The SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event that is part of the Startup and Tech Sector of the SXSW Conference Interactive Festival is being held on March 10th and 11th in Austin, Texas. The Pitch Event’s Demo Day follows on the 12th, showcasing all pitch participants. In a just released statement the 50 startup pitch finalists were announced.
Over 600 applicants from around the world competed for the 50 slots spread over 10 different tech categories, each crowning a champion. Those fortunate to be selected gain numerous benefits for participating. Of the 403 companies participating in the SXSW Accelerator between 2009 and 2017, over 70 percent received funding, totaling in excess of $4.63 billion (excluding undisclosed grants, angel and seed funding). In addition, 16 percent of past finalists were acquired by either Google, British Telecom, Huffington Post, Apple, Live Nation, OpenTable, Constant Contact, or Harmon.
The startups will pitch their products and ventures to a live audience and a panel of judges that includes entrepreneurs, investors and industry influencers. For the first time the event will also announce a “Best in Show” winner to honor the event’s 10th anniversary.
The list of finalists for the 2018 SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event are:
- “Augmented and Virtual Reality”: AfterNow, ARwall, CieAR, eyecandylab, wrnch AI
- “Enterprise and Smart Data”: Agrarian Labs, Bluefield, DroneSeed, FastVisa, Message.io
- “Entertainment and Content”: Antescofo, FanFood, Instreamatic.ai, Sceenic, Vochlea Music
- “Health and Wearables”: Aetheris, Cambridge Cancer Genomics, HealthTensor, Nanowear, Nextbiotics
- “Hyper-Connected Communities”: Apptronik, Diwala, Eclosion, GoTech, GrubTubs
- “Payment and FinTech”: Cushion, FutureFuel.io, Goalsetter, Leaf, Pawame
- “Security and Privacy”: Bandura, PolyPort, 14bis Supply Tracking, Secure Code Warrior, Storro B.V.
- “Social and Culture”: 70MillionJobs, ICON 3D, Moms Can: Code, Samaritan, Synervoz
- “Sports and Performance”: DashTag, KidzToPros, Nix, Tellyo, UPGRADED
- “Transportation”: Commutifi, Goin, GoKid, Gridwise, Ushr
The SXSW Accelerator Award Ceremony will follow the pitch competition on March 11th.
