Monica Landers
Storyfit
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Dean Cruse

Tethr
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Greg Wright
HATCH pitch
Pre-Event Coach (Facilitator)

Pre-Event Qualifiers, Pre-Event Coaches

Colin Anawaty
First Dollar
Pre-Event Qualifier

Katie Baker
Anthem
Pre-Event Coach

Bart Bohn
Root Aspen
Pre-Event Coach

Kara Bortone
J&J Innovation, JLABS
Pre-Event Coach

Zach Brandon
Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
Pre-Event Coach

Shelly Brenckman
Texas A&M University
Pre-Event Coach

Mary Brendza
StoryFit
Pre-Event Qualifier

Keith Casey
CaseySoftware
Pre-Event Qualifier

Julie Collins
The IronCEO
Pre-Event Coach

Alex Cooper
The IronCEO
Pre-Event Coach

Rakhee Das
Sirius Solutions
Pre-Event Coach

Liz Deering
The Un. Inc
Pre-Event Coach

Christine DiPietro
DocStation
Pre-Event Qualifier

Dorit Donoviel
Translational Institute for Space Health
Pre-Event Coach

Ben Dyer
ADTC (Atlanta)
Pre-Event Coach

Kim Evans
Seremedi
Pre-Event Coach

Sloan Foster
AutoThink
Pre-Event Qualifier

Ben Glen
Shay Glenn LLP
Pre-Event Coach

McArthur Gill
Storyfit
Pre-Event Qualifier

Steven Gonzalez
Seldor Capital
Pre-Event Coach

Jonathan Ha
Dell Technologies
Pre-Event Coach

Yael Hochberg
Rice University/MIT
Pre-Event Coach

Jacqueline Hughes
Kauffman Fellows
Pre-Event Qualifier

Amy Hurwitz
Boston Consulting Group
Pre-Event Coach

Mariam Jacob
Allergy and Asthma Clinics of Houston
Pre-Event Coach

Sue Jain
Senior Analytics & Technology Executive
Pre-Event Coach

Kaz Karwowski
Rice Center for Engineering Leadership
Pre-Event Coach

Barbara Kelso
Kelso Consultants
Pre-Event Qualifier

Katina Kenyon
Applaudo Studios
Pre-Event Coach

Kerty Levy
TechStars
Pre-Event Coach

Paulo Machado
Health Innovation Partners LLC
Pre-Event Coach

Monique Maley
Articulate Persuasion
Pre-Event Coach

Tejus Mane
AtmoSpark Technologies
Pre-Event Coach

Deborah Mansfield
DMBS
Pre-Event Coach

Erin Mays
Ebco Trends
Pre-Event Qualifier

Cara McCarty
Cognite
Pre-Event Qualifier

Lisa McDonald
Austin Technology Incubator
Pre-Event Qualifier

Jake McKee
Community5
Pre-Event Coach

Robert McKee
Cypress Associates
Pre-Event Coach

Bryan McQuary
Carrier Corporation
Pre-Event Coach

Roberto Moctezuma
Fractal River
Pre-Event Coach

Mellini Monique
Vocal Culture Garden
Pre-Event Coach

Molly Montgomery
Founder's Haven
Pre-Event Qualifier

Marc Nathan
Texas-Squared
Pre-Event Coach

Will Neder
Universal Operations
Pre-Event Coach

Jon Nordby
MassChallenge
Pre-Event Coach

Rachelle Orbio
ValorUp
Pre-Event Coach

Darryl Peek
Google Cloud
Pre-Event Qualifier

Mark Phillips
Are You Watching This?!
Pre-Event Qualifier

Isabella Schmitt
Proxima Clinical Research
Pre-Event Coach

Mike Steely
Vocool Technologies
Pre-Event Coach

Lisa Stuardi
Austin Technology Incubator
Pre-Event Coach

Ashland Viscosi
Creatives Meet Business
Pre-Event Quaifier

Adam Weinroth
Invoices
Pre-Event Qualifier

Chris Westfall
Westfall and Associates LLC
Pre-Event Coach

Sabrina Wojtewicz
Bunker Labs
Pre-Event Qualifier

Tanya White
Pipeline Angels
Pre-Event Qualifier

Chen Zhang
Aquifer
Pre-Event Qualifier

Back to Top

2020 Finalists

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice

3Space Makers
Conroe, TX
We believe that everyone, regardless of means, should have a safe, durable home. 3Space Makers creates technologies, including robotics, material science, and automation, to produce affordable homes for working families and veterans. Our company mandate is to produce homes 50% faster, 50% less expensive and 50% better.
View Deck »

Deepblocks
Miami, FL
Deepblocks is an Artificial Intelligence company building a centralized global platform for analyzing real estate development. We integrate financial analysis, zoning limits, and market data into a single formula that enables instant modeling of development potential in any city around the world. Now working in the imperial and metric systems.
View Deck »

Intvo
Ann Arbor, MI
Intvo is a software company that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand and predict pedestrian behavior in the context of autonomous cars and fleet-vehicles.
View Deck »

Sonavi Labs
Baltimore, MD
Sonavi Labs has created Feelix, an advanced diagnostic platform that harnesses the power of machine learning to detect and manage respiratory diseases and infections more efficiently than ever before.
View Deck »

Wunder
San Francisco, CA
Wunder is an all-in-one parenting assistant that uses AI and science to help parents monitor and improve their child's early language and cognitve development. Wunder is backed by HAX/SOSV, Johnson & Johnson, and Stanford StartX and is clinically-proven to build positive parenting habits and boost cognitive and language skills.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

echoAR
New York, NY
echoAR is a cloud platform for augmented reality (AR) that provides tools and network infrastructure to help developers & companies quickly build and deploy AR apps and content. echoAR is backed by Techstars, received grants from Y Combinator, Verizon, and NYC Media Lab, and was featured on The Hill.
View Deck »

Eyedaptic
Laguna Beach, CA
Eyedaptic, is a software technology company addressing the large unmet need in the ophthalmic field of AMD (Age Related Macular Degeneration). Our visually assistive solutions are based on open market Augmented Reality (AR) glasses and embeds our proprietary simulated natural vision software, which optimizes the remaining peripheral vision.
View Deck »

holoride
Munich, Germany
holoride takes everyday journeys and transforms them into hyper-immersive experiences by combining navigational and car data with XR. The technology has the power to change backseat entertainment forever, can help reduce motion sickness and, opens up for a new layer of immersion in games and educational content.
View Deck »

Looxid Labs
Seoul, Korea
Looxid Labs is an AI start-up aiming to integrate biometrics into the VR/AR/MR platform. We have tailored our AI system to decode the users’ cognitive and emotional states using their biosignals. To integrate a biometric system into HMD platforms, we have developed the most VR compatible brain-sensing technology Looxid Link.
View Deck »

Praxis Labs
Palo Alto, CA
Praxis Labs advances diversity and inclusion outcomes through Virtual Reality based unconscious bias training. We let users take on a perspective different than their own, experience incidents of bias, and then practice responding to those incidents; Praxis increases empathy, reduces bias, and creates sustained behavior change for individuals and organizations.
View Deck »

Blockchain

AgUnity
Queensland, Australia
AgUnity is an award-winning tech company founded with the ambition to help change the lives of the 1-billion remote and rural farmers in emerging markets. Tackling issues of poor connectivity, a lack of digital literacy, and a lack of trust, AgUnity has developed a smartphone and blockchain-based solution for the world’s 'last mile' communities, a simple mobile product restoring trust, and connecting smallholder farmers with the services they need.

DrumG
New York, NY
DrumG is creating a world-class application development, operation and support platform for financial services. DrumG Technologies has developed a production-ready and financial institution approved enterprise blockchain network designed to anonymously aggregate and provide analytics on institutional datasets while allowing users to maintain full control and ownership of their data. The Titanium Network is currently used by several Tier 1 financial institutions. DrumG is located in New York, London, Singapore and Bermuda.

Quantstamp
San Francisco, CA
Quantstamp is a Y Combinator-backed company building the standard in blockchain cybersecurity. With a team of security experts dedicated to securing decentralized systems, Quantstamp is enabling a future of safer and more reliable blockchain applications and has helped a broad range of enterprises to innovate securely.
View Deck »

Votem
Cleveland, OH
Votem is a revolutionary election management company that aims to give democracy back to the people. We leverage a blockchain-based mobile voting platform to let everyone's voices be heard by making it easy to vote and nearly impossible to cheat.
View Deck »

Winding Tree
Gibraltar, Spain
Winding Tree drives the development of open source protocols for the travel industry. Starting with ORG.ID, a global registry of business entities that streamlines access to APIs in an automated and secure way without the need for third parties.
View Deck »

Consumer Technology & CPG

AVA Technologies
Vancouver, Canada
AVA Technologies Inc. is an IoT agtech startup that unlocks the green thumb in anyone. We invented AVA Byte, the world's smartest indoor garden, to empower urbanites to grow food right at home.
View Deck »

EasyKale Labs
Jackson, MS
EasyKale Labs LLC makes "superfood" more accessible and easier to consume through its flagship product, Bilal's EasyKale® Kale Shaker. The powdered, tasteless kale was developed as a result of founder Bilal Qizilbash's research into kale's cancer-fighting properties and is designed to maintain kale’s health benefits while minimizing its flavor.
View Deck »

FAVES
Los Angeles, CA
PurePlus is in a new category called Earth Functional Food - food that provides environmental benefits beyond health. PurePlus is disrupting candy with stealth nutrition. PurePlus has created a healthy candy wafer from the most climate impactful, imperfect and nutrient dense fruits and vegetables. We are a triple-bottom line company that makes products that are good for the health of people and the planet. We value a transparent supply chain and measure success through the wellbeing of our employees and producers and the resilience of the ecosystems that produce our core ingredients.
View Deck »

Renzoe Box
Austin, Tx
Renzoe Box is a smart beauty platform streamlining your beloved makeup products & brands into a refillable travel-ready case. This is paired with an AI-powered software to manage your collection, discover new products, & easily order refills. We are the next-gen hardware & software platform for the $500B global beauty industry.
View Deck »

Trust & Will
San Diego, CA
Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Trust & Will is modernizing the $180B+ trust and estate planning industry with an easy, fast, and secure way to set up your estate plan online. Trust & Will streamlines the estate planning process for the half of all adults who have put off setting up their will or trust. Trust & Will has helped more than 60,000+ members successfully protect their legacy.
View Deck »

Enterprise and Smart Data

LexSet
Brooklyn, NY
LexSet, better vision with better data. For computer vision AI used for object recognition and spatial navigation, the biggest problem is the lack of well annotated training data. LexSet solves this by simulating the world in 3D, creating limitless, unbiased data; dramatically improving AI accuracy and ease of development.
View Deck »

Passbase
New York, NY
Passbase is an off-the-shelf identity verification solution that allows you to confirm the identity of your users through a combination of liveness detection, one-to-one facial comparison, and forensic ID authenticity checks. We get you up and running fast with simple pricing, minimal engineering effort, and global document coverage.

StrongSalt
San Jose, CA
StrongSalt is a privacy-as-a-service API platform based upon searchable encryption that allows enterprises to search on their own encrypted documents as easily and quickly as Google can on webpages. The API platform can help enterprises secure data storage infrastructure and preserve data privacy in the world of AI and smart devices.
View Deck »

Syndio
Seattle, WA
Syndio is SaaS company committed to eradicating unlawful pay disparities in the workplace. Syndio enables global organizations to analyze and resolve pay gaps due to gender or race and stay in compliance over time. Syndio has over 60 enterprise customers including, Nordstrom, Match Group, Target, Adobe and PagerDuty and 1+m employees on the platform.
View Deck »

Virtualitics
Pasadena, CA
Virtualitics Immersive Platform™️ is a state-of-the-art data analytics platform. The advanced, patented technology is based on a decade of research at California Institute of Technology and NASA/JPL.
View Deck »

Entertainment and Content

Citefull
Phoenix, AZ
Americans rate fake news as a larger problem than climate change, racism or terrorism. We’re fixing fake news by verifying digital content. Citefull, The Verified News Source, provides readers with a trusted and independent resource they can deploy to quickly confirm - or debunk - news stories in real time.
View Deck »

FilmChain
London, England
FilmChain manages end-to-end financial transactions in media, powered by blockchain. The automated platform collects & allocates revenues in real time, from tickets sold to filmmakers’ pockets. It tracks rights, offers performance predictions and analytics. Enterprises, film funds, Oscar-nominated producers are using the platform that paves the way to a transparent industry.
View Deck »

Quicc
Wichita, KS
Quicc has rocketed into the global marketplace serving video creators in over 70 countries worldwide with automated, burnt in captions to ensure maximum accessibility and increased engagement to the video content published by creators in a world where their audiences now watch extensively without sound.
View Deck »

Virsix Games
Austin, TX
Virsix Games is an award-winning, interactive gaming and entertainment company co-founded by Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari) and Zai Ortiz (Hollywood Creative Director behind J.A.R.V.I.S. in Iron Man). Virsix Games is creating the next generation of gaming, play and immersive entertainment through rich storytelling and emerging technologies.
View Deck »

Wriveted
Sydney, Australia
The friendly Wriveted chatbot helps children quickly discover a book matched to their interests and general reading ability. A robot-like kiosk with a tablet and thermal printer rewards children with a printed list of the books they like.
View Deck »

Health, Wearables, & Wellbeing

Milis Bio
Cork, Ireland
Milis Bio is designing the future of flavourings: low calorie, protein-based ingredients each crafted to meet the specific needs of a given use case. Bespoke development of sweeteners, umami flavours and salt substitutes with varying potency, solubility and tolerances to suit any client food and beverage CPG.

Radiobotics
Copenhagen, Denmark
Radiobotics is automating medical image analysis at hospitals, helping both doctors and patients in getting faster turnaround and less diagnostic errors. The algorithms are easy to integrate into existing workflows and highly scalable. Radiobotics is an award winning Scandinavian based health-tech company with CE-approved products on the market.
View Deck »

Safe Health
Los Angeles, CA
Makers of the "Safe Sex App" that lets people privately show their verified STD status on their phone and provides the easiest, least expensive way to get tested and treated for sexually transmitted diseases (which are at an all-time high in the U.S., for the fifth year in a row).
View Deck »

Sisu Global
Baltimore, MD
Sisu Global is the future of medical devices in emerging markets, starting with Hemafuse: a device alternative to donor blood. Hemafuse can salvage, filter, and recycle blood from internal bleeding. Hemafuse is sold in Africa through Kenya’s largest medical distributor. Sisu is currently expanding its product portfolio and geographic scale.
View Deck »

TruPigment
Austin, TX
TeVido makes an underutilized procedure, to restore lost skin color, available to physicians and their patients. Hypopigmentation, caused by scarring and skin diseases is difficult to treat. Using proprietary techniques, TeVido prepares a patient's own epidermal cells for use in a transplant procedure. Your skin, your cells, your color.
View Deck »

Innovative World Technologies

Betmarkets
Porto, Portugal
Betmarkets allows you to automatically copy the best professional bettors. Fund your account, pick the bettors of your choice and how much to invest in each. Every time one of them places a bet, the same bet is placed for you. We look at sports betting from a financial perspective.

Lofty AI
San Francisco, CA
Lofty AI shows you properties primed for rapid appreciation. Our results speak for themselves. If you had bought one of our A.I.'s suggested properties a year ago, you would have made over 45x higher returns on appreciation alone compared to if you bought a property not suggested by our A.I.

MolyWorks
Los Gatos, CA
Recycle today to print tomorrow. MolyWorks is building a distributed recycling network to convert scrap metal into additive manufacturing grade powder and parts at the point of need.
View Deck »

NeelAgil Technologies
Telangana, India
We developed oral insulin technology for insulin dependent diabetes patients. The invention is going to help million of diabetes patients around the world by providing painless and cost-effective therapy.
View Deck »

Plantible Foods
San Diego, CA
Plantible Foods has developed vertically integrated system that produces a plant-based protein ingredient that can replace egg whites, whey and casein in food & beverage applications. Harnessing the power of the humble but awe-inspiring lemna, the system is 100x more sustainable than soy and doesn’t require arable land.
View Deck »

Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics

Cove.tool
Atlanta, GA
A game changing machine learning technology that helps users discover smarter ways to make their buildings energy efficient while saving on construction cost.
View Deck »

Flugauto
Austin, TX
Flugauto is a B2B tech company developing a world-class UAV platform for aerial delivery of industrial cargo for the energy industry. For businesses that want to transport cargo we offer the benefits of a helicopter, speed and access to remote locations, but at the cost of ground transportation.

MD Ally
Philadelphia, PA
Each year, over 96 million non-emergency 911 calls decrease ambulance availability and drive billions in avoidable costs. MD Ally allows 911 systems to navigate these callers to more appropriate care options to improve clinical and financial outcomes for patients, payers, and public safety systems.
View Deck »

Trella
Cairo, Egypt
Trella connects shippers to carriers in the fragmented road freight industry, to create transparency, efficiency and reliability, empowering carriers to find regular work with many shippers, eliminate excessive broker margins, and maximize truck utilization, while allowing shippers to book affordable loads, minimize matching time, and greater visibility on their shipments.
View Deck »

Waycare
Los Angeles, CA
Waycare is a cloud-based platform powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) that provides traffic management solutions for cities around the US. We integrate data from sources such as city infrastructure, connected vehicles, and external data partnerships, to provide users with powerful insights to improve traffic and safety management operations.
View Deck »

Social and Culture

Agrona
Cairo, Egypt
Agrona with patented technology; manufactures particleboard wood out of vegetable crop residues without chopping a single tree creating a sustainable and eco friendly business for both the environment and the society.
View Deck »

Applied Bioplastics
Austin, TX
Applied Bioplastics’ mission is to replace traditional plastics and composites with plant-based alternatives and to build a sustainable growth engine for eco-friendly agriculture in developing countries. They intend to transform the perception of bioplastics from “expensive and uncommon” to “inexpensive and ubiquitous”.
View Deck »

Arist
Boston, MA
Arist helps leading organizations create, launch, and assess text message courses. Inspired by research from Stanford and UPenn, text message courses are extremely accessible and effective, with completion and satisfaction rates that are up to 20 times higher than other types of digital learning.

Collective Liberty
Washington, DC
Collective Liberty’s mission is to eradicate human trafficking. We collaborate across industries, agencies, and survivor-support agencies to create ground-breaking, data-driven approaches that work. By leveraging high-tech data collection and analysis solutions, we shift systems and improve public policy to ensure as a community we support survivors while stopping traffickers.
View Deck »

Skilllab
Amsterdam, Netherlands
With Skilllab’s mobile app, job seekers identify and document their professional skills in their native languages to explore professional career pathways they could pursue in a given labour market. Job seekers, case managers and career coaches use the resulting Skill Profiles to improve career planning, job search and vocational training.
View Deck »

2020 Alternates

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice

PIX Moving
Guiyang, China
PIX Moving is a self-driving startup dedicated to rebuilding the cities with autonomous mobility. PIX builds robo-vehicle that consists of multi-functional cabin and autonomous driving chassis. With the modular design and innovative manufacturing approach, PIX integrates living, working and entertainment space on all kinds of robo-vehicles, making spaces connected, sharable and on-demand.

UneeQ
Austin, TX
UneeQ is a platform that enables chatbots to become an engaging, visual customer experience that creates emotional connection. Powered by AI, UneeQ’s intelligent digital human platform supercharges a brand’s ability to create real-time interaction based on tailored content and memorable personas who build an emotional connection with customers by using the power of the human face.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

Immertec
Tampa, FL
Immertec provides a real-time, immersive training platform in virtual reality for surgeons.

SURVIVR
Dallas, TX
SURVIVR is a VR training platform that helps first responders improve their decision-making and response times. Trainees are immersed in a variety of high-pressure situations such as traffic stops, domestic violence, and active shootings.

VIKA Books
Avon, United Kingdom
VIKA Books are creators of immersive learning experiences that combine creative technologies with usercentered product designs. Our first product, 'Where is the Bird?' is an augmented reality book that inspires all families, deaf and hearing, to interact in British Sign Language.

Blockchain

BlockMedx
Boston, MA
BlockMedx is a next generation smart e-prescribing and analytics system that can be used anywhere in the world to send and receive electronic prescriptions, track prescriptions, and predict patient risk behaviors.

Highview
Madison, WI
Highview, an SAP partner, continually enhances the way in which SAP customers interact with their own customers and suppliers. Highview and SAP built the World’s first Blockchain powered B2B solution.

The Sandbox
Paris, France
TSB Gaming Ltd. international team is building The Sandbox, a blockchain decentralized community-driven gaming platform where players can Play, Create, Own Items + Lands or Explore them and Earn SAND.

Consumer Technology & CPG

Nollapelli
Pittsburgh, PA
Stop waking up with sleep lines, bed head and sweaty sheets. Nollapelli’s breakthrough bedding (patent pending) balances moisture, temperature, and friction for a more restorative sleep while also protecting skin and hair.

SellHound
Santa Cruz, CA
SellHound is a mission-driven startup focused on extending the life-cycle of stuff and enhancing the circular economy by building a scalable system that automates the creation of highly optimized listings of secondhand items to sell across marketplaces... all from just a few photos.

Wardrobe
New York, NY
Wardrobe is a peer-to-peer platform that enables people to rent luxury, designer and vintage clothing from each other’s closets. Wardrobe partners with local dry cleaners that provides cleaning, storage and serves as access points where users can pick-up/ return their rented items.

Enterprise and Smart Data

Allthenticate
Santa Barbara, CA
Our product, Single Device Authentication (SDA), is designed to enable seamless authentication in both the physical and digital worlds by using our smartphone app to replace keys and passwords, while unifying the management of these credentials into one easy-to-use interface.

Marlo
Austin, TX
Marlo is building a workplace mastery platform, starting with a tool to find and fix unproductive meetings. With real-time meeting feedback, your team can start measuring meeting productivity with Net Meeting Score, make immediate change with actionable recommendations backed by data, and end the culture of unproductive meetings.

ZeBrand
New York, NY
ZeBrand is an automated branding web service

Entertainment and Content

The Last Gameboard
Boulder, CO
Gameboard-1 is an experience-based gaming platform. Merging the physical and digital worlds of gameplay with our proprietary SenseScreen Technology. Gameboard-1 revolutionizes the way we interact with physical objects on any digital interface.

Side Door
Halifax, Canada
Side Door is a platform that matches artists with hosts, builds direct connections, and simplifies the show-booking process with easy and transparent digital tools. Helping to create memorable shows in living rooms, backyards, coffee shops, community halls, studio spaces, etc.,

Ryff
Los Angeles, CA
Using AI and visual computing, Ryff's Placer platform delivers dynamic digital product placement in filmed entertainment. Ryff have solutions for existing shows as well as new productions, thereby future proofing production efforts.

Health, Wearables, & Wellbeing

Lilu
New York, NY
Lilu builds technology to empower new moms. We've developed the first commercially available hands-free pumping bra with automated breast massage to help nursing mothers pump more milk in less time, without any hassles.

Reveal Technologies
Houston, TX
Reveal Technologies is recreating human eyesight using direct retinal projection.

YourChoice Therapeutics
Berkeley, CA
YourChoice Therapeutics is revolutionizing reproductive health options for women and men by developing hormone-free contraceptives and fertility treatments and bringing them to market.Our first product is a female-controlled, non-hormonal, on-demand contraceptive lubricant women can use to prevent pregnancy just before intercourse!

Innovative World Technologies

360VR Technology
Newark, DE
We have built a comprehensive building information platform using 3D models, intensive analysis, and machine learning in order to improve building operational efficiency, reduce risk, and increase emergency response effectiveness.

Solstar Space Company
Santa Fe, NM
Solstar Space Company is a space communications company working to build a Space Wide Web. Solstar demonstrated the first commercial WiFi hot spot in space on board Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Spaceship twice and posted the first commercial Tweet from space.

Trella Technologies
Bourne, MA
Trella creates energy-efficient and globally-scalable solutions to problems unique to the indoor farming industry. Our product, TrellaGro LST™, automatically trains tall plants to grow horizontally helping indoor cultivators control taller/fruit-bearing crops in spaces that were previously problematic due to height constraints like those found in urban farms and freight containers.

Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics

MD Ally
Philadelphia, PA
Each year, over 96 million non-emergency 911 calls decrease ambulance availability and drive billions in avoidable costs. MD Ally allows 911 systems to navigate these callers to more appropriate care options to improve clinical and financial outcomes for patients, payers, and public safety systems.

NUBIGON
Austin, TX
NUBIGON offers SaaS solutions for developing uniquely accurate and reliable Digital Twins of the built environment. Capable of harvesting ever-growing volumes of LIDAR data and imagery, our software enables architecture, engineering and construction companies to seamlessly model as-built conditions, update designs and preempt costly rework orders.

SparkCharge
Boston, MA
SparkCharge makes a portable ultra-fast electric vehicle charging units that is small, modular and data-centric. Since the chargers are compact they can be delivered to an EV owner on demand via any on demand service like Uber, Lyft or AAA. Combined with the data, this creates a mobile on-demand charging infrastructure allowing electric vehicle owners to have their cars charged ultra fast, anytime & anywhere they want it.

Social and Culture

Civic Champs
Bloomington, IN
Civic Champs automates volunteer management for nonprofits and converts volunteers to donors. Our mobile-first platform leverages geo-location technology to provide seamless scheduling and hour tracking. This streamlined data collection is key to building a robust CRM for nonprofits and empowers them to effectively engage and build loyalty with their supporters.

FairFrame
New York, NY
FairFrame coaches’ managers to give better feedback by highlighting possible unconscious bias and giving immediate, on-screen guidance on how to mitigate it. Our enterprise analytics also give completely new insights into the workplace experience. FairFrame leverages AI and decades of social science research to power its easy-to-use diversity technology platform.

The Tuesday Company
Washington, DC
The Tuesday Company created a software platform to help nonprofits, campaigns, and unions leverage supporters’ personal networks to share information. Our app, Team, brings your organizing strategies to your supporters’ smartphones, prompting them to help you build community, drive activism, and increase donations.

2020 Judges and Emcees

Lance Armstrong
Next Ventures
Austin, TX

Jayne Brady
Kernel
Belfast, Ireland

Jason Breen
Target Accelerator
Minneapolis, MN

Stacey Chang
Design Insitute for Health
Austin, TX

Tipatat Chennavasin
The Venture Reality Fund
Daly City, CA

Ned Desmond
TechCrunch
San Francisco, CA

Vincent Diallo
Interlace Ventures
San Francisco, CA

Brian Dixon
Kapor Capital
Oakland, CA

Mandela Dixon
Founder Gym
Oakland, CA

Barry Downes
Sure Valley Ventures
London, England

Steve Downs
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Princeton, NJ

Alex Estevez
Accel
Greenville, SC

Kristen Faulkner
Threshold VC
San Francisco, CA

Stacy Feld
Johnson and Johnson Innovation
San Francisco, CA

Stephane Gantchev
LAUNCHub Ventures
Sofia, Bulgaria

Renata George
Zenmen Corporate Venture
San Francisco, CA

Arlan Hamilton
Backstage
Los Angeles, CA

Cassandra Harris
Shark Tank Ventures
London, England

Chip Hazard
Flybridge
Boson, MA

Samara Hernandez
Chingona Ventures
Chicago, IL

Ari Horie
Women’s Startup Lab
Menlo Park, CA

Greg Horowitt
UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Mohanjit Jolly
Iron Pillar
Palo Alto, CA

Beth Kearns
Touchdown Ventures
Los Angeles, CA

Laura Kilcrease
Alberta Innovates
Edmonton, Canada

Kay Koplovitz
Springboard Enterprises
New York. NY

Patrick Lor
Panache Ventures
Calgary, Canada

Prashant Matta
Panache Ventures
Toronto, Canada

Rumi Morales
Outlier Ventures
Chicago, IL

Sarah Morgenstern
Flourish Ventures
Washington, DC

Jim Murphy
The Coca-Cola Company
Atlanta, GA

Rokas Peciulaitis
Contranian Ventures
Vilnius, Lithuania

Ethan Pierse
CryptoAssets Institute
Paris, France

Nasir Qadree
Pier 70 Ventures
Washington, DC

Walter Robb
Stonewall Robb Advisors
Austin, TX

Wilhelmina Jewell Sparks
BITHOUSE GROUP
Berlin, Germany

Ivo Stivoric
X
San Francisco, CA

Bryan Stolle
Wildcat Venture Partners
San Mateo, CA

Alicia Syrett
Pantegrion Capital
New York, NY

Stefanie Thomas
Impact America Fund
Washington, DC

Bradley Tusk
Tusk Venture Partners
New York, NY

Werner Vogel
Amazon
Seattle, WA

Ryan Wang
Outpost Capital
Los Angeles, CA

Martina Welkhoff
WXR Fund
Seattle, WA

Melissa Withers
RevUp Capital
San Francisco, CA

Edith Yeung
Proof of Capital
San Francisco, CA

Santiago Zavala
500 Startups
Mexico City, Mexico

2020 Emcees

Lisandra Rickards
Former Chief Entrepreneurship Officer
Branson Centre Caribbean
Lisandra Rickards is Former Chief Entrepreneurship Officer at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean, the region’s leading business accelerator for scale-up entrepreneurs. Lisandra has developed and delivered scaled initiatives to over 2,500 Caribbean entrepreneurs and counting. She has also spearheaded the Centre’s strategic shift to becoming a player in the Caribbean venture capital industry by supporting growth-stage entrepreneurs towards investment, raised funding for the expansion of the Centre’s mission, and relocated its headquarters from Montego Bay to the business hub of Kingston. Lisandra recently left the Branson Centre to establish an online course and coaching business - Soul Career. She holds an MBA with Honors from Harvard Business School.

Andrew Hyde
Chairman
Glider
Andrew is a technologist that has roots in design. He started Startup Weekend which reached half a million participants and 162 countries around the world.

2020 SXSW Accelerator Qualifying Committee, Coaches, and On-site Coaches

Facilitators

Monica Landers
Storyfit
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Dean Cruse
Tethr
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Greg Wright
HATCH pitch
Pre-Event Coach (Facilitator)

Brian Lang
Energizing Health
On-site Coach (Facilitator)

Pre-Event Qualifiers, Pre-Event Coaches and On-Site Coaches

Katie Baker
Anthem
Pre-Event Coach

April Beasley
RCKT Marketing
Pre-Event Coach

Kara Bortone
Johnson & Johnson Innovation- JLABS
On-Site Coach

Sara Brand
True Wealth
On-Site Coach

Zach Brandon
Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
On-Site Coach

Shelly Brenckman
Texas A&M University
Pre-Event Coach

Molly Cain
GovCity
Pre-Event Coach

Emma Cartmell
Cartmell
On-Site Coach

William Clark
MicroVentures
On-Site Coach

Julie Collins
Collins Consulting
On-Site Coach

Michael Crider
EX Squared
Pre-Event Qualifier

Cassandra Cuellar
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Pre-Event Coach

Liz Deering
The Un. Inc
On-Site Coach

Lindsay Deneault
Atrium Health
On-Site Coach

Dorit Donoviel
Translational Institute for Space Health
On-Site Coach

Kim Evans
Karis
On-Site Coach

Gary Fomi
CTAN
On-Site Coach

Suzanne Futterman Porch
Cedars-Sinai
On-Site Coach

McArthur Gill
Storyfit
Pre-Event Qualifier

Benjamin Glenn
A Matter of Innovation
On-Site Coach

Eddie Gonzalez-Novoa
Energizing Health
On-site Coach

Jonathan Ha
Dell Technologies
Pre-Event Coach

Joanna Heinrich
Motiv
Pre-Event Qualifier

Yael Hochberg
Rice University/MIT
On-Site Coach

Jacqueline Hughes
Kauffman Fellows
Pre-Event Qualifier

Amy Hurwitz
Boston Consulting Group
On-Site Coach

Mariam Jacob
Allergy and Asthma Clinics of Houston
Pre-Event Coach

Rashmi Kilam
Bouin Capital
Pre-Event Coach

Blanca Lesmes
BB Imaging and Healthcare Consulting
Qualifier

Paulo Machado
Health Innovation Partners LLC
Pre-Event Coach

Monique Maley
Articulate Persuasion
On-Site Coach

Deborah Mansfield
DMBS
Pre-Event Coach

Erin Mays
Ebco Trends
Pre-Event Qualifier

Lisa McDonald
Austin Technology Incubator
On-Site Coach

Jake McKee
Community5
Pre-Event Coach

Robert McKee
Cypress Associates
On-Site Coach

Roberto Moctezuma
Fractal River
Pre-Event Coach

Mellini Monique
Vocal Culture Garden
On-Site Coach

Will Neder
Universal Operations
On-Site Coach

Rachelle Orbio
NFP, ValorUp
Pre-Event Coach

Beto Pallares
Joseph Advisory
On-Site Coach

Mark Phillips
Are You Watching This?!
Pre-Event Qualifier

Mark Piening
DPS
Pre-Event Qualifier

Joy Schoffler
Casoro Capital
On-Site Coach

Chris Shonk
ATX Seed Ventures
On Site Coach

Sarah Spear
Stoplight
Pre-Event Qualifier

Kristin Spindler
IncubatorCTX at Concordia University
On-Site Coach

Mike Steely
Vocool Technologies
Pre-Event Coach

Mark Streich
SquareFairy
Pre-Event Coach

Chris Treadaway
Polygraph Media
Pre-Event Quaifier

Joshua Weibling
HATCH pitch
Pre-Event Coach

Tanya White
Pipeline Angels
Pre-Event Quaifier

Brian Williams
Perspectivity
Pre-Event Coach

Sabrina Wojtewicz
Bunker Labs
Pre-Event Quaifier

Ron Yerkes
Consultant
Pre-Event Coach

Back to Top

2019 Winner

Artificial Intelligence

Derq

Dubai, UAE

1.3M people die from crashes every year. Autonomous Vehicle technologies are coming, but "mute" autonomous systems won't solve all safety problems. Derq, an MIT spin-off and Techstars Mobility alum, develops software that helps eliminate crashes and save lives by using patented and award-winning AI algorithms to predict crashes with enough time to prevent them.

Augmented & Virtual Reality

Healium by StoryUP

Columbia, MO

Healium by StoryUP is the world's first XR mindfulness channel powered by the user's brain and heart rate. The biometrically controlled VR & AR stories heal themselves via data from the user's wearables. In published studies, Healium has been shown to reduce moderate anxiety in as little as 4 minutes.

Blockchain

Nebula Genomics

San Francisco, CA

Nebula Genomics offers consumers and patients affordable personal genome sequencing and enables control over personal genomic data, while researchers get access to a network of individuals for on-demand genomic data generation, access and analysis.

Enterprise & Smart Data

Geospiza Swift

Denver, CO

Geospiza uses big data analytics to save lives in disaster. We automate data integration and provide rich, evidence-based decision support to emergency managers, elected officials, and corporate continuity planners.

Entertainment & Content

Tankee

Austin, TX

Tankee helps parents protect their kids from inappropriate online content while allowing kids to watch gaming videos they love on mobile devices. From Minecraft adventures to ROBLOX music videos, Tankee’s team of real live humans review, create, and curate the best gaming content in a family-friendly, worry-free environment.

Health & Wearable

Pathware

Ann Arbor, MI

Pathware is creating hardware and software solutions to simplify the digital pathology workflow. Our whole slide imaging and cloud-based management system, Bioptic, rapidly returns a biopsy quality determination to verify that a viable biopsy was collected with over 96% certainty.

Hyper-Connected Communities

UbiGro

Los Alamos, New Mexico

UbiGro is a nanotech-enabled greenhouse film by UbiQD, Inc. that red-shifts the sun’s spectrum for improved crop yield and quality. UbiGro has been shown effective for tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens, hemp, and cannabis in various climates. UbiQD enabled this innovation with its safer, cheaper, and more reliable quantum dot technology.

Social & Culture

Supportiv

Berkeley, CA

Supportiv —The Support Network—delivers NLP-driven precision peer support and hyper-targeted resource recommendations for daily life struggles like work stress, family pressures, relationship conflict, or loneliness. The proprietary NLP instantly matches users into topic-specific peer groups that dynamically convene for real-time emotional support. People healing people, globally scalable.

Sports & Performance Data

MIRO - Human Body AI

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Miro uses AI & computer vision to instantly identify athletes, individual consumer insights & more from running event photos/video. Miro analyzes the human body in motion to unlock value for athletes, events, sponsors & brands. Miro’s proprietary AI has powered the raceday experience for more than 7MM athletes globally.

Transportation & Delivery

ENSO - Sustainable Tires for Electric Vehicles

London, England

ENSO innovates in the tire industry by making sustainable tires for electric vehicles that fundamentally reduce toxic tire emissions and increase EV driving range up to 20%. ENSO’s eco-friendly tires are significantly more sustainable and energy efficient than the standard tires currently equipped on some of the World’s best-selling EVs.

Best Bootstrap Company: TwentyTables

The Best Speed Pitch Winner: Xplosion Tech

Best in Show Winner: Nebula Genomics

2019 Finalists

Artificial Intelligence

Derq
Dubai, UAE

1.3M people die from crashes every year. Autonomous Vehicle technologies are coming, but "mute" autonomous systems won't solve all safety problems. Derq, an MIT spin-off and Techstars Mobility alum, develops software that helps eliminate crashes and save lives by using patented and award-winning AI algorithms to predict crashes with enough time to prevent them.

Hendrix.ai
Edmonton, Canada

Testfire Labs is an award-winning software company that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to build next-generation productivity tools. Our flagship product is Hendrix.ai, an AI-assistant that transcribes notes and action items, audits meeting history, and drops it all into a searchable dashboard, for unprecedented organization and productivity insights.

RoadBotics
Pittsburgh, PA

RoadBotics is an infrastructure technology company that uses AI to revolutionize how governments and engineering firms make data-driven pavement management decisions. The company uses cutting-edge deep learning and a simple smartphone to disrupt the highly subjective and expensive pavement inspection process.

Sherpa
London, England

Imagine you never had to deal with insurance again. Sherpa’s proprietary AI assesses all the risks you face, and builds you a personalised, all-in-one insurance solution. What’s more, our insurance will automatically keep up to date as your life changes, so you can sleep easy, knowing you are always perfectly protected. Insurance reinvented: better, simpler, cheaper.

Vence
San Diego, CA

Autonomous livestock farm management. Livestock produce 30% of global protein. Vence reduces the cost of sustainably raised meat by eliminating the need for infrastructure (fences) and labor on livestock farms and giving customers real-time control. Our AI/ML also provides farmers with additional insight into animal behavior, health and fertility.

Alternates

Clean Robotics
San Francisco, CA

CleanRobotics utilizes robotics and AI to properly sort recyclables and landfill waste, at the bin level, while gathering useful data and educating the public.

Track
San Francisco, CA

Track is on a mission to make it easier to be self-employed, starting with automatically detecting 1099 income, then withholding and submitting what you owe. No more tax surprises.

XAIN AG
Berlin, Germany

XAIN AG is a Berlin-based AI, Cybersecurity and Distributed Systems company. We combine academic research with industry experience to develop unique solutions around enterprise data, resource and knowledge sharing challenges.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

BehaviorMe
Gainesville, FL

BehaviorMe has created a SaaS that enables therapists to increase the independence of kids and young adults with autism and developmental disabilities. The software is used as part of a therapy session where therapists can run multiple scenarios during a single appointment. Currently the software is being deployed as a web portal and standalone VR headsets.

Healium by StoryUP
Columbia, MO

Healium by StoryUP is the world's first XR mindfulness channel powered by the user's brain and heart rate. The biometrically controlled VR & AR stories heal themselves via data from the user's wearables. In published studies, Healium has been shown to reduce moderate anxiety in as little as 4 minutes.

LinkVR Robot
Austin, TX

LinkDyn provides cutting-edge robots that enable new human-robot interaction in VR applications with realistic force feedback, robotic rehabilitation with seamless assistance, and more. The VR Haptic Robot can drastically improve VR training efficacy by allowing users to feel virtual objects and environment like those in the real world.

Obsess
New York, NY

Obsess is an immersive e-commerce platform that uses mobile & web-based VR and AR (no headsets needed) to create a new, highly engaging online shopping experience. Our mission is to re-invent the grid interface that hasn’t changed since it was invented by Amazon 20 years ago to sell books online.

Tunnelware
Cologne, Germany

DigitalTwin Technology founded in Cologne, Germany aiming to create digital twins of civil infrastructure. Tunnelware is a product that provides digital twin of construction site and Tunnel Boring Machine in order to monitor and manage the construction process in real-time on 5D platform virtually for safer and productive environment.

Alternates

myHouseby
Austin, TX

myHouseby is the leading platform for new home construction allowing home buyers to discover, design and build homes for their unique lifestyles. From home plan discovery to designing and creating a new home, myHouseby is revolutionizing the new home construction marketplace.

Screen Door
Los Angeles, CA

Screen Door Laboratories augments team capabilities with real-time mission-critical information.

Verapy
Tampa, FL

Using virtual reality technology, Verapy enhances patient experiences through fun exercise games – reimagining the way therapists engage with their patients.

Blockchain

Bext360
Golden, CO

Bext360 develops technologies that leverage blockchain, artificial intelligence and IoT, to: streamline critical supply chains in emerging economies, provide a traceable fingerprint for commodities from producer to consumer, and enable organizations to track sustainability and CSR policies and progress. Bext360 was named to Forbes' 25 Most Innovative AgTech Startups In 2018.

Eggschain
Austin, TX

Eggschain exists to preserve hope of life and peace of mind in the fertility industry and beyond. Leveraging the blockchain, we enable consumers to track their frozen eggs, embryos, sperm and genetic materials. We deliver the above by providing immutable records of ownership information and estate plans.

Knowbella Tech
Cincinnati, OH

Knowbella Tech is an open science collaboration company that uses blockchain to deliver free tools, services, intellectual property, and equipment to researchers, particularly the underserved. Those researchers who collaborate within the Platform will be awarded AnthroCoin cryptocurrency. The Company will initially generate revenues by matchmaking scientists with employers who pay to access the scientists looking for employment.

Nebula Genomics
San Francisco, CA

Nebula Genomics offers consumers and patients affordable personal genome sequencing and enables control over personal genomic data, while researchers get access to a network of individuals for on-demand genomic data generation, access and analysis.

Steamchain
Milwaukee, WI

SteamChain is unlike any other Industrial IoT company in the market today. We don't just create dashboards that need to be monitored. We enable new business models that bring purpose to clients IIoT investments by connecting financial transactions to machinery performance.

Alternates

Bioverse
Miami, FL

Bioverse is changing the way our society values the natural ecosystem and biodiversity by creating an entirely new economy that leverages biological and genetic diversity. Using blockchain to secure access and ownership of digital genomics and associated IP, Bioverse is creating a mechanism to ensure that investments in biological and genetic discoveries are generating capital gains to indigenous communities, local government, and ecosystem restoration initiatives.

Lucidity
Los Angeles, CA

Lucidity uses blockchain technology to bring transparency to digital advertising so brands always get what they pay for, honesty is rewarded, dishonesty isn’t, and measurement standards are enforced. We provide the transparency brands need to buy media with confidence.

NuID
San Francisco, CA

NuID is a pioneer in trustless authentication and decentralized digital identity. The NuID platform leverages zero knowledge cryptography and blockchain technology to eliminate the need for businesses to store passwords.

Enterprise and Smart Data

Geospiza Swift
Denver, CO

Geospiza uses big data analytics to save lives in disaster. We automate data integration and provide rich, evidence-based decision support to emergency managers, elected officials, and corporate continuity planners.

Molecula
Austin, TX

Based on Pilosa, Molecula is a computational analysis engine that enables scientists and engineers to focus on the fundamental research needed to solve complex problems without the expensive and difficult data management usually required. Molecula is shifting the focus to extracting knowledge and intelligence from information.

Novo
New York, NY

Novo is a banking platform that provides better business checking accounts to today’s companies and is powered by a network of FDIC-insured community banks. Novo is bringing small business banking into the modern age with easy-to-use tools for founders on the go.

Osano
Austin, TX

Osano's platform utilizes ML to provide users with insights regarding data sharing.

TransferFi
Singapore, Singapore

TransferFi is creating the world’s first long-range, safe and efficient Wireless Power Network (WPN). It will be used to power IoT sensor networks to high-power applications that will provide easy access to primary sources of energy. TFi is revolutionizing the way we access power.

Alternates

Clovis Technologies
San Francisco, CA

Clovis is the next generation anti-money laundering solution: we're building AI that stops criminals from using our financial systems to terrorize and exploit people around the world.

Inflect
San Francisco, CA

Research global networks, cloud regions, and interconnected data centers in one place.

Entertainment and Content

Acciyo
Los Angeles, CA

Acciyo’s mission is to transform reading the news from a survivalist exercise into a rich, motivating experience. Our debut product is a tool that populates a timeline of previous articles published on the subject you’re reading. No matter what you read, get the context you need to understand it with ease.

Fantag
Sacramento, CA

Fantag is the easiest, fastest way for teams, schools, broadcasters and streamers to manage video - for hassle-free sharing of highlights. Using patented cloud video synchronization technology and an app, Fantag automates delivery of personalized highlights and transforms the fan experience. We create a world where no moment is ever lost.

SkyWeaver
Toronto, Canada

Horizon makes blockchain-powered video games for dreamers, futurists, and digital citizens. We're pioneering a new dimension of gaming that belongs to its players.

Stroly
Kyoto, Japan

Stroly is an online platform for illustrated maps linked with geolocation technology. Our service also provides user behavior feedback for data-driven marketing.

Tankee
Austin, TX

Tankee helps parents protect their kids from inappropriate online content while allowing kids to watch gaming videos they love on mobile devices. From Minecraft adventures to ROBLOX music videos, Tankee’s team of real live humans review, create, and curate the best gaming content in a family-friendly, worry-free environment.

Alternates

Ibble
Austin, TX

Ibble helps people build financial confidence by unlocking investment knowledge. With curated news, daily interactive live-streams and weekly trading competitions, we make investing accessible for everyone.

Immersive Systems
Los Angeles, CA

Immersive Systems is delivering a media platform to power the next generation of fan engagement and revenue growth in competitive esports. The platform seamlessly integrates all the stats, highlights, images and content that fans want and delivers it in a beautiful, interactive app.

VIDGO
Atlanta, CA

Vidgo is a prepaid streaming service that targets the unbanked. Vidgo has developed a disruptive pre-payment ecosystem for television to accept cash paying customers.

Health and Wearable

Extend
San Francisco, CA

Boost Biomes is using the powerful social networks among microbes to provide novel, sustainable solutions to feed and heal people everywhere. Our first products seek to reduce the enormous waste in agricultural products due to crop loss to fungal pests in the field and post-harvest.

Kegg
San Francisco, CA

Kegg aims to disrupt fertility industry by cutting of the unnecessary costs, providing meaningful data to women through fertility hardware and access to remote 1:1 fertility specialists. This will make fertility care affordable to millions of women and provide the necessary data for the foundation of preventive healthcare.

Pathware
Ann Arbor, MI

Pathware is creating hardware and software solutions to simplify the digital pathology workflow. Our whole slide imaging and cloud-based management system, Bioptic, rapidly returns a biopsy quality determination to verify that a viable biopsy was collected with over 96% certainty.

Portable Surgical Visualization System
Philadelphia, PA

X-Biomedical is commercializing surgical visualization technologies developed over several years at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Our novel all-inclusive portable surgical visualization solution is at the convergence of multiple enabling digital technologies & provides more value & costs significantly less compared to status quo systems, disrupting a ~$2B market.

Zibrio SmartScale
Houston, TX

Zibrio: The balance company is dedicated to giving people an edge in their performance, and preventing unnecessary deaths, injuries and costs from falls through a connected smart-scale that measures balance and identifies fall risk. Falls are not a normal part of aging, and we give you the health span you crave.

Alternates

InvestAcure, PBC
New York, NY

InvestAcure, PBC is building a spare change investment platform to help you invest in companies working on a cure for Alzheimer's. Our vision is to see a world where drug companies are owned by millions of spare change investors committed to a cure.

Rhaeos
Chicago, IL

Rhaeos is a noninvasive wearable flow sensor designed by Northwestern University materials scientists and neurosurgeons for the care of patients with hydrocephalus.

Triad Health AI
Boulder, CO

Using smart speakers to make smarter exercises for Parkinson’s, Triad Health AI takes advantage of emerging smart speaker ecosystems to help people living with Parkinson’s stay healthy, safe and independent.

Hyper-Connected Communities

Mesh++
Chicago, IL

Mesh++ builds battery- and solar-powered WiFi nodes that can host huge, high-speed mesh networks anywhere.

NODE
Seattle, WA

NODE’s patent-pending technology and platform makes the most sustainable and healthy homes affordable. We slash time and cost by turning construction into assembly, activating a new workforce to assemble our flexible system that results in high quality, zero emission, homes.

ObjectBox
Munich, Germany

ObjectBox enables Edge Computing in IoT and Mobile with the fastest Edge Database: smaller than 1MB, 10x faster than any alternative, and easy natural language APIs. With ObjectBox, companies develop decentralized products independent from the cloud, that perform in real-time. On top of the database we‘re building a synchronization solution.

TwentyTables
Washington, DC

TwentyTables re-imagines the relationship between patrons, restaurants and the food insecure. Our multi-sided marketplace offers consumers affordable fixed-cost meals, and increases vendor efficiencies, while also helping feed the hungry. A-Community-of-Food.

UbiGro
Los Alamos, New Mexico

UbiGro is a nanotech-enabled greenhouse film by UbiQD, Inc. that red-shifts the sun’s spectrum for improved crop yield and quality. UbiGro has been shown effective for tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens, hemp, and cannabis in various climates. UbiQD enabled this innovation with its safer, cheaper, and more reliable quantum dot technology.

Alternates

Fieldcraft
Austin, TX

Fieldcraft is a sourcing platform harnessing better data so buyers can simplify ingredient discovery and leverage plant-based and clean label solutions for the next generation of food and beverage.

RocketDollar
Austin, TX

We make it easy for people to take checkbook control of their retirement savings and invest in anything allowed by the IRS, with no penalties.

Social and Culture

EnrichHER Funding
Atlanta, GA

EnrichHER Funding is fueling the growth of women-led businesses by enabling women founders to secure capital in an affordable and non-dilutive way. Similar to Kiva, we provide investors with an opportunity to lend to small businesses. EnrichHER loans range from $50,000 to $75,000 and are made to pre-screened women-led companies.

MySideKick
Ann Arbor, MI

MySideKick is a complete web-based application that addresses all the issues of sexual violence, with a mobile interface to help better engage college students. We discovered 4 reasons why sexual violence is not properly being addressed on college campuses and created 7 powerful components to address and remedy these issues.

New Age Meats
San Francisco, CA

At New Age Meats, we make meat from animal cells instead of animal slaughter. We can craft meat to be tastier, healthier, and more sustainable than any other meat.

Supportiv
Berkeley, CA

Supportiv —The Support Network—delivers NLP-driven precision peer support and hyper-targeted resource recommendations for daily life struggles like work stress, family pressures, relationship conflict, or loneliness. The proprietary NLP instantly matches users into topic-specific peer groups that dynamically convene for real-time emotional support. People healing people, globally scalable.

VOLO Career Volunteering Platform
London, England

VOLO Group is transforming career development to help people build happier, more fulfilling careers. Their Career Volunteering platform offers a differentiated approach to professional development that addresses skill-building through volunteering; offering hands-on opportunities to learn and grow, while making a positive impact in the local community.

Alternates

Explorest
San Francisco, CA

Explorest is modernizing how people discover, experience and photograph the world’s greatest places via highly curated insights from today’s top travel influencers.

iAccess Innovations Atlanta, GA

A lifestyle application to allow users with mobility impairments to access life!

Tris Holdings
Los Angeles, CA

Tris started as a search and chat extension for google, talk to others searching the same thing, now we are a social browser in play store and App Store.

Sports and Performance

Bisecu Smart Bike Lock
Seongnam-si Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Bisecu, world's first fully automatic smart bike lock. Bisecu, which allows bicycle users to forget the presence of the lock and enjoy the bike riding experience fully. Bisecu is not only a completely new type of lock but also the lightest smart bike lock. Furthermore, Bisecu acts as a smart cycling device that analyzes users riding data.

CricFlex
Islamabad, Pakistan

We are a sports technology company with our first product, CricFlex - world’s first wearable technology for Cricket. An arm sleeve, embedded with sensors, tracks illegal bowling actions, arm force, action time & spin to determine player performance, consistency and effort, helping them improve. It’s a US patented technology.

Fan Controlled Football League
Los Angeles, CA

The FCFL is reimagining sports for the digital age: taking the passion of live sport, the competition of fantasy sports, the engagement of video games, and the global reach of esports and combining them into a fan-controlled, live sport, streamed on Twitch and built for the next generation of fan.

MIRO - Human Body AI
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Miro uses AI & computer vision to instantly identify athletes, individual consumer insights & more from running event photos/video. Miro analyzes the human body in motion to unlock value for athletes, events, sponsors & brands. Miro’s proprietary AI has powered the raceday experience for more than 7MM athletes globally.

Learn2Play
Limassol, Cyprus

Learn2Play is an international eSports EdTech company offering gamers a platform to improve their skills. L2P counts with over 1M subscribed users on its two platforms, MoreMMR and MoreLegends, which make use of AI to provide a match analysis for Dota 2 and League of Legends, respectively. The platforms also counts with video lessons and its own tournaments.

Alternates

Mobalytics
Marina Del Rey, CA

Mobalytics is the first personal performance analytics platform and gaming assistant for gamers. The platform measures player performance, helps them define their strengths and weaknesses and provides personalized advice on how to improve. You can think of it as an AI coach for gamers.

Uru Sports
Denver, CO

Uru Sports is an online sports recruitment platform connecting players, coaches and teams. Athletes use Uru to find available roster positions on teams worldwide. Teams use Uru to recruit talent.

Xplosion Technology
Missouri City, TX

Xplosion Technology is a sports-technology company based in Texas and centered around our cutting-edge human performance software platform. Think Google Analytics for athletes. Our state of the art, patented data collection process prevents and identifies key injuries among players. Xplosion leverages validated testing methods coupled with wearable sensors to provide training staff comprehensive reports about each athlete’s susceptibility to injury.

Transportation and Delivery

Autonomous Electric Transport System
Gothenburg, Sweden

By challenging conventional thinking, by utilizing big data and cutting-edge technology — and by inspiring people to take responsibility for the planet and each other — Einride is making the movement of goods more intelligent: emission-free, safe, cost-effective, and ultimately, sustainable.

Electristructure
Gothenburg, Sweden

Electristructure is an infrastructure developer for electric charging stations focused on public transport buses. The market for electric buses in public transport is experiencing a major breakthrough this year. Electristructure will take responsibility for long-term investments and optimization of public transport systems.

ENSO - Sustainable Tires for Electric Vehicles
London, England

ENSO innovates in the tire industry by making sustainable tires for electric vehicles that fundamentally reduce toxic tire emissions and increase EV driving range up to 20%. ENSO’s eco-friendly tires are significantly more sustainable and energy efficient than the standard tires currently equipped on some of the World’s best-selling EVs.

Migo
Seattle, WA

Migo is the free app for discovering new and existing ways to get from A to B without jumping from app to app. Migo helps riders discover the right ride, at the right time. Options include rideshare, carshare, taxi, scooter, and bikeshare, to specialty transport and public transportation.

Smart B/L
Ljubljana, Slovenia

CargoX is the first open, neutral, and independent decentralized blockchain platform for the shipping industry, built with CargoX’s Blockchain Document Transaction System (BDTS). Freight forwarders, platforms exporters and importers can now enjoy superb data security, documentation transaction speed, and comprehensive integrity with CargoX's revolutionary Smart Bill of Lading.

Alternates

Kaizen Health
Chicago, IL

Kaizen Health is changing mobility for healthcare and municipalities to ensure every person, regardless of physical ability, has access to transportation that they need to lead healthy and happy lives.

Kilroy Blockchain
Austin, TX

Kilroy Blockchain helps innovators disrupt their industries by specializing in building custom integrated systems using blockchain, artificial intelligence, and ecommerce technology to streamline business processes and create a smarter organization.

Millebot, Inc.
Orlando, FL

Millebot is a privately held deep-tech company that designs and builds a modular digital-manufacturing platform within the ISO shipping container. Our mission is to accelerate access to sustainable production.

2019 Judges

SXSW Pitch relies on hand-picked judges, qualified to determine the viability of a startup based on their demonstrated business and investment experience. The judging process will determine which of the finalists has the most innovative product or service. The following individuals have agreed to contribute their expertise toward the success of the 2019 SXSW Pitch event.

Scott Amyx Amyx Ventures
New York, NY

William Bao Bean SOSV
Shanghai, China

Christina Bechhold Russ SamsungNEXT London, England

Reilly Brennan Trucks Venture Capital San Francisco, CA

Lisa Burton HeartsLab New York, New York

Carman Chan Click Ventures Hong Kong

Raphael Christian-Roy Front Row Ventures Montreal, Canada

Avantika Daing Plum Alley New York, NY

Marco DeMiroz The Venture Reality Fund San Francisco, CA

Brian Dixon Kapor Capital
Oakland, CA

Barry Downes Suir Valley Ventures
London, England

Chinedu Enekwe AffinitiVC
Washington, DC

Kristen Faulkner Threshold Ventures
Menlo Park, CA

Stacy Feld Johnson & Johnson Innovation San Francisco, CA

Renata George Zenmen, VC Academy
San Francisco, CA

Matt Hermann Ascension Ventures Clayton, MO

Cat Hernandez Primary Venture Partners
New York, NY

Greg Horowitt T2 Venture Creation
La Jolla, CA

Mohanjit Jolly Iron Pillar
Palo Alto, CA

Laura Kilcrease Alberta Innovates
Edmonton, Canada

Kay Koplovitz Springboard Enterprise
New York, NY

Sarah Kunst Cleo Capital
San Francisco, CA

Byron Ling Canaan
New York, NY

Alice Lloyd George RRE Ventures New York, NY

Nicolas Jacques-Bouchard Panache Ventures Montreal, Canada

Jalak Jobanputra Future/Perfect Ventures New York, NY

Akif Malik PodiumVC
San Francisco, CA

James McVeigh Cyndx
New York, NY

Jesse Middleton Flybridge Capital
New York, NY

Sarah Morgenstern Omidyar Network
Washington, DC

Marlon Nichols Cross Culture Ventures
Los Angeles, CA

Peng T. Ong Monk’s Hill Ventures
Singapore, Singapore

Manny Padda New Avenue Capital
Vancouver, Canada

Anil Pereira High-Growth Companies
San Carlos, CA

Ethan Pierse CryptoAssest Paris, France

Flavio Pripas Redpoint eventures
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Adeo Ressi Founder Institute
Mountain View, CA

Oliver Ressler Courtside Ventures
Los Angeles, CA

Ralph Sampson SeventySix Capital
Los Angeles, CA

Jenna Seiden Lumo Labs
Los Angeles, CA

Kristina Serafim Verizon Ventures Palo Alto, CA

Mandela SH Dixon Founder Gym
Oakland, CA

Cary Smith Big Ass Fans
Austin, TX

Bryan Stolle Wildcat Venture Partners
San Mateo, CA

Kathleen Warner American Heart Association
Dallas, TX

Martina Welkhoff WXR Fund
Seattle, WA

Whurley Strangeworks
Austin, TX

Lukasz Wojtowicz UEFA Events SA
Nyon, Switzerland

Rene Yang Stewart Vista Equity Partners
Austin, TX

Laura Yao EQT Ventures
San Francisco, CA

Santiago Zavala 500 Startups
Mexico City, Mexico

Qualifying Committee, Coaches and On-Site Coaches

The Qualifying Committee focuses on the intake of all plans submitted and is responsible for the validating the applications for accuracy, completeness, veracity and proper categorization. With their vast experience, Coaches work closely with the finalists in the months leading up to the event to assist them in their onstage presentations. On-site Coaches work with the finalist as they rehearse their presentation on Friday, March 8, 2019.

Facilitators

Lindsey Schell
Civitas Learning
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Dean Cruse
Tethr
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Greg Wright
HATCH pitch
Pre-Event Coach (Facilitator)

Brian Lang
Energizing Health
On-site Coach (Facilitator)

Pre-Event Qualifiers, Pre-Event Coaches and On-Site Coaches

Tony Averbeck SubjectWell
Pre-Event Qualifier

Katie Baker Kauffman Foundation
Pre-Event Coach

April Beasley Tiny Rocket Marketing
Pre-Event Coach

Kim Bond-Evans Seremedi
On-Site Coach

Sara Brand True Wealth
On-Site Coach

Zach Brandon Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
On-Site Coach

Shelly Brenckman
The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneur
Pre-Event Coach

William Clark
MicroVentures
On-Site Coach

Julie Collins I-Corps South On-Site Coach

Michael Crider
Kuware
Pre-Event Qualifier

Cassandra Cuellar
Shearman & Sterling, LLP
Pre-Event Qualifier

Lindsay Deneault Atrium Health On-Site Coach

Dorit Donoviel
Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Space Medicine
On-Site Coach

Tyler Drake ACC Bioscience Incubator
On-Site Coach

Gary Fomi
CTAN
On-Site Coach

David Fossas
WP Engine
Pre-Event Qualifier

Benjamin Glenn Shay Glenn On-Site Coach

Jonathan Ha Dell Technologies Pre-Event Coach

Joanna Heinrich
Motiv
Pre-Event Qualifier

Yael Hochberg
Rice University/MIT
On-Site Coach

Jacqueline Hughes
Austin Startup Week
Pre-Event Qualifier

Amy Hurwitz
Boston Consulting Group
On-Site Coach

Mariam Jacob Allergy and Asthma Clinics of Houston Pre-Event Coach

Monica Landers
StoryFit
Pre-Event Qualifier

Blanca Lesmes
BB Imaging and Healthcare Consulting
Qualifier

Paulo Machado
Health Innovation Partners LLC
Pre-Event Coach

Monique Maley
Articulate Persuasion
On-Site Coach

Deborah Mansfield
DMBS
Pre-Event Coach

Susan Masson
University of Texas System
On-Site Coach

Lisa McDonald
Austin Technology Incubator
On-Site Coach

Amanda McGuckin-Hager
YouEarnedlt
Qualifier

Robert McKee
Cyprs.com
On-Site Coach

Roberto Moctezuma
Fractal River
Pre-Event Coach

Marc Nathan
Miller, Egan, Molter, & Nelson
Pre-Event Coach

Will Neder
Universal Operations
On-Site Coach

Paul O’Brien
MediaTech Ventures
On-Site Coach

Rachelle Orbio
ValorUp
Pre-Event Coach

Mark Phillips
Are You Watching This?!
Pre-Event Qualifier

Gabriella Rowe
Station Houston
On-Site Coach

Ada Ryland
Ada Ryland Consulting
Pre-Event Coach

Joy Schoffler Casoro Capital
On-Site Coach

Chris Shonk
ATX Seed Ventures
On Site Coach

Kristin Spindler
IncubatorCTX at Concordia University
On-Site Coach

Mike Steely Vocool Technologies Pre-Event Coach

Mark Streich npv10 Pre-Event Coach

Rick Timmins
CTAN
On-Site Coach

Chris Treadaway
Polygraph Media
Qualifier

Sharon Wallace
Mbira Group
Per-Event Coach

Marcus Whitney
Health:Further
On-Site Coach

Rich Winley Gnomad
Pre-Event Coach

Sabrina Wojtewicz
Bunker Labs
Pre-Event Qualifier

Ron Yerkes
RocketSpace
Pre-Event Coach

2018 Winners

Congratulations to this year’s ten category winners as well as Best in Show, Best Bootstrap, and Best Speed Pitch, who were announced at the SXSW Pitch Awards Ceremony after the two-day competition.

Transportation
GoKid
New York, NY
GoKid is the complete carpool solution for schools, teams, and families.

Social and Culture
ICON 3D
Austin, TX
ICON is a construction-technology company currently working toward building the first up-to-code 3D printed home in the United States (using concrete as substrate).

Enterprise and Smart Data
DroneSeed
Seattle, WA
DroneSeed provides precision forestry services to timber companies & non-profits.

Augmented and Virtual Reality
ARWall
Los Angeles, CA
We’ve created an AR display that requires no headset, no goggles, no smart device.

Hyper-Connected Communities
GrubTubs
Austin, TX
GrubTubs solves for the overabundance of food waste coming from restaurants by creating a nutrient-rich animal feed that is affordable for local family farms.

Security and Privacy
PolyPort
Atlanta, GA
PolyPort is 3D asset protection, management, and delivery company, which employs proprietary encryption technology to facilitate an end-to-end solution for 3D designers.

Payment and FinTech
FutureFuel.io
Boston, MA
FutureFuel.io makes student debt repayment easy – for employers, platforms, and users.

Sports and Performance Data
Nix
Boston, MA
Nix is taking the guessing out of hydration with a single-use sweat analytics patch that tells athletes, soldiers, and laborers their hydration status and electrolyte losses in real-time.

Entertainment and Content
Vochlea Music
London, England
At Vochlea Music we’re developing real-time vocal recognition technology for music creation.

Health and Wearables
Nanowear
New York, NY
Nanowear is a New York-based connected-self technology platform for diagnostics and disease management based on proprietary cloth-based nanosensors and analytics.

Best Bootstrap Company (the company who has done the most with least)
Leaf
Nashville, TN
Leaf provides financial services to the stateless and excluded by creating a virtual bank through blockchain technology.

Best in Show
Nanowear
New York, NY
Nanowear is a New York-based connected-self technology platform for diagnostics and disease management based on proprietary cloth-based nanosensors and analytics.

Best Speed Pitch
Roots Studio
Boston, MA
Roots Studio digitizes the creative content of traditional artists from remote areas with the global $32 billion art, interior décor, and design licensing markets.

2018 Finalists and Alternates

More than six hundred companies submitted their web-based products to the tenth annual SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event presented by DASH. The competition was tough, and we're incredibly grateful for all of the great submissions we received this year. Congratulations to the Interactive finalists who will be showcasing their products on Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11 at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Austin.

Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies

Technologies using augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and other novel visualization technologies, including applications for Cardboard, Oculus Rift, and other emerging offerings from industry giants. These applications may address such uses as gaming, entertainment, data visualization, education, medical care, warfare, transportation, and many more subject.

Finalists

AfterNow
Culver City, CA

Blocker by AfterNow is changing how creative people communicate. Blocker is an augmented reality director’s viewfinder that allows filmmakers to preview their shots using virtual cameras and set elements. On a film set, testing ideas are expensive; we aim to make planning shots agile and expressive.

ARWall
Los Angeles, CA

We've created an AR display that requires no headset, no goggles, no smart device. Our first product, ARwall FX, is poised to disrupt film/TV production. Our second product, AR3D, creates a "virtual window" illusion for businesses and consumers.

CieAR
Montreal, Canada

CieAR is a developer of an augmented reality platform, tools and customized interactive and immersive augmented reality content that takes storytelling to a new level, completely changing the cinematic experience. The CieAR AR platform enables unique interactive film experiences with unprecedented interactivity and integration of life-size 3D virtual characters.

eyecandylab
Munich, Germany

augmen.tv revolutionizes television by combining first and second screen into one seamless, interactive and highly entertaining experience. augmen.tv is renewing the way of watching TV by bridging the world of the TV with AR to provide additional information and interaction features for direct response to advertisement and broadcasting content.

wrnch AI
Montreal, Canada

Wrnch is teaching computers to read human body language. The wrnch AI engine is a real-time AI platform to digitize human motion and behavior from the standard video. wrnch AI is a computer vision deep learning company based in Montreal, Canada.

Alternates

Aris MD
Wilmington, DE

Aris MD is mixing augmented and virtual reality with surgery and training. We are as different on the inside as we are on the outside. We provide a map of each patients’ anatomy giving surgeons an individualized guide on where to cut, and more importantly where not to cut.

Future Sight AR
Houston, TX

Future Sight provides augmented reality and immersive solutions to equip engineering and construction projects with expert skills, know-how, and support.

Roofr
San Francisco, CA

Marketplace for roofing using artificial intelligence to provide instant satellite-based roofing estimates.

Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies

Technologies that facilitate the comprehension and application of informational data through workflows and analytics. These startups seek to improve productivity for businesses and/or individuals by using big data through a number of ways that include (but are not limited to) data collection, management, analysis, presentation, interpretation, and augmentation.

Finalists

Agrarian Labs
Phoenix, AZ

Agrarian Lab is a multidisciplinary team building automated business intelligence for farms.Along the way we’ve faced combines catching fire, equipment going missing, and weather devastating freshly planted fields.Our first product, Leaf, combines low-cost sensors & mobile devices with advanced algorithms to automatically generate a history of the farm.

Bluefield
Palo Alto, CA

Bluefield's microsatellite sensors will provide global monitoring of emissions of methane, the world's most dangerous and valuable greenhouse gas. Our AI-enhanced imaging and analysis will provide oil and gas customers with the data they need to repair costly pipeline leaks and provide the climate risk disclosures that investors are demanding.

DroneSeed
Seattle, WA

DroneSeed provides precision forestry services to timber companies & non-profits. We’re paid per acre to plant tree seeds & spray to protect them -- by drone swarm.

FastVisa US
Dallas, TX

FastVisa is the new standard for Immigration workflow. We are re-inventing the current immigration process as an automated process. We are committed to transforming America's broken immigration system into one that is more accessible, safer, and easier to navigate. We help people and professionals manage every part of their immigration journey.

M.io by Message.io
Austin, TX

M.io is a universal messaging platform for the workplace. Users of popular chat tools like Slack, Cisco Spark, Microsoft Teams, and Atlassian Stride can natively send each other direct messages or join a universal channel.

Alternates

Next Play
San Francisco, CA

We are an enterprise talent development and retention software. Career development is an ill-defined path, and it's left up to the employees to navigate their careers. We developed a mobile chatbot named Ellen that personally connects with every employee, understands their goals, perceives their blindspots and matches them to the relevant mentors and growth opportunities at their company.

Tali
Portland, OR

Tali is your conversational productivity assistant, powered by artificial intelligence. With Tali, you can track your time and manage your productivity using nothing more than your voice. Tali even integrates with your existing invoicing and billing system, eliminating the chore of manual time entry.

Unmanned Life
San Francisco, CA

U-Life’s AI driven IoT software platform creates a fully integrated autonomous system, operated remotely over WiFi, 4G, 5G LTE that is aimed at boosting the productivity and value added of high Operating Expenditure (OPEX) industries such as the telecommunication, mobility, logistics, and transport.

Entertainment and Content Technologies

Technologies and applications that are reinventing the ways in which we learn, relax and enjoy our time. Examples of included sectors include (but are not limited to) gaming, music, film, television, video, news and publishing, streaming and digital storytelling, as well as new and hybrid forms of entertainment.

Finalists

Antescofo
Paris, France

Antescofo is a Mobile Music/AI company in Paris, after an award-winning algorithm by Founders when they were researchers. Our products leverage content you listen, to content that you can perform with thanks to unique AI allowing real-time adaptation to a user, whether for singing Cover Songs or playing with an orchestra.

FanFood App
Chicago, IL

FanFood is a mobile ordering platform that provides consumers with technology to receive concessions at any live event via delivery or express-line pick up. FanFood enhances the consumer experience while assisting venue owners in generating higher sales.

Instreamatic.ai
San Francisco, CA

Instreamatic.ai is an AI-powered platform for voice-activated advertising. Instreamatic.ai provides audio publishers with tools to monetize their ad inventory with highly engaging voice-activated ads.

Sceenic
London, England

The future of OTT & TV viewing re-imagined for today's society. Sceenic's 'Watch Together' SaaS solution enables media companies to create interactive co-viewing experiences for dispersed viewers. "Hidden gem at IBC 2017" by BroadcastProME.

Vochlea Music
London, England

At Vochlea Music we’re developing real-time vocal recognition technology for music creation. Imagine beatboxing triggering live drum samples, vocal ‘twanging’ controlling an awesome guitar solo, or applying an effect such as ‘wah-wah’ all using the voice. Liberate your musical ideas quickly, easily and intuitively with Vochlea Music.

Alternates

Crescendo
Atlanta, GA

Crescendo helps musicians boost their confidence through interactive performance assessment software powered by Artificial Intelligence.

Hyku
Waterloo, Canada

Hyku builds the world's most interactive video technology. Helping television shows, online videos and mobile videos sync relevant content, interactions, social media, and shopping. This patented technology makes videos more engaging for viewers and provides better monetization for content creators and TV stations.

Robin
Toronto, Canada

Robin is an AI-assisted personal concierge that is revolutionizing the way you discover, and access live experiences. Engaging via chat and SMS, Robin provides personalized and curated recommendations to the experiences and events you'll love - and secures tickets, bookings and reservations entirely on your behalf.

Health and Wearables Technologies

Technologies focused on human-centric health applications that connect the “health optimizer” and those with illnesses, their care teams, primary and specialist clinicians, inpatient and outpatient facilities, benefit providers, and corporate wellness programs to share timely, relevant health data and drive better outcomes at affordable and sustainable cost levels.

Finalists

Airpop
Shanghai, China

AirPop is pioneering the innovation of air wearables for personal and public health. Its line of sensing, high-efficiency air pollution accessories for the 4B+ people living in pervasive ambient air pollution enables insight-based breathing through a connected breathomics platform.

Cambridge Cancer Genomics
Cambridge, England

Cambridge Cancer Genomics is developing tools to enable clinicians and scientists to understand therapeutic response in real time. Through the use of artificial intelligence, we can predict a tumor's evolutionary trajectory and what this may mean for cancer treatment.

HealthTensor
Santa Monica, CA

HealthTensor uses artificial intelligence to automatically review all patient data, diagnose the most common conditions, and create documentation for physicians. These evidence-backed notes save physicians time, ensure diagnoses are not missed and improve finances for physicians and hospitals.

Nanowear
New York, NY

Nanowear is a New York-based connected-self technology platform for diagnostics and disease management based on proprietary cloth-based nanosensors and analytics. This is the first and only cloth-based platform that has been approved by the FDA for remote cardiac monitoring. Nanowear's first product, SimpleSense, focuses on Congestive Heart Failure management.

Sempulse
San Diego, CA

Halo applies in seconds to the ear & wirelessly monitors 100+ vitals (pulse oximetry, heart rate, respiratory rate, and core body temperature) non-invasively in non-sterile conditions. Being deployed first with SOCOM/DoD providing triage, cuffless blood pressure, communications and more. Coming to civilians soon for telemedicine & wellness – Sempulse Saving Lives.

Alternates

Fited
New York, NY
  We create elegant, accurate, custom-fit medical braces, orthopedics, and prosthetics in a fast, safe, accessible process. With machine learning, 3D printing, and our patent-pending AI driven CAD platform; we are bringing digital innovation to the end-to-end process.

Lilu
New York, NY

Lilu builds tech-enabled products for the modern mom. They have created the first automated pumping bra, that mimics expert-recommended breast massage and compression techniques, to enable mothers to get up to 50% more milk each pumping session, hands-free and in less time.

Hyper-Connected Communities Technologies

This category showcases new products, services and apps that help hyper-connected communities (such as what occurs on-site at SXSW) better navigate and maximize their engagements. In addition to the kind of technologies that thrive in March in Austin, this category is for any creative and innovative app, product or service that does not fit elsewhere in the Accelerator lineup. Examples of technologies that might fit into this category include (but are not limited to) Internet of Things, energy, space, natural resources, agriculture and robotics.

Finalists

Apptronik
Austin, TX

Apptronik is a robotics company focused on creating the next generation of robotic systems for humans to make our lives safer, more productive, and easier. We specialize in the building blocks of advanced robotics, high-performance electric actuators and real-time embedded control circuits optimized for human-robot interaction.

Diwala
Oslo, Norway

Diwala is a digital economy platform, powered by blockchain, that enables displaced individuals to build their identity through skills and resources. By digitally documenting and verifying refugee's skills and providing aid organizations with an overview of their activities, Diwala will improve the whole supply chain with data driven reporting.

Ovipost
San Francisco, CA

Crickets are efficient at converting food and water into nutritionally dense protein, but outsized labor costs make them expensive to grow. Ovipost builds automation systems that help cricket farmers do more with less.

GoTech
Goma, The Democratic Republic of the Congo

GoTech is a tech company based in Congo and Rwanda, resolved to develop, design and implement solutions for its community in response to its fire problems. Pushed by the desire to make a difference, the founders stay driven by the thirst for being the change they want to see.

GrubTubs
Austin, TX

GrubTubs solves for the overabundance of food waste coming from restaurants by creating a nutrient-rich animal feed that is affordable for local family farms. By diverting waste from landfills and improving the business economics for small farmers, we are working to reimagine America’s food, energy, and waste cycles.

Alternates

EventQueue
Chicago, IL

Smart Apps, LLC is developing EventQueue (EQ), a smart city mobile technology platform that streamlines traffic, navigation, parking, crowd control, and evacuation procedures in real time around events and mass gatherings. EQ will change how cities handle crowds and traffic and will make cities safer and more sustainable.

Homebase
Kansas City, MO

Homebase is a connected building and community management platform for multi-family and student housing. We make apartments smarter and more livable.

MailHaven
Louisville, KY

MailHaven is a hyper-local logistics startup solving the problem of missed deliveries and stolen packages. Our first products are, a package tracking app and Haven; a smart mailbox that receives packages on behalf of home owners.

Payment and Fintech Technologies

Technologies relating to the consumer and business financial space that include delivering new payment methods, new forms of currency, extending credit and other lending processes, equities trading, transaction processing, asset management, insurance, and/or any other functions traditionally provided by banks and investment banks.

Finalists

Cushion
San Francisco, CA

Cushion helps consumers safeguard their hard-earned money. Their first product is a Facebook Messenger bot, called Fee Fighter, that disputes bank fees & interest charges on your behalf - saving you time and getting back wasted dollars. In the future, Cushion aims to anticipate and resolve financial issues before they come up.

FutureFuel.io
Boston, MA

FutureFuel.io makes student debt repayment easy – for employers, platforms, and users. FutureFuel.io offers student debt pay down as a service, and refinancing and other value-add products, shaving years off the lifespan of the loan.

Goalsetter
New York, NY

Goalsetter is a goal-based savings and gifting platform for kids and their families, combining the best of goal-based savings platforms like Acorns with gift-registries like Zola. In so doing, Goalsetter enables families to save for kids’ goals easily and simultaneously teaches kids healthy financial habits early.

Leaf
Nashville, TN

Leaf provides financial services to the stateless and excluded by creating a virtual bank through blockchain technology. Leaf offers a safe way for refugees to protect and transport savings while escaping conflict. By facilitating the movement and storage of assets, Leaf reduces the risk of theft and creates economic identities.

Pawame
Nairobi, Kenya

Pawame is lighting up rural communities with our clean, affordable and reliable solar solution. Our use of mobile money platforms for payment gives our customers a means of finance that is not limited by distance, enabling us to access frontier markets. Using the data collected from digital payments, Pawame can create credit profiles for our customers, enabling us to distribute our further financial services.

Alternates

ID-Pal
Dublin, Ireland

ID-Pal is a SaaS solution for KYC that enables businesses to onboard their customers simply, securely and conveniently. Using advanced mobile technologies, ID-Pal reduces the cost and risk associated with verifying a customer's identity, while removing any friction from the user experience, resulting in top-line revenue growth for the business.

StackSource
New York, NY

StackSource is a tech-enabled commercial real estate loan platform. We connect investors who are developing or acquiring commercial properties with financing options like banks, insurance companies, and private lenders through an easy, transparent process. We’re taking the best of commercial mortgage brokerage and updating it for the 21st century.

Tomorrow
Seattle, WA

Tomorrow helps families make future financial decisions today to protect the ones you love. Create a legal will – which includes guardianship for your kids - and living trust for free and then make sure you have enough life insurance to cover financial needs.

Security and Privacy Technologies

Technologies revolutionizing sectors related to data security and privacy on the consumer and enterprise level. With interests rising in this field, examples of innovations include (but are not limited to) cybersecurity, encryption, data storage, infrastructure protection, incident analytics, ad targeting, identity management, and many other forms.

Finalists

Bandura
Lake St Louis, MO

Bandura’s Easy, Open, Secure technologies enable organizations to control their cyber risk exposure at a time when threats are increasing exponentially, and existing security infrastructure is overcome. Bandura takes action at scale to stop attacks on-premises and in the cloud-as first mover in the emerging threat intelligence gateway category.

PolyPort
Atlanta, GA

PolyPort is 3D asset protection, management, and delivery company, which employs proprietary encryption technology to facilitate an end-to-end solution for 3D designers. Moreover, PolyPort allows designers to use their tools, shortcuts, and capabilities in their environment across all platforms.

14bis Supply Tracking
Houston, TX

14bis Supply Tracking provides trustworthy asset tracking, streamlining supply chain processes and combatting unapproved parts. We improve supply chains with exceptional tracking capabilities leveraging blockchain technology and our patent-pending system.

Secure Code Warrior
London, England

In a world that depends on software, Secure Code Warrior makes software development better and more secure. Our proven suite of secure coding tools sits within one powerful platform that moves the focus from reaction to prevention, training and equipping developers to think and act with a security mindset.

Storro B.V.
Hengelo, Netherlands

Storro is a high-tech software company that contributes to a safer world through enabling secure communication via peer-to-peer and blockchain technology, which allows you to collaborate directly with each other, without the need to trust a third party.

Alternates

Cleo
San Francisco, CA

Cleo provides a real-time data gathering platform that enables true information privacy and security for sources and panelists to sell data directly to organizations. Cleo uses advanced encryption and data validation techniques to ensure pseudo-anonymity of sources and quality of information.

Gyomo
Atlanta, GA

Gyomo’s PeerPreview(tm) protects against email and web-based phishing attacks utilizing just-in-time training(tm) that combines machine learning, gamification, and crowd-sourcing to deliver training right when people need it most - the exact moment they click on a suspicious link.

SAAVHA
Suffern, NY

SAAVHA leverages blockchain technology to enable EU General Data Protection Regulatory compliance through a semi-automated SaaS IT solution that provides EU data subjects with ultimate control over their data and offers businesses with better data security, improved efficiency, and reduced compliance costs.

Social and Culture Technologies

Technologies that push the boundaries on how we navigate and interact in life with ourselves, our community, and our world. Examples of such sectors include (but are not limited to) social media, networking, dating, travel & hospitality, food or dining, fashion, the environment and social good.

Finalists

70MillionJobs
San Francisco, CA

70 million Americans have criminal records. They all experience pain in finding a job. We're the first for-profit marketplace for folks deserving a second chance and companies eager to access a vast, untapped pool of labor. Y Combinator S17

ICON 3D
Austin, TX

ICON is a construction-technology company currently working towards building the first up-to-code 3D printed home in the United States (using concrete as substrate). The company is working in Austin, Texas on a contract from New Story (YC S15) in bringing to market the promise of robotic home-building.

Moms Can: Code
Pittsburgh, PA

Moms Can: Code is a membership-based online community for moms learning how to code. We provide opportunities to connect online and offline, learning resources via our website and community platform, and real-life inspiration by featuring female leaders from around the world.

Samaritan
Seattle, WA

Samaritan equips cities and citygoers to elevate their homeless from the street. Small Bluetooth beacons are given to the homeless, enabling citygoers to learn the stories of the people they pass by daily and invest directly into their lives.

Synervoz Communications
Toronto, Canada

The Switchboard App enables new styles of voice chat and shared experiences with music and video. The Switchboard Platform makes these experiences available to third-party developers looking to engage users and differentiate their offerings. Switchboard uses patented technologies leveraging deep audio and voice processing capabilities.

Alternates

BBy - Milk Sharing
New York, NY

BBy is a physician created a peer to peer marketplace for android and ios that connects nursing mothers with new parents to buy and sell breast milk in a safe and reliable manner. Leading the way with revolutionary milk sharing technology to nurture the next generation of humans.

Envested
New York, NY

Envested’s workplace engagement product is a next-generation solution that takes a social approach to building community and culture at work. Their enterprise SaaS solution allows employees to seamlessly self-organize around leisure activities, workplace events and local volunteer opportunities. Envested was named an Inc 30 under 30 company in 2017.

Roots Studio
San Fransico, CA

Roots Studio digitizes the creative content of traditional artists from remote areas with the global $32 billion dollar art, interior decor, and design licensing markets. We have digitized hundreds of unseen art from 1200+ artists (India, Indonesia, and Syria), and licensed them onto stationery, and clothing, amidst other products.

Sports and Performance Data Technologies

Technologies impacting the before, during, and after in the sports and athletics sector. Whether geared towards novices or elite professionals, innovations in this field include (but are not limited to) the way we experience, prepare for, and participate in sports and outdoor recreation by using hardware or software applications focused on data-centric intelligence, measurement, and other analytical forms.

Finalists

DashTag
Rotterdam, Netherlands

DashTag introduces the Dash Soccer League. Leveraging technology and the online nature of new generation soccer players, we offer a sports experience that doesn’t feel outdated. The Dash, a wearable sensor, turns field performance into FIFA like stats to participate in competitions, challenges and pave the way to global recognition.

KidzToPros
Fremont, CA

KidzToPros is leading platform for Child enrichment sports and activities. Our technology makes us a leading provider for parents to enroll their kids in an after-school program at school facilities.

Nix
Boston, MA

Nix is taking the guessing out of hydration with a single-use sweat analytics patch that tells athletes, soldiers, and laborers their hydration status and electrolyte losses in real-time.

Tellyo
Helsinki, Finland

Tellyo is a web-based video platform for near-live video production, editing, streaming and distribution. It allows rights holders (sports federation, leagues, event organizers or broadcasters) to easily create unique stories from live content and share them to engage fans on social media in real-time.

UPGRADED
Walnut Creek, CA

UPGRADED converts event tickets into secure interactive digital assets protected by the Blockchain. These tickets work with existing entry systems (no hardware upgrades necessary) while delivering encryption, sales restrictions, stored value, loyalty data, and other dynamic elements that turn a ticket into a "smart ticket".

Alternates

Hustle
Pittsburgh, PA

Hustle is the most comprehensive collection of sports drills and practice resources for youth coaches and players, packaged in a convenient and user-friendly smartphone application. We've created a marketplace for professional coaches to distribute and sell premium content, letting anyone learn from the pros.

myKicks
Perth, Western Australia

myKicks is a mobile application built on world first sports vision technology to enable any soccer player with a smartphone to film their kicks, analyze their kicking performance (speed, placement, and trajectory) and simulate real-world scoring situations against virtual goalies, enabling users to become better soccer players.

Torq Labs
Madison, WI

Torq Labs created smart leggings for injury prevention, called K-Tech Smart Leggings. Using lightweight, low-power sensors, Torq Labs helps professional athletes & triathletes prevent knee and hip injuries. Torq Labs’ proprietary movement mapping software identifies asymmetries & gait imbalances that are known precursors to developing lower body injuries.

Transportation Technologies

Technologies transforming and optimizing the transportation industry on a consumer and enterprise level. These innovations create efficiency in the way we move from point A to point B through (but are not limited to) the connected car, data routing applications, on-demand or ridesharing services, autonomous vehicles, and other new disruptive means.

Finalists

Commutifi
Boulder, CO

Commutifi is a wellness platform that optimizes mobility for commuters, enterprises, business districts, campuses, and cities. It captures holistic commuting data, measures time, cost and carbon efficiencies, generates recommendations, and administers benefits and subsidies that inspire optimum commuting.

Goin
Seattle, WA

Goin’s integration platform introduces ridesharing companies to the markets of flexible transit, ADA paratransit, and medical transportation so smart cities can fund greater access and equity. Goin is an FTA Mobility on Demand grant partner. Customers include first transit agency to partner with Uber, government organizations and medical facilities.

GoKid
New York, NY

GoKid is the complete carpool solution for schools, teams, and families. Easy-to-use apps enable families to set up and manage carpools with people they know and trust. GoKid is an alumnus of Techstars Mobility backed by Fontinalis Partners and InMotion Ventures. GoKid is headquartered in New York.

Gridwise
Pittsburgh, PA

Gridwise is a mobile platform that increases rideshare drivers' earnings 39% by helping them know when and where to drive. Through the unique data models it has developed, Gridwise can help improve the efficiency of existing and new multimodal transit solutions for fleet operators and cities.

Ushr
Livonia, MI

Ushr is a software and technology company offering HD mapping data and software to autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle manufacturers. Ushr has the most accurate, comprehensive and advanced high-definition mapping technology in production today. Ushr’s technology is critical for safe vehicle operation and is transforming the transportation industry.

Alternates

Ion Motor Company
Austin, TX

ION is a team of experienced electric motorcycle enthusiasts who came together in the Fall of 2017 in Austin, Texas to make the fastest production electric motorcycle in the world … under $10,000. ION transforms your daily commute into a thrill you look forward to every day. No loud noise, no vibrations, no shifting, just twist the throttle and feel the G-forces pull a smile across your face.

Mogol
Portland, OR

Mogol has invented Connected Traffic Management(TM), a virtual traffic management platform that uses the vehicle as sensor and communicates to the driver via dashboard, navigation or smartphone instead of expensive roadside sensors and digital message signs for traffic management.

Tripgrid
Portland, OR

Tripgrid was built to help teams of all shapes and sizes better organize their travel. Powerful technology coupled with an intelligent interface provides our customers with a workspace that is a part spreadsheet and completely customizable. Teams can organize all of their travel information any way they want.

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2018 Judges and Emcees

SXSW Accelerator relies on hand-picked judges, qualified to determine the viability of a startup based on their demonstrated business and investment experience. The judging process will determine which of the finalists has the most innovative product or service. The following individuals have agreed to contribute their expertise toward the success of the SXSW Accelerator event.

Hussein Al Baya
Sageview Capital
Greenwich, CT

Matt Bigge
Crosslink Capital
San Francisco, CA

Christina Chase
MIT
Boston, MA

Tipatat Chennavasin
The Venture Reality Fund
San Francisco, CA

Lynne Chou OKeefe
Kleiner Perkins
Menlo Park, CA

Sara Deshpande
Maven Ventures
San Francisco, CA

Brian Dixon
Kapor Capital
San Francisco, CA

Don Dodge
Google
Boston, MA

David Dufresne
Panache Ventures
Montreal, Canada

Stacy Feld
Johnson & Johnson Innovation
San Francisco, CA

Quin Garcia
Auto Tech Ventures
San Francisco, SA

Renata George
Zenmen
San Francisco, CA

J Kelly Gray
Service Group
Austin, TX

Trisha Harry
Stanley Ventures
San Francisco, CA

Chip Hazard
Flybridge Capital Partners
Boston, MA

Jody Holtzman
Longevity Venture Advisors
New Rochelle, NY

Leah Hunter
Created Here
San Fracisco, CA

Mohammad Islam
DFJ
Menlo Park, CA

Mohanjit Jolly
Iron Pillar
Palo Alto, CA

Dhani Jones
Qey Capital
Cincinnati, OH

Laura J. Kilcrease
Alberta Innovates
Edmonton, Canada

Kay Koplovitz
Springboard Enterprises
New York, NY

Scott Lenet
Touchdown Ventures
Los Angeles, CA

Akif Malik
Podium VC
San Francisco, CA

Michael Meyer
MiddleGame Ventures
Washington, DC

Sarah Morgenstern
Omidyar Network
Washington, DC

Ben Narasin
NEA
San Francisco, CA

Peng T. Ong
Monk’s Hill Ventures
Singapore, Asia

Deepen Parikh
Courtside Ventures
New York, NY

Heidi Patel
Rethink Impact
San Francisco, CA

Adam Plotkin
ff Ventures
New York, NY

Wendy Schadeck
Northzone
New York, NY

Christopher Thomas
Fontinalis Partners
Detroit, MI

Phil Toronto
Vayner/RSE
New York, NY

Andy Tryba
Think3
Austin, TX

Constantijn van Oranje
StartupDelta
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Ryan Walsh
Floodgate Ventures
San Francisco, CA

Rei Wang
First Round Capital
San Francisco, CA

Martina Welkhoff
Women in XR
Seattle, WA

Jeremy Yap
Angel Investor
London, United Kingdom

Co-Emcees for our Awards Ceremony

Meet the world’s top startups that have emerged as the best of the best at the 2018 SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event. After two days of pitches our judges will select a winner from each category and we will honor them at the SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event Awards Ceremony.

Sunday, March 11, 2018
7:00pm-9:00pm
Hilton Hotel (4th Floor: Salon AB)

Andrew Hyde
Origin Protocol Head of Community

Andrew is a technologist that has roots in design. He started Startup Weekend which reached half a million participants and 162 countries around the world. He works in cryptocurrency

Bob Metcalfe
University of Texas
Professor of Innovation

Bob Metcalfe is Professor of Innovation and Murchison Fellow of Free Enterprise at The University of Texas at Austin. An Internet pioneer starting 1970, he invented Ethernet 1973, founded 3Com Corporation 1979. He was a journalist in 1990s, venture capitalist in 2000s, awarded 2003 National Medal of Technology.

Robyn Metcalfe
Food+City
Director

Robyn Metcalfe is a Visiting Scholar and Lecturer at The University of Texas at Austin. She is also the Director of Food+City, an innovative project that explores the future of feeding cities. She is an author of two books, a recovering farmer of heritage livestock, and the producer of the Food+City startup competition.

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2018 SXSW Accelerator Qualifying Committee, Coaches, and On-site Coaches

Facilitators

Lindsey Schell
Civitas Learning
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Dean Cruse
Union Metrics
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Greg Wright
HATCH pitch
Pre-Event Coach (Facilitator)

Brian Lang
Energizing Health
On-Site Coach (Facilitator)

Qualifiers, Coaches and On-Site Coaches

Tony Averbeck
SubjectWell
Qualifier

Katie Baker
Kauffman Foundation
Pre-Event Coach

Bart Bohn
Translational Research Institute
Pre-Event Coach

Kim Bond-Evans
Seremedi
On-Site Coach

Sara Brand
True Wealth
On-Site Coach

Robert Brackenridge
Game Factor-e
Pre-Event Coach

Zach Brandon
Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
On-Site Coach

Shelly Brenckman
The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneur
Pre-Event Coach

Bob Bridge
Southwest Angel Network
On-Site Coach

William Clark
MicroVentures
On-Site Coach

Michael Crider
Byrne Boadle
Qualifier

Randall Crowder
TEXO Ventures
On-Site Coach

Cassandra Cuellar
Andrews Kurth, LLP
Qualifier

Tim Dietz
Formely IBM
On-Site Coach

Dorit Donoviel
Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Space Medicine
On-Site Coach

Gary Fomi
CTAN
On-Site Coach

Adrian Fortino
Mercury Fund
On-Site Coach

David Fossas
WP Engine
Qualifier

Benjamin Glenn
Shay Glenn LLP
On-Site Coach

Jonathan Ha
Dell
Pre-Event Coach

Stephen Hays
Deep Space Ventures
On-Site Coach

Joanna Heinrich
Spoke Marketing
Qualifier

Emanuel Ibarra
The University of Texas at Austin, Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship
Qualifier

Monica Landers
StoryFit
Qualifier

Blanca Lesmes
BB Imaging and Healthcare Consulting
Qualifier

Paulo Machado
Health Innovation Partners LLC
Pre-Event Coach

Deborah Mansfield
HoustonExponential
Pre-Event Coach

Amanda McGuckin-Hager
YouEarnedlt
Qualifier

Jake McKee
Coummunity5
Pre-Event Coach

Robert McKee
Cyprs.com
On-Site Coach

Roberto Moctezuma
Fractal River
Pre-Event Coach

Marc Nathan
Miller, Egan, Molter, & Nelson
Pre-Event Coach

Will Neder
Strategist
On-Site Coach

Paul O’Brien
Startup Executive and VC Development
On-Site Coach

Joe Payton
Genius Den
On-Site Coach

Mark Phillip
Are You Watching This?!
Qualifier

John Reale
Station Houston
On-Site Coach

Amos Schwartzfarb
Techstars Austin
Pre-Event Coach

Chris Shonk
ATX Seed Ventures
On Site Coach

Mike Steely
Cobbler Media
Pre-Event Coach

Mark Streigh
npv10
Pre-Event Coach

Rick Timmins
CTAN
On-Site Coach

Chris Treadaway
Polygraph Media
Qualifier

Cindy Walker-Peach
Austin Technology Incubator
Qualifier

Marcus Whitney
Health:Further
On-Site Coach

Adam Wulf
Milestone Made
Pre-Event Coach

Ron Yerkes
RocketSpace
Pre-Event Coach

Joon Yun
Palo Alto Investors
On-Site Coach

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2017 Winners

Enterprise and Smart Data

Deep 6 Analytics
Pasadena, CA

Deep 6 AI applies artificial intelligence to medical records to find more patients for clinical trials faster, getting cures to the people who need them more quickly.

Transportation

SPLT
Austin, TX

SPLT is a transportation platform changing the way people commute worldwide through enterprise carpooling in a closed network and in partnership with Lyft, providing non-emergency medical transportation.

Social and Culture

Lily
San Diego, CA

Lily helps women discover and buy clothes that make them look and feel their best.

Entertainment and Content

Laugh.ly
San Francisco, CA

Laugh.ly is the first and only streaming app dedicated to stand-up comedy.

Health and Wearable

Sound Scouts
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sound Scouts utilizes game-based technology to deliver an accessible, reliable, low cost hearing screening solution to eliminate undetected hearing loss and elevate life outcomes.

Sports

Brizi
Toronto, Canada

Brizi automates and monetizes fan content in stadiums.

Payment and FinTech

CNote
Oakland, CA

CNote earns you a 40x better return on your savings with 100% social impact.

Security and Privacy

UnifyID
San Francisco, CA

UnifyID revolutionizes authentication by discovering what makes us unique.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

Lampix
San Francisco, CA

Lampix is a software, hardware and cloud platform that makes augmented reality without glasses by transforming surfaces into smart surfaces.

Innovative World

Thimble.io
Buffalo, NY

Thimble teaches beginners a basic understanding of building electronics through a monthly kit with carefully curated and easy to follow instructions.

Best Bootstrap Company – "The company who has done the most with least"

Kymira
Reading, United Kingdom

KYMIRA have developed a disruptive business model do deliver medical innovation through their Sportswear brand.

Most Innovative Company

Helixworks Technologies
Cork, Ireland

Helixworks makes synthetic DNA for research in Biotech and has developed a technology to store digital data in DNA.

Best One Minute Speed

Lexody
New York, NY


2017 Accelerator Finalists and Alternates

Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies Finalists

Fibrum
Moscow, Russia

Fibrum Platform is a VR-platform designed for the purpose of involving a user into virtual reality, making it understandable and interesting, analogue of Steam for mobile VR.

Holojam
New York, NY

Holojam is developing technology that works with VR / AR headsets to enable groups of people who are in the same location to share a mixed reality – where the virtual world is blended over the physical world.

Lampix
San Francisco, CA

Lampix is a software, hardware and cloud platform that makes augmented reality without glasses by transforming surfaces into smart surfaces. This makes AR much simpler.

Teleporter VR
Istanbul, Turkey

Teleporter VR is the new generation live event experience company focused live sports, music and e-sports events. The company is building a magical platform using VR, AI and AR technologies.

3dRudder
New York, NY

3dRudder is a foot-powered movement controller, providing the most natural way to move in VR for gamers, designers, architects, and other professionals who work in 3D digital environments.

Alternates

izmocars
Long Beach, CA

Leading provider of automotive imagery, including CG created assets, virtual reality, and other automotive solutions.

VIAR
Seattle, WA

Viar360 is an enterprise focused VR publishing platform that reduces the time, effort and knowledge required to create highly engaging interactive cinematic virtual reality experiences for business use.

Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies Finalists

Deep 6 AI
Pasadena, CA

Deep 6 AI applies artificial intelligence to medical records to find more patients for clinical trials faster, getting cures to the people who need them more quickly.

Helixworks Technologies
Cork, Ireland

Helixworks makes synthetic DNA for research in Biotech and has developed a technology to store digital data in DNA.

LivingLens
Liverpool, United Kingdom

LivingLens captures and analyzes video content via speech, actions & sentiment, translating human behavior & attitudes into data & insights

Metadata
San Francisco, CA

For marketing managers in B2B/tech, Metadata amplifies your content marketing campaigns by pairing predictive scoring + programmatic advertising to generate qualified, opt-in conversions.

Speechmatics
Cambridge, United Kingdom

Speechmatics provides the world’s smartest speech recognition technology, harnessing the latest advances in AI and deep learning. With broad language coverage our technology enables enterprises to surface valuable customer insight.

Alternates

ArbiClaims
Los Angeles, CA

ArbiClaims is an online dispute resolution platform. We use court enforceable, binding arbitration to resolve and settle $15k and under disputes remotely via video chat and other online tools.

Pluto AI
Palo Alto, CA

Pluto is an AI-powered analytics platform that water companies use to prevent water wastage, predict asset failures, and minimize operating costs.

Skycision
Pittsburgh, PA

Skycision provides actionable decision support services to farmers that aids in diagnosing crop stress, disease, fertilization needs, and other issues farmers face on a weekly and seasonal basis.

Entertainment and Content Technologies Finalists

Haste
Atlanta, GA

Haste is software that optimizes the internet for people engaged in live, interactive experiences. Haste is currently beta-testing its esports accelerator service which reduces network lag for gamers.

Laugh.ly
San Francisco, CA

Laugh.ly is the first and only streaming app dedicated to stand-up comedy. We have the largest catalog of comedy from over 600 comedians - everyone from Aziz Ansari to Kevin Hart.

MuuseLabs
Brussels, Belgium

MuuseLabs is a family tech consumer electronics company. It develops Jooki - The Jukebox for Kids - a wireless speaker with a figurine-based interface targeted at kids without a smartphone.

Novel Effect
Seattle, WA

Novel Effect makes story time magical by using voice recognition to sync special effects as you tell a story, creating an immersive, interactive and engaging experience.

Triseum
Bryan, TX

Triseum creates high-quality learning games, empowering players to learn through fun, engaging and immersive experiences. Our games are meticulously handcrafted, fully tested and evaluated to provide the ultimate educational experience.

Alternates

Bigvu
New York, NY

BIGVU is the fastest and easiest way to create authentic and captivating videos for social media, education, corporate communications or content marketing.

CogniToys
New York, NY

CogniToys are learning companions in dinosaur form that play games, tell stories, lead guided meditations and more to provide the kind of personalized play experience every child deserves.

Magic Instruments
San Francisco, CA

Magic Instruments is transforming how people play, learn and experience music. Our first product is revolutionary digital guitar that anyone, including people with no musical background, can play in minutes.

Health and Wearables Technologies Finalists

Presented by  

Bloomlife
San Francisco, CA

Bloomlife is a women’s health company designing the future of prenatal care. We combine wearables with data analytics to reassure moms and provide doctors with better information to improve birth outcomes.

iSono Health
San Francisco, CA

iSono Health is democratizing breast cancer screening by developing a platform that combines automated ultrasound with AI to empower women with regular and accessible breast health monitoring to help with early detection.

Litmus Health
Austin, TX

Litmus Health is a clinical data science platform focused on health-related quality of life. We help researchers make better go and no-go decisions from patients’ environment, lifestyle, diet, and activity.

Saathi
Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Saathi takes a cradle-to-cradle approach to women’s menstrual health. We’ve developed a fully biodegradable sanitary pad from waste banana tree fiber, which don't need to be burned when disposed, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sound Scouts
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sound Scouts utilizes game-based technology to deliver an accessible, reliable, low cost hearing screening solution to eliminate undetected hearing loss and elevate life outcomes.

Alternates

Antelope.Club
Frankfurt, Hessen

ANTELOPE.TECHWEAR is the world's first performance enhancing sportswear that stimulate each of your major muscle groups. With ANTELOPE you can work out wherever and whenever you want in the most effective way.

NeuroFlow
Philadelphia, PA

NeuroFlow is a digital health software company co-founded by Army Veteran, Christopher Molaro, and Penn bio-engineering PhD, Adam Pardes. Using real-time biometric data, NeuroFlow quantifies and improves mental health assessment.

QuiO
New York, NY

QuiO provides smart injection devices and connected software for monitoring, engaging and supporting patients taking injectable therapies at home.

Innovative World Technologies Finalists

AnyQuip
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

AnyQuip is Canada’s trusted B2B equipment sharing platform and marketplace. We connect companies that own under-utilized heavy equipment directly to qualified contractors looking to rent it. Largest selection, lowest prices.

envi
Los Angeles, CA

envi has perfected detailing a car without water, without scratching. envi is empowering the deaf community with a real income/business opportunity that promoted saving time, water and the planet!

FishViews Wimberly, TX

FishViews creates 360o HD waterway maps delivered to desktop, mobile, or VR devices. We get you on the water without putting you in the boat.

Makerarm
Austin, TX

Makerarm is the world's first factory on a desktop. A robotic arm with 20 snap-on heads including laser, milling and 3D printing, Makerarm allows you to make anything, anywhere.

Thimble.io
Buffalo, NY

Thimble teaches beginners a basic understanding of building electronics through a monthly kit with carefully curated and easy to follow instructions. Examples include a wifi-robot, weather station, quadcopter, etc.

Alternates

Centaur
Ventura, CA

Centaur is the first full-stack IoT provider of solutions for stored agricultural products. Our wireless sensors and cognitive analytics enable spoilage detection and precision pest management of crops.

Inirv
Durham, NC

Inirv has developed an innovative smart kitchen device that uses a combination of sensors and electronics to prevent house fires by turning the burners off before a hazard arises.

Maidbot
Austin, TX

Maidbot is a robotics company on a mission to revolutionize the way humans clean - starting with the world's very first housekeeping robot for hotels.

Payment and FinTech Technologies Finalists

AssetVault
London, United Kingdom

AssetVault helps consumers to catalogue their physical and digital assets in a secure register, protect assets through insurance products and fully digital wills and unlock value of assets through advanced AI.

CNote
Oakland, CA

CNote earns you a 40x better return on your savings with 100% social impact.

Envudu
Springville, UT

Natural biases are hard to overcome. What if our biases could work for us instead of against us? Envudu is a "mind hack" that fundamentally changes how you manage money.

Hip Pocket
Lincoln, NE

Hip Pocket’s newest FinTech app, Hip Money, helps you save more money and prepay debt all with a simple swipe right on your phone.

Kickfurther
Boulder, CO

Kickfurther is the first online consignment platform in the world. We connect growing brands with individuals across the United States where both are able to grow their wealth.

Alternates

Claimbot
Austin, TX

Claimbot transforms the way insurance companies interact with customers. We deflect inefficient calls to self-service bots that increase satisfaction, reduce costs and defend revenue put at risk by claims.

FundPaas
San Francisco, CA

Paste anywhere Crowdfunding plug-in - fully functional, end-to-end, Portal-as-a-Service solution. Our "Fund Me" button converts any website into a funding portal. FundPaaS also provide APIs for crowdfunding portals and broker dealers.

Latipay
Auckland, New Zealand

Latipay, enables global business to receive live payment from Chinese consumers through WeChat, Alipay JDPay and 19 Chinese Banks.

Security and Payment Technologies Finalists

Cyber Warrior Network
San Antonio, TX

First Career and Workforce Matching Software that helps companies find, hire and retain the best transitioning military cyber talent. Think of it as a hybrid of match.com for the candidates and LinkedIn for recruiters seeking cyber candidates.

Emergent Network Defense
Washington, DC

Predict and prevent hacks before they start. Emergent uses existing enterprise systems and swarming artificial intelligence to explore millions of loss scenarios; identifying hacks that make Fortune 500 executives nervous.

SAASPASS
San Francisco, CA

The world’s only Full stack Identity & Access Management. MFA, SSO, Password Management, Endpoint Access Management all in one. Security in the background, passwordless convenience for the user

umboCV
San Francisco, CA

A neural network based artificial super intelligence that sees the world as we do.

UnifyID
San Francisco, CA

UnifyID revolutionizes authentication by discovering what makes us unique. We’re getting rid of passwords by combining machine learning and sensor data to maximize the user experience while reducing fraud.

Alternates

Daplie
Provo, UT

Started in 2015, Daplie is a technology and hardware company that manufactures 'Cloud' - an easy to use server for the home. Cloud stores data and controls connected devices via its own infrastructure and is accessible from an owner-chosen domain name. Rather than data passing through and being stored on service-provider servers, subject to terms of service, Cloud is the first infrastructure to put the owner in absolute control of the services they use and devices they own in the next step of the internet of everything.

Guardian Zone
Colleyville, TX

Guardian Zone is a woman-owned security software-as-a-service company. Our mobile app and software allow smartphone users to immediately connect with venue security in medium and large venues during emergency situations.

Thumbs Up!
Austin, TX

Thumbs Up! is a trust network for the new economy. We help you confidently work with, buy from, and share with peers everyday.

Social and Culture Technologies Finalists

4Gifters
Milan, Italy

4Gifters is the first social e-gifting platform allowing users to Gift, Group Gift and pick up from luxury brand stores all over the world.

Envy
San Diego, CA

Envy is a visual search engine, based on your location. Rethink the way you find the services and products you want. Swipe right if you love it, left if you don’t.

Lily
San Diego, CA

Lily helps women discover & buy clothes that make them look & feel their best. It’s first ever perception engine technology understands a woman's emotions, perceptions & aspirations about clothing.

Module
Pittsburgh, PA

Module is reimagining home for the 21st century. Our incremental housing technology and interactive design platform provide affordable, well-designed homes that change as your needs do.

NextBillion
Vancouver, Canada

NextBillion.org is a community where people with visible and invisible disabilities connect with industry leaders for personalized mentorships, and get access to jobs and resources.

Alternates

Dip
Los Angeles, CA

Dip allows users to buy access to specific hotel amenities, instead of having to buy a room.

Lexody
New York, NY

Learning a foreign language? Go on a lex (language exchange)! Practice any language with a native speaker, in person, at one of Lexody's suggested local meeting places.

Unboundly
San Francisco, CA

Enabling more people to experience the world for less. Unboundly’s groundbreaking technology creates customized flight routes, saving travelers time and money.

Sports Technologies Finalists

Brizi
Toronto, Canada

Brizi automates and monetizes fan content in stadiums. Augmented Reality robotic cameras are remote-controlled by fans to instantly snap & share photos of themselves.

HorseAnalytics GmbH
Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany

HorseAnalytics empowers horse enthusiasts to monitor and improve health and training of horses by applying reliable technologies from health and sports supervision and combining constant and real-time scientific analytics.

Kymira
Reading, United Kingdom

KYMIRA have developed a disruptive business model do deliver medical innovation through their Sportswear brand. They’re developing the smart clothing of tomorrow for a cleaner, safer and healthier planet.

Season Share
Los Angeles, CA

There are 3.2M season ticket holders in the US, 70% share with other sports fans. Season Share is a proprietary mobile technology for buying & sharing season tickets.

Wyp Aviation
Huntsville, AL

Passionate, inspired, with just a touch of crazy. From design to prototype to flight test, Wyp Aviation has the knowledge and flexibility to take aviation to the next level.

Alternates

Matchday
Dublin, Ireland

Live sport gaming company. Sports viewers make predictions in real time about a live game, earn points and redeem prizes.

Player’s Health
Chicago, IL

Player’s Health is a risk management platform for sports organizations that reduces the health liability for youth athletic programs, and coaches by entrusting “return-to-play” decision-making to the athlete's caregiver/medical professional.

SportsGuru
New York, NY

SportsGuru offers broadcasters, publishers, brands, and teams improved fan-engagement, by combining a user-friendly video capture and curation technology, creator community, and video distribution, to be the hub for sports-fan opinions.

Transportation Technologies Finalists

Driver Watchdog
Buffalo, NY

Driver Watchdog is The Smart Driver's Companion. Assisting in proactively avoiding unsafe situations with on demand behavior correction capabilities. We are Intelligent Driving.. Reinvented.

Fingertips Lab
San Francisco, CA

Fingertips Lab's first product is O6, an IoT device and mobile app that allows you to engage with your phone while driving, without looking at or touching a screen.

HAAS Alert
Chicago, IL

V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) platform delivers real-time preemptive safety information to motorists, smart cities, connected and autonomous cars. Helping drivers and vehicles make smarter decisions by informing them of the road ahead.

Spatial.ia
Detroit, MI

Artificial intelligence location platform and API that enables vehicles to answer location questions only a local would know using real-time social data.

SPLT
Austin, TX

SPLT is a transportation platform changing the way people commute worldwide through enterprise carpooling in a closed network and in partnership with Lyft, providing non-emergency medical transportation.

Alternates

BlyncSync
Broken Arrow, OK

Designed to assist in minimizing the risk of accidents in the trucking industry, the BlyncSync platform hosts multiple biometric devices, and provides real time & projected fatigue levels of drivers.

Parade
Berkeley, CA

Parade is a software company that produces big data and artificial intelligence solutions for transportation companies to enable faster communications, smarter decision making, and increased freight opportunity optimizations.

Toposens
Munich, GA

Toposens is a sensor company from Munich providing robust, ultra-low power and low-cost 3D sensors for the Internet of Things and autonomous vehicles to enterprises.


2017 SXSW Accelerator Emcees

Andrew Hyde
Techstar
Boulder, CO

Andrew Hyde

Andrew Hyde has a passion for community, writing, travel and startups. He founded Startup Weekend, three other startups and was employee #1 at Techstars. Most recently he wrote a book named This Book is About Travel which reached the #1 sales slot for iBooks and Amazon’s travel sections. He is a co-owner of his favorite cafe in the world in Trident Booksellers and Cafe in Boulder, Colorado.

Yiying Lu
500 Startups
San Francisco, CA

Yiying Lu

Yiying Lu is an award-winning designer with more than 10 years of experience in the creative realm. Her projects have been featured in many publications, including The New York Times, Forbes, The Atlantic, NBC News, TIME, and more. Notable projects include the official Dumpling Emoji, the Twitter Fail Whale, Conan O'Brien's Pale Whale, and the SXSW Interactive Big Bag Art.


2017 SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event Judges

SXSW Accelerator relies on hand-picked judges, qualified to determine the viability of a startup based on their demonstrated business and investment experience. The judging process will determine which of the finalists has the most innovative product or service. The following individuals have agreed to contribute their expertise toward the success of the SXSW Accelerator event.

Abhi Anuket
Magnivia Ventures
New York, NY

Jeremy Bloom
Integrate.com
Los Angeles, CA

Julie Bort
Business Insider
San Francisco, CA

Elizabeth Burstein
Product at Blue Apron, former Wildcat Venture Partners
New York, NY

Sylvain Carle
Real Ventures
Montreal, Canada

Karen Cheah
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific
Singapore, Singapore

Kevin Colleran
Slow Ventures
Boston, MA

Paige Craig
Arena Ventures
Los Angeles, CA

Sara Deshpande
Maven Ventures
San Francisco, CA

Don Dodge
Google
Boston, MA

David Dufresne
500 Startups Canada
Montreal, Canada

Ben Dyer
Polygraph Media
Austin, TX

Stacy Feld
Johnson and Johnson
San Francisco, CA

Stephen Forte
Fresco Capital
Menlo Park, CA

Jacqueline Garavente
Union Square Ventures
New York, NY

Richard Garriott
Portalarium
Austin, TX

Rohit Gupta
SterlingVC
New York, NY

Bruce Haymes
Nielsen
Wilton, CT

Eric Hellweg
Harvard Business Review
Boston, MA

Christine Herron
Intel Capital
San Francisco, CA

Jody Holtzman
AARP
Washington, DC

Leah Hunter
Fast Company
San Francisco, CA

Mohammad Islam
DFJ
San Francisco, CA

Mohanjit Jolly
Iron Pillar
Palo Alto, CA

Matt Kaufman
Crunchbase
San Francisco, CA

Sandy Khaund
InStadium
San Francisco, CA

Laura Kilcrease
Alberta Innovates
Edmonton, Canada

Nina Kjellson
Canaan Partners
San Francisco, CA

Kay Koplovitz
Springboard Enterprise
New York, NY

Vanessa Larco
NEA
San Francisco, CA

Vanessa Larco
NEA
San Francisco, CA

Scott Lenet
Touchdown Ventures
Los Angeles, CA

Phil Libin
General Catalyst
San Francisco, CA

Alice Lloyd George
RRE Ventures
New York, NY

Jesse Middleton
Flybridge Capital Partner
New York, NY

Michael Murphy
Rosecliff Ventures
New York, NY

Hany Nada
GGV Capital
Menlo Park, CA

Shervin Pishevar
Sherpa Capital
San Francisco, CA

Marc Rothmans
Kindred
Louisville, KY

Mia Saini
Oars + Alps
Chicago, IL

Jeff Slobotski
Router Ventures
Omaha, NE

Kathleen Utecht
Core Innovation Capital
San Francisco, CA

Yossi Vardi
International Technologies
Tel Aviv, Israel

Werner Vogels
Amazon
Seattle, WA

Rick Yang
NEA
Melon Park, CA


2017 SXSW Accelerator Advisory Board

The individuals listed below were instrumental to the success of the 2017 SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event. Their hard work, diligence, and support in bringing together the future of the technology industry to the SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event is greatly appreciated.

Adi Abili
AngelHack
San Francisco, CA

Kaan Akin
Hackquarters-Startup Accelerator
Istanbul, Turkey

Karen Allen
Karen Allen Consulting
Los Angeles, CA

Kathleen Baireuther
Austin Technology Incubator
Austin, TX

Julia Belaya
Plug and Play Tech Center
Sunnyvale, CA

Ilias Benjelloun
MLT New Tech
Montreal, Canada

Seth Berger
Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia, PA

Taylor Bloom
SportTechie
London

Shawna Butler
Singularity University
Austin, TX

Jason Cahill
Traansmission
New York, NY

Cameo Carlson
Borman Entertainment
Nashville, TN

Willy Chu
WeFinance
San Francisco, CA

Ben Clayton
Pop Up Accelerator
Montreal, Quebec

David Cohn
Advance Digital
Berkeley, CA

Bart Collet
Advance Healthcare
Antwerp, Belgium

Steven Cook
FortuneCMO
Marietta, GA

Mike Cotton
Zone Startups Sports & Media
Toronto, Ontario

Cris De Luca
Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Cambridge, MA

Kristof De Mey
Victoris – Ghent University
Ghent, Belgium

Frank Denbow
Startup Threads
Englewood, NJ

Stephen Deng
Caribou Digital- DFS Lab
Seattle, WA

Chris Denson
Innovation Crush
Los Angeles, CA

Michael Dillhyon
YouBase
Zug, Switzerland

Joshua Duboff
Reuters News Agency
New York, NY

Ryan Falvey
CFSI
San Francisco, CA

Jenny Fielding
Techstars
New York, NY

Andrew Forsdick
Sage Bus Advisors/Vivicast Media
Memphis, TN

Alex Foster
Multiple
Palo Alto, CA

Chris Furmanski
Stanford Health Care
Palo Alto, CA

Sonia Gaillard
Office of the Governor - State of Texas
Austin, TX

Parm Gill
Gill Group
Ottawa, Canada

Jonathan Gottfried
Major League Hacking
New York, NY

Cedric Grignard
Invest in Lyon Agency
Lyon, France

Nate Gross
Doximity and Rock Health
San Francisco, CA

Salome Gudmundsdottir
Icelandic Startups
Reykjavik, Iceland

Kimberly Guiry
ROCeteer
Las Vegas, NV

Michael Gursha
Newhouse School, Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Lorin Hamlin
Under Armour
Baltimore, MD

Sissel Hansen
Startup Everywhere
Berlin, Germany

Cortney Harding
Cortney Harding Consulting
Brooklyn, NY

Irena Harris
Canadian Technology Accelerator
New York, NY

Tim Hayden
Stadia Ventures/Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO

Arno Hermans
Sport eXperience
Eindhoven, Netherlands

Krisztina Holly
The Art of Manufacturing podcast
Los Angeles, CA

Bruce Houghton
Skyline Music | Hypebot.com
Roanoke, VA

Clyde Hutchinson
Journey Partners
Dublin, Ireland

Ayse Inal
Smart Network
Istanbul, Turkey

Eric Kavanagh
The Bloor Group
Austin, TX

Greg Kirkorsky
STATS
Northbrook, IL

Joseph Kosper
moovel Global
Austin, TX

Thomas Knoll
Revelry.co
Minneapolis, MN

Milan Koch
AngelHack
Venice, CA

Joshua Krammes
MergerTech
San Francisco, CA

Om Kundu
InspirAVE – The Internet of Savings
New York, NY

Jan C. Kuster
Founders Fight Club
Munich, Germany

Daniel Laursen
Trendsonline.dk
Copenhagen, Denmark

Jennifer Lee
Plympton
San Francisco, CA

Ofir Leitner
Israel Mobile Summit
Tel Aviv, Israel

Brian Mac Mahon
Expert DOJO
San Monica, CA

Akif Malik
Sports Colab
Hood River, OR

Lisa Mallner
Nordic Startup Bits
Copenhagen, Denmark

Eric Mathews
Start Co.
Memphis, TN

Jonathan Milne
Invest Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada

Antonio Montoya
Rocket Hatch
Huntsville, AL

Kim Moore
Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
Austin, TX

Dough Newcomb
C3 Group
Hood River, OR

Cagdas Onen
Iyzico
Istanbul, Turkey

Dan Pacheco
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Carleen Pan
thisopenspace
New York, NY

Joey Pomerenke
Scotch & Pretzels
Dallas, TX

Sean Power
Repable
Toronto, Canada

Paul Reynolds
Vertex Lab
Portland, OR

John Richards
Startup Ignition, LLC
Provo, UT

Ingrid Riley
ConnectiMass
Kingston, Jamaica

Dan Roselli
Packard Place & QueenCity Fintech
Charlotte, NC

Matthew Santorelli
Walden Cohen Ventures
New York, NY

Jan Schaffer
J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism
Washington, DC

Joy Schoffler
Leverage PR
Austin, TX

Helen Situ
NextVR
Newport Beach, CA

Jennifer Skjellum
TechBirmingham
Birmingham, AL

Mike Smith
TouchPoints
New York, NY

Jewell Sparks
BiTHOUSE
Berlin, Germany

Unity Stoakes
Startup Health
Brooklyn, NY

Danielle Szetho
FinTech Australia
Sydney , Australia

Stefano Tambornini
WyLab
Chiavari, Italy

Sebastien Tanguay
Le CAMP
Quebec, Canada

Todd Tate
Toddtate.net
San Francisco, CA

Huy Nguyen Trieu
The Disruptive Group
London, United Kingdom

Rick Turoczy
PIE
Portland, OR

Amy Webb
Future Today Institute
Washington, DC

Ken Westin
Splunk
Portland, OR

Kevin Winston
Digitalla
Los Angeles, CA

Raven Zachary
Object Theory
Portland, OR

Gloria Zaionz
Innovative Learning Network
San Francisco, CA

Hubert Zajicek
Health Wildcatters
Dallas, TX

Jay Zalowitz
Fanatics
San Francisco, CA

Peter Zana
Black Lab Sports
Boulder, CO

Brian Zisk SF MusicTech Summit
San Francisco, CA

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2017 SXSW Accelerator Qualifying Committee & Coaches

SXSW Accelerator Qualifying Committee, Coaches, and On-site Coaches contribute significantly to the success of SXSW Accelerator. The Qualifying Committee focuses on the intake of all plans submitted and is responsible for the validating the applications for accuracy, completeness, veracity, and proper categorization. With their vast experience, SXSW Accelerator Coaches work closely with the finalists in the months leading up to the event to assist them in their onstage presentations. On-site Coaches work with the finalists as they rehearse their presentation on Friday, March 10.

Facilitators

Lindsey Schell
Bizologie
Qualifier (Facilitator)

Dean Cruse
Union Metrics
Qualifier (Facilitator)
Greg Wright
University of Houston
Pre-Event Coach (Facilitator)

Brian Lang
Energizing Health
On-site Coach (Facilitator)

Qualifiers, Coaches, and On-Site Coaches

Sivaram Arabandi
Ontopro
On-Site Coach

Tony Averbeck
SubjectWell
Qualifier

Katie Baker
Kauffman Foundation
Pre-Event Coach & On-Site Coach

Steve Barsh
Dreamit
On-Site Coach

Bart Bohn
Austin Technology Incubator and BuildSec Foundry
Qualifier & Pre-Event Coach

Kim Bond-Evans
Seremedi
On-Site Coach

Kara Bortone
Johnson & Johnson
Pre-Event Coach

Zach Brandon
Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
On-Site Coach

William Clark
MicroVentures
On-Site Coach

Kyle Cox
ATP Fund
Pre-Event Coach

Michael Crider
The Crider Company
Qualifier

Randall Crowder
TEXO Ventures
On-Site Coach

Cassandra Cuellar
Andrews Kurth, LLP
Qualifier

Dorit Donoviel
Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Space Medicine
On-Site Coach

David Fossas
Independent Marketing Consultant and Techstars Mentor
Qualifier

Jeff Frey
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
On-Site Coach

Juliana Garaizar
Houston Angel Network
On-Site Coach

Benjamin Glenn
Shay Glenn LLP
On-Site Coach

Balaji Gopinath
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/balajigopinath) On-Site Coach

Jonathan Ha
Dell
Pre-Event Coach

Joanna Heinrich
Spoke Marketing
Qualifier

Yael Hochberg
Rice/MIT/Accelerator Rankings
On-Site Coach

Monica Landers
Authors.me
Qualifier

Blanca Lesmes
BB Imaging and Healthcare Consulting
Qualifier

Deborah Mansfield
Houston Technology Center
Pre-Event Coach

Lesa Mitchell
Merian Ventures
On-Site Coach

Roberto Moctezuma
Fractal River
Pre-Event Coach

Mitchell Mom
Rock Health
Pre-Event Coach

Nadia Morris
AT&T
On-Site Coach

Marc Nathan
Miller Egan
Pre-Event Coach

Hesam Panahi
Rice University
On-Site Coach

Emily Roccheggiani
Adyen
On-Site Coach

Mark Schmulen
Entrepreneur
Pre-Event Coach

Amos Schwartzfarb
Techstars Austin
Pre-Event Coach

Laura Shapland
CareSet System
On-Site Coach

Chris Shonk
ATX Seed Ventures
On Site Coach

Mike Steely
Sparkible
Pre-Event Coach

Chris Treadaway
Polygraph Media
Qualifier

Cindy Walker-Peach
Austin Technology Incubator
Qualifier

Stephen White
Qukku Pre-Event Coach

Ron Yerkes
RocketSpace
Pre-Event Coach

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2016 Winners

Enterprise and Smart Data

Presented by Rackspace

Parknav
San Francisco, CA

Parknav provides real-time on-street parking availability data to automotive, fleet, real-estate and internet companies. Its service covers over 70 cities 24/7 in the US and EU, and its customers embed this data into navigation systems, maps and real estate listings.

Entertainment and Content Technologies

PopUp Play
Austin, TX

PopUp Play creates experiences for kids that blend screen time with play time.

Health and Wearable Technologies

Presented by Allscripts

MUrgency
San Francisco, CA

MUrgency is using the power of mobile technology and networks to make emergency medical response available to anyone, anytime, anywhere with just one tap on a mobile phone or through auto alerts from sensors / wearables for high risk population.

Innovative World Technologies

Presented by Brother

Rorus
Pittsburgh, PA
Rorus makes the Filter Pack, the first comprehensive solution for carrying and instantly purifying drinking water, removing both biological and chemical contaminants. We use new nanotechnology and user-centered design to make the simplest filters in the world for humanitarian relief.

Payment and Fintech Technologies

Chroma.fund
Portland, OR

Chroma.fund is a blockchain-based exchange for trading stocks and bonds issued by early stage companies. Our software is used by financial firms who wish to build and trade software-defined ETFs. We're a Techstars company based in Portland, OR.

Virtual Reality Technologies

Presented by Google Cloud

Splash
Berlin, Germany
Your reality. Shared. Capture a 360 degree videos on your mobile in seconds, share it to any social network & view it in VR.

The winner of the Best Bootstrap Company (the company who has done the most with least): Hearken

The winner of the Most Innovative Company: Vantage.tv
And the winner of the One-Minute Pitch among alternates: Knocki

2015 Winners

Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies

Partpic
Atlanta, GA

Partpic is an enterprise visual search solution used to identify replacement parts. Simply snap a picture using your mobile device and let your technology identify the part and facilitate the purchase.

Digital Health and Life Sciences Technologies

Tinnitracks
Hamburg, Germany

Tinnitracks is a multi-awarded audiology technology offering tinnitus treatment based on clinical trials. Developed by German-based Sonormed, the solution transforms everyday music into targeted neuroacoustic treatment for tinnitus patients.

Innovative World Technologies

SLANTRANGE
San Diego, CA

SLANTRANGE makes farming more productive. Our sensors and analytics tools provide new insights on crop health for improving yields while reducing costs, uncertainty, and global environment impacts.

Wearable Technologies

Tinitell
Stockholm, Sweden

Tinitell is a Swedish designed wrist phone and GPS-tracker for kids. It is durable, and water resistants. Our mission is to enable outside play with a connected device. Tinitell is a back to basic phone for kids who like to play outside.

Entertainment and Content Technologies

Zype

Zype is a cloud-based video technology service for premium video content owners to build, scale and manage direct to consumer steaming destinations. Zype makes it easy to deliver branded mobile, set top, and web apps to viewers everywhere. Social Technologies

RealSavvy
Austin, TX

2014 Winners

Enterprise and Big Data Technologies

Trustev
Cork City, Ireland

Trustev provides real-time, online identity verification to eliminate fraud and increase revenues for retailers in a simple-to-integrate, low-cost platform.

Entertainment and Content Technologies

Waygo

Waygo is a service that enhances your travel experience by easily translating printed language. With Waygo, simply point your smartphone camera and translate images instantly without a data connection.

Health Technologies

ThriveOn
San Francisco, CA

ThriveOn is a mobile platform that assesses user need, and delivers a tailored evidenced-based program, paired with a remote mental health professional.

Innovative World Technologies

Synbiota

Synbiota is a collaborative open web-platform that allows anyone to safely and sustainably create new.

Social Technologies

Samba.me
Tel Aviv, Israel

Samba is video messaging with reaction shots. Recreating the warmth of face-to-face interaction, it infused digital video communication with genuine, authentic response.

Wearable Technologies

Skully Helmets

Skully Helmets is pioneering augmented reality solutions for the head protection industry. Founded in Silicon Valley in 2013, Skully’s human-centered engineering approach has led to the Skully’s human-centered engineering approach has led Skully AR-1, the world’s first fully integrated augmented reality motorcycle helmet.

2013 Winners

News Technologies

Phone2Action
Kansas City, MO

We amplify people’s voice to effect change. We help interested groups, trade organizations, and advocacy groups engaged supporter’s in the moment they are ready to act.

Social Technologies

Plotter
San Francisco, CA

Ever thought typing on your touch-screen is frustrating? Our revolutionary keyboard technology. Fleksy, is powerful enough you can type without even looking at the screen. Wave goodbye to typing frustrations and welcome Happy Typing on mobile.

Innovative Web Technologies

Wanderu

Wanderu is the simplest way to find a book bus and train travel between Point A and Point B. Wanderu is a new travel startup by young people for young people.

Entertainment and Gaming Technologies

MakieLab
London, England

Makie Lab uniquely combines games, toys and 3D printing to provide creative entertainment properties. Our virtual goods produce physical goods on demand.

Music Accelerator

ROLI
London, England

ROLI is a music technology start-up using intuitive design to create integrated hardware and software interfaces that increase the bandwidth of interaction between humans and computers.

Health Technologies

Neurotrack
Richmond, VA

Neurotrack has developed technology that can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms appear, creating the potential to transform the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

2012 Winners

News Related Technologies

Funf Project
Cambridge, MA

Funf, the Fun Framework for Mobile Sensing is an extensible sensing and data processing framework for Android devices developed at the MIT Media Lab. Funf provides an open source, reusable set of functionalities, enabling the grassroots collection, dissemination, and sense-making of rich data about individuals, their devices and their environment.

Innovative Web Technologies

Viztu Technologies
Cambridge, MA

Viztu Technologies is a leading provider of custom, multi-dimensional scanning and imaging solutions. Our first product, hypr3D, uses advanced computer vision tools to transform user-generated photos or videos into unique3D models that can view online, shared, downloaded, or even printed in 3D.

Social Media and Social Networking Technologies

Thrist Labs
San Francisco, CA

What are your friends talking about right now? Why are they talking about it? What does it mean? Thirst is a mobile app that understands status updates (from Twitter, Facebook, etc.) using our custom Natural Language algorithms to help you simplify, organize, and understand your social streams.

Mobile Technologies

Condition One

Condition ONE is a technology company developing next generation immersive video applications. Our flagship product is an embeddable immersive video player for the iPad, which we license to media companies and brands. Condition ONE creates powerful emotional experiences of being there.

Entertainment Technologies

Wemo Media

Wemo Media is a next generation digital studio with a world-class team of Academy Award-winning artists, technology innovators and veteran execs from film, games and the web. This team is pioneering a new form of globally shared art and entertainment on the Web. Their first product is theBlu.com.

Health Technologies

Ginger.io
Cambridge, MA

An MIT Media Lab spinoff and TechStars alum, Ginger.io provides a behavior analytics platform that uses big data from mobile phones to model user behavior and make inferences about health and wellness.

Music-Related Technologies

Ovelin
Tampere, Finland

WildChords by Ovelin is an iPad game that makes learning to play the guitar fun, addictive and motivating. It is played with any real guitar, and requires no additional equipment. Ovelin is the #1 music app in 34 countries, iPad game of the year (Tilt TV), Best European Learning Game 2011 (LUDUS).

2011 Winners

News Related Technologies

Storify
San Francisco, CA

Storify is building the future of storytelling, enabling journalists, bloggers or anyone to tell stories from social media by assembling Tweets, photos and videos. We help readers find meaning amid the noise of social media.

Social Media and Social Networking Technologies

POPVOX
Redwood City, CA

CEO Marcy Harris refers to it as a Deal Room for Legislation and says now we can all be in on the deal. Popvox is giving everyday people the opportunity to participate in the lobbying process by automatically posting any bill introduced to Congress, allowing it to be publicly commented on, and returning it to the appropriate Congressperson. Legislators and their staff can also upload a bill position. The system, which uses “business intelligence for bills,” aggregates public input and outputs a consumable report that elected officials and their staffers can act on. Popvox believes that independent, verifiable metrics are a key, missing element in current constituent communication systems

Innovative Web Technologies

Hipmunk

Hipmunk takes the agony out of travel search. Its unique interface shows you only the sensible results, making it easy to understand the tradeoffs between your options. And because we know how much of a pain it can be to fly, Hipmunk sorts its results by “agony,” not price.

Entertainment Technologies

Tango
Palo Alto, CA

Paul Berberian says Orbotix uses an open-source platform for developing the apps that power their robotic balls. That means anyone capable of creating a mobile app is also capable of developing an app that powers a Sphero ball. Allowing people to create their own experiences and games around the device is the same (very successful) strategy employed by Android. Not coincidentally, the little round robots are smart-phone driven.

2010 Winners

Innovative Web Technology

Siri
San Jose, CA

Imagine talking to your phone and asking "What's the phone number for Hilton Austin?" or "Get me a table for two with steak." Siri, an app that relies on speech recognition and artificial technology, turns search and voice to action. Siri is a spin-off from the largest artificial intelligence program in the world at Stanford Research Institute. Siri relies on open platforms like OpenTable, Yelp, and Google Maps, to help users book restaurant reservations, find weather forecasts, buy movie tickets and more.

Entertainment Technologies

ShopSavvy
Dallas, TX

Already a popular mobile application, ShopSavvy, puts a tech solution in the consumers’ hands allowing them to comparison shop by scanning product bar codes on the spot and make a purchase all without leaving the simple application interface. The questions from the judges, who were already familiar with ShopSavvy and impressed with its success, focused primarily on why ShopSavvy needed their help as much as the lesser known start-ups.

Business Social Media

Mobile Roadie

Mobile Roadie puts the power of mobile apps in the hands of any small business. It's a highly customizable way to easily and cost-effectively create an iPhone or Android app. Prices start at $500 plus monthly hosting fees. Mobile Roadie's app for Taylor Swift had 40 million installs

Personal Social Media

Bump Technologies

Phones are becoming the access point to our lives, with music, calendar, social networking, games, contacts, and more. Bump, an app that has been downloaded over 10 million times, allows people to connect in the physical world with a simple bump of their phones. Bump is expanding to license their technology and announced a partnership with PayPal. You can now bump phones to make a payment, along with other uses such as sharing photos, music, friending on Facebook.

2009 Winners

Music Related Technologies

Popcuts
Berkeley, CA

We give fans a stake in the music. So, you get store credit (and street cred) when the songs you buy become hits. Trendsetters get the biggest rewards.

Video Related Technologies

Tubemogul
Emeryville, CA

TubeMogul is the first online video analytics and distribution company serving publishers large and small who need independent information about video performance on the internet and automated upload to the web's top video sharing sites.

Social Networking Applications

Weardrobe
Palo Alto, CA

Weardrobe provides a platform for people to share reviews of their own clothing, post photos of their looks, catalogue their closet and search for style inspiration. 

Ribbit.com
Mountain View, CA

Ribbit brings together the internet, voice and data to form a new world of intelligent, integrated communication solutions — where rich voice and data travel seamlessly across devices, networks, and carriers.

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