Competitors were required to pitch their projects in four minutes and then had three minutes of questions from the jury, who grilled them on anything from expansion plans, conversation rates, sales models, scalability and more.
The winners receive 16 weeks’ free coaching, free access to coworking space, an invaluable network, not to mention grants of up to €150,000.
Here’s a closer look at the winners.
Space tech
Among the space tech winners were 3DFarms, which optimises Aeroponics technology by Nasa so it is 50 times less expensive and doubly productive, all in a bid to reduce vertical farm costs and roll them out rapidly to positively impact issues linked to rising population and climate change.
GlobeEye, a France-based winner, considers this the “Uber” moment for satellite data business applications and as such is developing new data and insights based on satellite imaging and advances in AI.
Luxembourg-based Ilumbra and RespectUs also were named winners, with Ilumbra impressing the judges with its potential for delivering 3D models for real astronomical objects. RespectUs considers itself a customisable “one-stop shop” for compliance risk and licences in the space sector.
Finally, WEO aims to provide accurate land information anywhere in the world by using AI and satellite imaging and makes the case that this could help enhance efficiency in an increasingly urban-world when it comes to food and water supply.
Health tech
The health tech winners were Cohesys, Nium, Nutrihumix, Sanascope and ViewMind.
Cohesys is developing a biodegradable bone tape, while Nium is a University of Luxembourg-spinoff working on nutrition solutions based on health data and gut microbiome.
Nutrihumix is hoping to provide information on how nutrients, microbiomes and hosts interact. German startup Sanascope has two prototypes, wired and Bluetooth, of an e-stethoscope that lets patients listen to their lungs and heart, all through their mobile phones. ViewMind of Argentina, on the other hand, aims to identify the onset of Alzheimer’s using eye-tracking technology.
ICT
The ICT companies taking this edition’s win were DataCue, I-Warranty, Vocally.fm, Anote Music, Cubbit, Rebolet, CheckMath, Quantego, Symvio and WearHealth.
Singapore project DataCue, already a Shopify “staff pick”, helps SMEs in e-commerce by allowing for better customisation by the end user and claims to have a 12% conversation increase for their customers. The idea behind UK-based i-Warranty is for users to keep all warranties in their smartphones, in the hope retailers will be on board to help address the problem of e-product waste.
Vocally.fm, an Italian startup, allows users to create, share and monetise audio with its tech, whileANote Music is a music rights’ investment platform. Cubbit is the world’s first distributed cloud provider, while Rebolet helps convert returns and overstock into profits for companies through its AI-powered tech.
CheckMath is designed for students and provides immediate feedback on math problems, while Quantego uses math and machine learning to empower companies to optimise decision-making.
Symvio helps commercial building owners and facility managers to detect anomalies and improve efficiency through its cloud-based solution, while WearHealth works, for example in health and safety, to proactively understand risk factors and prevent hazards through its platform.
Visit the Fit4Start or Luxinnovation websites for more information.