Twenty teams will vie for a total of $115,000 in seed money at the Velocity Fund Finals on Nov. 26 at the SLC Great Hall at University of Waterloo.
The competition organized by Velocity, the university’s tech accelerator, comprises two tiers. At 11 am, 10 very early stage student teams will pitch. Three of them – two chosen by judges and one by the audience – will be awarded $5,000 each so they can begin to work on their ideas.
Then at 1 pm, 10 more advanced teams will pitch for four prizes worth $25,000 each.
“Funding for very early stage companies is an important part of the support Velocity provides,” said the accelerator on its website. “The Velocity Fund is a grant program for startups and aspiring entrepreneurs to win funding through competitions held three times per year. “
Tickets for the free event are available here.
The finalists for the $25,000 prizes will be:
- Acorn Cryotech -- Acorn Cryotech preserves the cells of youthful people today as a resource to draw from for personalized medical therapy in the future. This provides a bank of youthful cells, for use in growing new immune-compatible organs, genetic therapies able to revert damage, and mutations that accumulate with age.
- Arc Home -- Arc home is designing a smart vent system, which works with your smart thermostat to control the temperature of individual rooms in your home, preventing uncomfortable temperature differences and reducing your home energy bills by up to 30%.
- Dabbabi -- Dabbabi develops new motorcycle technologies to improve performance and safety monitoring on the race track and on public roads.
- Doppel Move -- Doppel aims to precisely quantify individual movement patterns by means of a smart garment. Our goal is to provide athletes with a new standard of safety by detecting detrimental movements in their infancy, and ensuring safe practice by means of vibratory feedback cues.
- HealthIM -- HealthIM synchronizes law enforcement and health care systems to improve the quality of care for mentally ill patients using a clinical reporting system that integrates directly into existing police hardware.
- Nashwaak -- Nashwaak is building GPU-powered data tools for high-speed spatial analysis and visualization. They focus on spatial operators and fast mapping techniques (point and heat maps, choropleths, network diagrams).
- NERv -- NERv develops implantable bio-sensors that operate from within the human body. They are being developed to collect data about the body and send feedback to the doctor, allowing medical care facilities to have a portable bio-lab able to assess the human body.
- Penta Medical -- Penta Medical is developing a technical medical fabric with five key benefits: it promotes faster healing, reduces inflammation, alleviates musculoskeletal related pain, is antibacterial, and is highly sustainable.
- Sweat Free Apparel -- A high tech company for apparel, producing under-garments that prevent sweat stains from reaching and ruining your clothes.
- Thalo -- Thalo develops displays based on the idea of ink on paper – there’s enough light to read a book or a magazine, and they don’t need a battery to work. By using the light that’s already around you, we can cut down the amount of power your screens use dramatically.
