Nine early stage companies are within reach of receiving key investments, having been chosen as finalists for the $5 million global investment challenge called VentureClash, run by Connecticut Innovations (CI), Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm. Early-stage technology companies coming from all over the globe in the areas of Internet of Things, InsureTech, Fintech, and Digital Health, are vying for the grand prize of a $1.5 million investment, with $1 million investments for second place, and $500 thousand in awards for third place winners.
“VentureClash again attracted an impressive list of innovative, early-stage companies poised for growth. The fundamental improvement in this year’s competition is the deep involvement of so many corporate partners,” stated Connecticut Innovations CEO Matt McCooe in a recent press release. Partners included: Aetna; Bank of Ireland’s Startlab; Boehringer Ingelheim; Dream Payments; Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracina LLP; General Dynamics Electric Boat; Health Venture; among others.
All nine finalists are presenting their products, services, or innovations on October 20th to a judging panel at a live pitch competition in the Yale School of Management. Delivering the keynote speech for this event is the CEO of Oath, Tim Armstrong. The nine finalists presenting during the event are:
- Vouchr, from Canada, bundling a payment-agnostic tool with social networking, gamification, video, and photo sharing.
- Tellspec, from Canada, offering real-time and non-destructive food testing for nutritional value, quality control, safety, and authentication.
- SCADAfence, from Israel, secures industrial networks like gas, oil, utility, and manufacturing from cyber threats and the risk of connecting multiple devices.
- Peek Health, S.A., from Portugal, offering preoperative planning software for orthopedic surgery in 3-D to increase patient treatment while reducing surgery times and costs.
- FRISS, from the Netherlands, provides solutions for compliance, risk, and fraud in the insurance industry using proprietary analytics software.
- EAVE, from the U.K., uses noise cancellation and speech enhancement for the next generation of communication technology and elimination of noise-induced hearing loss.
- Davra Networks, from Ireland, enables customers to build, define, and market vertical-specific Internet of Things (IoT) apps while collecting and sharing data through a complete IoT platform.
- Buzzmove, from the U.K., is a platform providing instant booking and price comparison for moving, and includes insurance for moving-related services.
- Bought By Many, from the U.K., helps members find customized insurance efficiently by offering targeted insurance opportunities.
