TEC Hosts $100k New Ventures Competition Semi-Finals; Finalists Announced
Following the conclusion of the $100k New Ventures Competition Semi-Finals, judges have selected 15 teams across the three tracks – General Technology, Healthcare & Life Science and Social Impact – to move forward and compete in the Finals come April 9.
The Semi-Finals began with an overview of the day’s logistics before breaking out into the three tracks. During the session, participants pitched their ideas and engaged in a Q&A session with the judges to further their perspective of what various stakeholders, from investors to regulatory bodies, are looking for. Spectators jumped between the three tracks and witnessed the innovative process first-hand before engaging in a networking session with the contestants.
Congratulations to the teams moving forward! Learn more about the teams moving forward and view their self-submitted descriptions:
General Technology
Cloudsurf
“Cloudsurf is a web platform that extends the browsing experience beyond the individual through site-based reactions. By combining a browser extension with a content-recommending web app, it harnesses the power of mind-sharing to ethically benefit the masses.”
Paraphai
“Paraphai is an AI-driven sports memorabilia authentication platform. Leveraging Computer Vision and Machine Learning technologies, our platform authenticates autographs, notably in sports and entertainment, to enable collectors to verify the authenticity of the signature.”
Prosal
“Requests for proposals (RFPs) are challenging, especially when finding and selecting the right candidate. Prosal is the solution: an open and centralized online marketplace that connects RFP issuers with respondents who can fulfill their needs. In time, Prosal will become an AI-supported, end-to-end solution to manage the entire proposal process.”
Spectral Key
“We are developing a novel system for waste heat recovery using Tufts renewable energy technology. We want to take excess heat from the glass-making process and turn it directly into electricity. Our system increases glass-making efficiency while decreasing its cost and its carbon footprint.”
Winno
“Winno is the fastest way to stay on top of the day’s events. Our award-winning app is built for a mobile attention span, condensing stories into atomized updates and bringing digital news beyond the 600-word made-for-print model.”
Healthcare & Life Science
Cerobex
“Cerobex is developing a novel lipid nanoparticle-based drug delivery platform. Our platform is the only technology, demonstrated in animal models, to safely and effectively deliver a wide variety of compounds across the blood-brain barrier, improving existing treatments, and enabling the treatment of currently untreatable neurological diseases”
CorePerform
“CorePerform protein is the first and only plant-based protein to elicit twice the protein synthesis, making it just as effective as whey and is better tasting too. CorePerform protein is optimized for digestion, because as athletes, IT TAKES GUTS TO PERFORM!”
Hello Healthy Company, Inc.
“Tele-medicine and home delivery are changing health care. Hello Healthy Company is leading the way in Nutrition Health with its first product, Hello Healthy Box(R), a diet-clinic-In-a-box that delivers an effective medical weight loss treatment direct to consumers.”
JEZA Genomics
“The BRCA1 gene is often responsible for five of the most deadly cancers: breast, lung, prostate, ovarian, and pancreatic. At JEZA Genomics, we are developing an injectable prophylactic for these cancers using recent advances in gene engineering. This utilization will allow JEZA to change how genetic diseases are treated, forever.”
Resano Recovery
“Traditional physical therapy (PT) is ineffective. Resano Recovery makes PT effective using a two-part support system consisting of a wearable device to measure range of motion and an app that shows patients exercises, videos, and connects them with their physical therapist as well as other patients.”
Social Impact
AfriProt
“We create a sustainable source of protein for animal feeds by rearing Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) on low-value organic waste.”
ENVOY
“ENVOY is a software system enabling real-time conversation between American Sign Language signers and English-speaking individuals, without a hired translator. Our design is backed by national organizations for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Our long-term goal? Remove communication barriers between 70 million+ individuals, their colleagues, and their loved ones.”
Kinfolq
“Kinfolq is a social network for Black and Latinx professionals.”
Soapbox
“Soapbox is a SaaS company that enables political campaigns, issue advocacy groups, and beyond to engage voters online by quickly sending out thousands of unique targeted messages. Our tool has a 63 percent engagement rate, far superior to traditional forms of voter contact.”
UMA
“We remember only 5% of what we hear, 10% of what we read, but over 70% of what we experience, yet independent learning and most classwork is not experience-based. UMA is creating engaging educational videogames that make students active protagonists in their own intellectual development.”