2021 Launch Finals took place on May 20th
Finalists competed for the $100K grand prize and $25K runner-up
CONGRATS TO OUR 2021 FINALISTS!
AZEKI ROAD • Candelytics • Mach9 Robotics • Osmoses • Resolute • Synthera Health • UltraNeuro (fka. PIVOTtheWorld) • Volthub
Special congrats to Osmoses on 1st place, and Mach9 Robotics on runner-up!
2021 SEMI-FINALISTS
Athlogic: High school football has an inequality problem. Richly endowed schools that can incorporate technology have a competitive advantage. Athlogic is leveling the playing field. We offer high school football teams a free-to-start and easy-to-use mobile application to bring analytics to all teams, while simultaneously compiling a novel recruiting platform where we license accurate statistics to NCAA programs. Over $375 million is spent annually on recruiting for college football from a pool of 1 million high school athletes. We will grow our share in the rapidly growing $5 billion sports analytics industry by scaling solutions into new sports.
AZEKI ROAD: At AZEKI ROAD, we are building tech-enabled solutions that ease the global, direct-to-consumer operations for luxury and premium brands based in Africa. Our aim is to serve as the operational infrastructure these brands and creative founders need to capture more of the value that they create at scale.
Candelytics: At Candelytics, we believe that 3D data is the future. We are a 3D analytics startup building the digital tools that will support the coming revolution in 3D data. As evidenced by LIDAR sensors on the newest iPhones, hardware advances are about to make 3D data more ubiquitous than ever before. However, the digital infrastructure to make this complex 3D data truly usable is still sorely lacking. That’s where Candelytics comes in; our digital solution will make 3D data more accessible, intelligent, and impactful. In essence, we are building the “Palantir of 3D Data” – starting with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Clock Therapeutics: Time is your scarcest resource’... What would you do to have more all while looking and feeling your best? Recent advances have demonstrated that the rejuvenation program within our DNA can be turned back on to reverse aging and heal normally irreversible injuries. Our serum will instruct your skin cells to rejuvenate. Using this technology, we also aim to restore the brain and body of healthy individuals and those suffering with injuries and aging-related disorders.
connectAV: The autonomous vehicle market is starting to take off with emerging business models for self-driving cars and drone systems already beginning to scale. A missing key element on the tech side of these systems is a comprehensive “vehicle-to-anything” (V2X) and fleet management platform that allows vehicles to communicate with each other, sharing information with each other on road blockages environmental conditions, etc., while also updating and keeping records for a remote fleet management system. Our product will be a hardware V2X solution with a digital fleet management platform that allows AV players to leverage the power of a connected fleet.
Cumulative: The #1 reason adults exercise is weight management. Yet the $6B connected fitness industry has no native means to measure and manage a user’s weight. With proprietary computer vision and analytics, Cumulative measures weight from any connected camera, links results to exercise history and lifestyle, and drives success through individualized plans. Partnered with Cumulative, connected fitness companies have a unique opportunity to understand subscribers, own the user’s health journey, provide engaging ‘quantified-self’ data, and improve customer experience with tailored fitness plans never before possible. Our friction-free solution contributes to subscriber satisfaction and retention, without ever stepping on a bathroom scale.
E-Mask: Transistors brought us the computing revolution. Less well-known are the lithography masks used to make these transistors. Lithography masks are used to imprint fine patterns which physically define devices on chips. These masks are extremely expensive, and their patterns are static (cannot be changed). Our invention is an electronic mask which pattern can be reprogrammed as needed. This shortens design-to-manufacturing timeline, accelerates new product introduction and can potentially revolutionize process flow in semiconductor manufacturing.
Each Mind: Each Mind is building China’s first clinically-validated digital therapeutic for depression, powered by AI research from MIT Media Lab, and a team of MIT/Harvard trained mental health technology innovators. There are 54M depression patients in China, with an economic cost of 7.6B dollars annually. Patients are severely disempowered by 1) lack of adequate mental health resources; 2) social & self stigmatization. Our solution uses AI to tailor insights, interventions & peer-connection opportunities to the preferences & daily contexts of individuals, while protecting their privacy. It provides 24/7 access to personalized depression care, beyond the severely constrained traditional services.
Floe: Floe is an MIT & Yale cleantech startup developing a smart, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly solution to tackle the $11.1B US ice dam market. Our IoT-powered, automated system is far more effective than existing solutions in preventing the significant water damage caused by ice dams. Floe also considerably reduces operating costs (>40%) and carbon emissions (>99%). We are currently finalizing a 50-unit paid pilot nationwide in 10 states with key customers, including Prologis, Vail Resorts, and the Hyatt. We ultimately aim to leverage our datasets and IoT sensors to provide value for customers year-round as the Nest for the building envelope.
Gencores: Combining innovation in robotics, material science, and 3D printing, Gencores cuts 80% of costs and lead time to produce aerospace composite technologies. We make composites affordable to car manufacturers, enabling transformational industry change and building vehicles featuring 45% increased efficiency.
Harvest: Harvest is a platform that allows groups to realize their bargaining power and collectively bargain for loans. Simultaneously, Harvest allows lenders to easily identify and capture large quantities of customers. On Harvest, Lenders compete for bundled loans, borrowing groups easily connect to lenders, and Harvest offers support and resources.
Jaw: Jaw is an app to create and listen to short, funny audio “bites” in a TikTok-style feed. Creators upload bites in the app to grow their audience, and listeners use the app to effortlessly enjoy great content.
Little Picasso: For many years, children have been offered ready-made printed garments to wear and not much to design on their own. They need something different that can unleash their imagination and trigger their creativity. Little Piccaso is an innovative children's apparel company that combines sustainable clothing with hands-on education projects focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). We are building system for clothing creativity similar to how LEGO created a platform for building blocks. The imagination is the limit.
Mach9 Robotics: Mach9 Robotics is a remote sensing startup creating the Google Street View for subsurface utilities. The lack of information about the position of subsurface infrastructure leads to unintentional damage, causing over $50 billion in damages in the US and thousands of fatal accidents globally each year. In order to fill this information gap, Mach9 is producing mobile mapping platforms, based primarily on ground penetrating radar, to acquire very rich information about infrastructure health. Our new machine learning approach analyzes large-scale, subsurface datasets 100X faster than the existing state-of-the-art geotechnical data analysis tools with greater accuracy.
Smoothe Healthcare: As an alternative to facial injectables such as botox, No-Tox (trademark registered) has developed the world's first medically-proven, fast-acting non-toxin-based anti-wrinkle serum which is administered topically without the use of needles. No-Tox has been developed by world famous skin MD, Dr Sharad Paul, and is the only product on the market which has been medically proven on real patients with results from clinical trials published in the Journal of Clinical & Cosmetic Dermatology. The global market for facial injectables is large ($13.4 billion) and fast growing at a CAGR of 8.8% over the next decade, particularly amongst females between 40-60 years old. To this end, No-Tox provides a lower cost, natural alternative to injectables such as botox without the health risks (including facial paralysis, headaches, nausea and skin infections).
Osmoses: We are developing new membrane technology for industrial gas and vapor separations. Effective membrane separation technology has the potential not only to reduce the energy consumption of chemical industries and accelerate the adoption of green alternative energy sources, but also to enable greenhouse gas mitigation technologies. For instance, replacing existing energy-intensive processes with membranes can reduce annual U.S. energy costs by $4 billion and eliminate 100 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Deploying efficient membranes for the purification of hydrogen and natural gas would accelerate the replacement of coal for electricity generation, while implementing membranes for carbon dioxide separation from flue gas can reduce the cost of carbon capture by 50%.
PIVOTtheWorld, Inc: PIVOTtheWorld is a NeuroTech company (formerly AR/VR) building an ultrasound transducer array into a smart fabric weave (worn as a sock, glove, or sleeve) to activate degenerated peripheral nerves using neuromodulation to curb “false alert” pain for the 40M Americans with peripheral neuropathy (PN). Of the PN patients we interviewed, 51% experienced level 8+ neuropathic pain known as "flare ups" at least once a week right before bed or during REM sleep. We are implementing at the intersection of the top two markets for "post-pharma" pain management strategies: the $40B medical apparel and $25B personal massager industry.
ProtectEd: The ProtectEd patent-pending bookcase is the only easy-to-use, multi-level security solution that protects against domestic terrorism and active shooter violence in schools, government buildings, and offices by serving as a physical barricade, a ballistic barrier, and a psychological deterrent.
RazorSharp: Have you shaved recently? Was it painful? Irritating red bumps after? Your razor was undoubtedly chipped. Chipped razors make dull razors, and more than 2 billion of them go to landfills every year. We want to change that, so we invented a blade that does not chip. It lasts >20 times longer than a conventional razor, with less waste for the environment and a better shave for you. With our patented, chip-resistant blades and comfortable, ergonomic handle, we know you’ll love our iconic razor, destined to conquer this >$10B market.
Rectitude AI: Rectitude AI is a precision medicine platform that assists physicians in clinical decision-making with more insights and less effort, starting with mental illness and cognitive disorders. We enable AI researchers to build robust models that provide insight to physicians during patient care.
Resolute: 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70 and Sunscreen is the critical step in any skincare routine to prevent skin cancer or premature skin aging. However, consumers, especially people of color, are forced to compromise with sun protection, toxic chemicals, or looking natural. Our patent-pending process for tinting the active mineral filter brings a cosmetically natural sunscreen suited for all skin tones for a $14.2B market ripe for innovation.
Respellr - Gamified Spellcheck for Kids: n order to grow, elementary school kids need to learn from failure and overcome challenges. Spell check tools have removed valuable friction from the learning process; as a result our kids can’t spell. Our patent pending SaaS application integrates easily with common word processors, gamifies the spellcheck experience and taps into a $3-5B market. Respellr incentivizes students using a unique cryptocurrency based reward system, an open source app platform and curated marketplace designed for kids. Respellr generates more time for teachers and parents through personalized recommendations and reports and better results for students through customized development plans.
Synthera Health: We help people maintain optimal blood iron levels through our mHealth app, personalized dosing of an OTC iron supplement, and a connected blood test, providing a complete treatment and prevention solution for people of all ages with iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA).
Taxie: Half of Uber drivers in the US make less than minimum wage. Taxie offers premium electric vehicles with insurance, charging, and maintenance included in a flat weekly fee. We offer the only financially accessible way for rideshare drivers to drive a premium EV—reducing CO2 emissions while taking home up to $500 more each month through gas savings and higher income through premium rides. Taxie is a green new way to drive.
Tristar Technologies: Tristar's platform uses computer vision and AI to supervise manufacturing operators for process errors and safety violations in order to improve quality and reduce cost. We have an autonomous edge computing device - dubbed the LUM supervisor - that supplements the knowledge of management and supervisors. Our device, once placed in a manufacturing department, runs 24/7 to analyze worker movement and actions. It looks for strengths and weaknesses in employees and workflows and assists with process optimization. We deploy devices in each department within a manufacturing facility, and have a user interface that delivers alerts and analysis.
Volar: Volar empowers the growing middle class of content creators in Latam with the business and software tools necessary to monetize their audience. Volar takes the core elements of Shopify (e-commerce, analytics, flexibility), and simplifies them specifically for creators so they can focus on their audience and content. With Volar, creators can: (1) easily set up a mobile optimized website where they can sell experiences to their fans, e.g. mentoring, (2) receive personalized support to launch their business (e.g. pricing), (3) analyze what their audience craves, (4) focus on their content while Volar supports with payments, admin and logistics.
Volt: Volthub helps electronic companies manage the procurement of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), the core component of any electronic device. Our web platform enables more than 150,000 buyers and 20,000 sellers in the industry to find suitable business partners, exchange relevant manufacturing information between parties efficiently and automate processes in order to reduce the procurement effort by 40% and the time to order from weeks to hours in the $750B+ market of electronics manufacturing.
Zero: We are addressing the 40% of emissions in the US that come from buildings by simplifying the retrofit process for owners. Retrofitting buildings is notoriously complicated, expensive, and a difficult process for owners to navigate without the help of consultants. We are building a tool, Zero Emissions Retrofit Optimization (ZERO), that reduces the complexity and provides owners with the knowledge and capital they need to modernize their buildings to be smarter, healthier and zero emissions.
LAUNCH
MIT Launch is a comprehensive business plan competition in which teams compete to plan and prepare their venture for the marketplace. Semi-finalists are expected to present not just prototypes, but full business plans. They receive funding and mentorship along the way, and finalists present onstage to a 2,000+ live audience from Cambridge, Boston, and beyond. The Grand Prize?
$100,000
Thank you to our Accelerate Judges:
Jeff Feldgoise • Ion Freeman • Jean-Robert Durocher • Joel Voelz • Arun Seelam • Arjun Mendhi • Shana Opperman • Matthew Rhodes-Kropf • Thomas Annicq • Xi Zhao • Sean Newth • Perry Solomon • Jey Won • Beth Zonis • Benjamin Warner • Behram Dacosta • Alejandra Romero • Ashok Seetharam • George Psyhojos • Derek Hatchett • Camilla Olson • Alex Min • Amanda Alexander • Kristine Cass • Shawna Slack • Lily Lyman • Justin Ashton • Raghu Rau • Pedros Santos • Rahul Shewakraman • Maren Cattonar • Michele Barnett Berg • Jonathan Sheena • Zhenning Zhang • Rosina Samadani • Sankeetha Selvarajah • Eric Malumed • Blessing Waung • Anthony Hare • Millie Liu • Bessma Aljarbou • Paul Wojcik • Bhavesh Patel • Eric Brown • Hanna Adeyema • Andres Castillo • Denise Selden • Belkis Hirsch • Ryan Miller • Charles Beyrouthy • Bob Stearns • Chee We Ng • Anthyony Abellafiore • Rob Carney • Adina Gwartzman • Ryan Pierce • Wes Sonnenreich • Siva Narendra • Michael Inwald • Parker McKee • Matthew Banet • Paul Cheng •
to our Accelerate Mentors:
Andrew Chen • Antonis Vatousios • Beth Zonis • Brandon Blackwell • David Morczinek • Devin S Basinger • Erik Pavelka • Howie Hecht • James Falkoff • Jenny Wong • Kevin King • Matt Thoms • Michael Barron • Michèle Barnett Berg • Mike Feinstein • Mitri Abou-Rizk • Nicole Palmer • Raghu Rau • Ryan Bonifacino • Tani Chen • Vidi Saptari • Vincent Ponzo • Will Perkins • Tony Chan