Within the next few days New Jersey entrepreneur Jason Vitug will learn if his startup Phroogal has been chosen as a finalist over four other semi-finalists in the “fast-tracked” IBM Watson partnership portion of the Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC). If chosen, Jason will pitch his venture in February to Sir Richard Branson on his private island called Necker.
The Extreme Tech Challenge was founded by MaiTaiGlobal, a group of entrepreneurs, athletes and innovators who collectively network to help each other achieve extraordinary success. The “fast-tracked” finalist will be announced LIVE at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 8, 2015. Three other finalists will be selected that day from a separate track of the TOP 10 Extreme Tech Challenge following their on stage pitches at CES to an “all-star panel of judges.”
The “fast-tracked” winner will have the opportunity to partner with the coveted IBM Watson when presenting to Sir Branson in February. “Watson is a cognitive technology that processes information more like a human than a computer-by understanding natural language, generating hypotheses based on evidence, and learning as it goes,” according to the Extreme Tech Challenge blog.
The Watson team believes they can empower startup entrepreneurs, tech companies, academic scientists and students by giving them “access to large volumes of text-based information” in their efforts to tackle “touch commercial challenges.” Chosen partners also will benefit from technology, tools and “APIs for self-service training, development, and testing of their cognitive apps.”
In addition to Phroogal, Jason Vitug’s startup based on using “Collective Intelligence to Help Make Better Financial Decisions,” the other “fast-tracked” teams vying for the opportunity to join IBM Watson’s John Wolpert on Sir Richard Branson’s island are:
Stroll Health – Transparency At The Point Of Care
Doctor On Demand – Virtual Medical Practice
NextUser – Revolutionary Marketing Tool
Quick Consult – A Medical Device Network In Your Pocket
Entrepreneur Vitug is extremely pumped to be presenting at the CES this week. Said Vitug, “I am just in the beginning stages for Phroogal building the largest financial knowledge base of its kind with the goal to take disparate data from various places that would ultimate fill in the gap in financial education efforts. This partnership could potentially speed up my effort to take collective knowledge of many to help people make better financial decisions.”
