On the evening of March 27, the Chicago Connectory welcomed back AlphaLab Gear, to host the 2019 Hardware Cup Midwest Regionals. Six hardware startup semi-finalists gathered to pitch in front of six qualified judges, investors and audience. The six semi-finalists competed for a spot in the International Finals in May where they have the chance to win a $50,000 investment grand prize.
The pitch competition kicked off with the hardware finalists presenting their product and business model in four minutes. The floor then opened up for a Q&A session between the judges and startups.
Next up was Nouvo Health, a smart pacifier for babies that connects to an app through your mobile device. The smart pacifier’s purpose is to track and monitor the baby’s health as it displays real life data on your mobile device. Nouvo Health’s focus is to detect and alert parents via the app when the baby’s temperature is feverish or if there is acidity levels in their salvia.
Following Nouvo Health was Equine SmartBits, LLC. This startup came to the stage to pitch their product, smartbit, which is a system of smart sensors that measure a horse’s biometrics through their mouth. The smartbit connects to a mobile device where it displays real time data that captures vital signs. This allows horse owners to monitor and improve their horse’s health and ensures owners of their capabilities for maximum performance.
Up next was Resonado, the startup that is redefining the shape of sound. Their product, the flat core speaker (FCS) technology, is the reinvention of the original speaker design that has stayed consistent over the years. Their product enables new form factors of speakers that never existed before.
Following up was Impact Proteomics, a startup that offers sample preparation kits that allow researchers to prepare any type of protein/peptide sample faster. Their technology uses natural protein chemistry for fast and sensitive sample preparation, which results in a reduced waiting time range of 3 days to 2 hours to prepare.
Last up was Thaddeus Medical Systems. This is a startup that creates smart packaging for temperature sensitive products. Temperature sensitive products, such as blood and vaccines, are transferred on a daily basis. With the smart package, the user is able to actively control temperature and ensure the safety of using these products. The smart package connects to your mobile device to display real time data and allows the user to alter the package if needed.
At the end of the pitch competition, the floor opened up to a voting session from the audience to declare the “Audience Favorite” winner. Meanwhile, the judges deliberated on the “Midwest Regionals” winner. All finalists were awarded a prize, donated by Bosch.
Congratulations to Psyonic, the winner of the 2019 Hardware Midwest Regionals, and Resonado, the winner of the “Audience Favorite”!
View the live stream from the event here!
Hardware Cup Midwest Regional Winners, Psyonic
Audience Favorite Winners, Resonado
• Gowatham Kumar, UIC Student • Jigyasa Sachdeva, UIC Student • Meher Phani Ujwala Ambarkhana, UIC Student • Rachana Manjuath, UIC Student • Dave Turner, Co-Founder at Spacebot • Angelo
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