Startup DAYS - Seven winners from five verticals

 

The Startup Battle is an important element of the Startup DAYS for years. However this year the results were a bit different. In two of the five verticals the audience selected two winners.

 

More than 250 start-ups were present at the Startup DAYS. About 100 of them competed in the Startup Battle. Ten companies made it to finals and pitched to the audience who selected seven winners in five verticals.

Healthtech: Hemotune vs Artiria Medical

Both Hemotune and Artiria Medical convinced the audience with their pitched and solutions, thereby scoring a draw in the pitch battle. Hemotune is an ETH spinoff developing the Hemosystem, a blood purification device that combines cutting-edge scientific results from biomedicine and nanotechnology to allow for specific and direct removal of disease-causing substances from a patient’s bloodstream.

Artiria Medical is an EPFL Spin-off neurovascular start-up aiming to improve stroke treatment using its medical device that enables stroke surgeons to navigate in brain arteries with unprecedented speed and efficacy.

Autonomous systems: Sevensense Robotics vs MicroR Systems

The winner in this vertical is Sevensense. The robotics start-up provides the technology which allows autonomous mobile robots such as forklifts and cleaning machines to move independently and safely in dynamic indoor and outdoor spaces full of people.

MicroR Systems developed lasers with ultra-pure colours for precision measurement, timekeeping, and long-distance telecommunication for a range of applications and industries.

Sustainanble tech: Exnaton vs novoMOF

Exnaton built a software platform for data-based business models for energy providers, and an application for households, photovoltaic owners, and small businesses to facilitate the trading of locally produced electricity to neighbours as well as makes energy data transparent and easy-to-understand. By January 2019, Exnaton had recorded the 37 households from Walenstadt (Switzerland) that joined the local energy community as part of the Quartiestrom project. The start-up impressed the audience and won the pitch battle.

The runner-up, novoMOF produces advanced materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that offer competitive applications in various industrial sectors to address global issues such as water scarcity, food waste, carbon capture and fast charging of battery systems.

Content and Channels: Relish vs Meloncast

Relish develops and designs hand-craft, premium and high-end electric guitars that allow guitarists to swap pickups in two seconds and enjoy unparalleled playability and tone range. Co-Founder and CEO Silvan Kueng took home the award prize in this category.

MelonCast developed a Content Marketing Optimization tool that uses Artificial intelligence to provide data-driven insights to content creators to allow them to curate tailor-made content for their audience across various channels. Companies such as Baloise, Helveica or St. Galler Kantonalbank rely on the solution. 

Fintech: Raized vs Core.Chain

The two fintech start-ups both scored equal points in the pitch challenge. Raized uses artificial intelligence to provide an automated investment funnel to improve deal flow whilst increasing efficiency. Target customers include venture capitalists, business angels, corporate investors. among others.

Core.Chain, registered in Liechtenstein, is building a blockchain platform to help companies leverage distributed systems at scale while maintaining centralized control critical to executive leadership. It provides modular software designed to streamline the digital transformation of centralized organizations.

(RAN)