One of the best parts of the SXSW Interactive Festival is meeting the 50 startups that have been selected for its annual Pitch event.
In its 11th year running, the competition has seen some amazing companies come through it, including ICON, which 3D-prints concrete, sustainable homes in less than a day and won last year’s Social and Culture category, and TubeMogul, the video ad company that Adobe acquired for $540 million in 2016.
This year, 857 startups applied to be included — a number up by more than 230 companies from the year prior. Of the 857 companies, the highest percentages applied to compete in 2019’s two newest categories: AI and Blockchain.
These five companies are worthy of the global stage that SXSW offers.”
And five of the 50 finalists hail from Austin.
“I think the event reflects what is happening within the Austin’s ecosystem,” said Chris Valentine, SXSW Pitch event producer. “Austin has become stronger as a startup community and that is reflected in the companies, products and talent that are here when these startups apply for SXSW Pitch. The incredible thing about these five Austin startups is that they were chosen from a globally represented Advisory Board, which consisted of 195 individuals, half of whom are from outside the U.S. These five companies are worthy of the global stage that SXSW offers.”
Dr. Bongsu Kim launched LinkDyn Robotics in 2016 to design robots used for physical rehabilitation. Its robotic arm engages like a human arm, completes physical tasks and provides haptic feedback when used in virtual reality applications. The company also recently developed a patent-pending actuator for wearable assistive devices to help patients recovering from injuries like strokes. They will be competing in the AR/VR category.
As more individuals turn to science for future family planning, Eggschain launched a blockchain platform to track and store documents affiliated with genetic materials like frozen eggs, embryos and sperm. CEO Wei Escala founded the company in 2018 and will present in the blockchain category.
Very little information is available about Molecula, which will pitch in the Enterprise and Smart Data category. What we do know is that its platform is based on Pilosa and will help scientists and engineers with complex data problems. Per its website, following SXSW, the company will formally launch at Oracle OpenWorld Asia at the end of March.
Competing in the Entertainment and Content category from Austin is Tankee, a kid-friendly gaming network. Founded in 2017, Tankee provides children with streaming video content that has been reviewed by Tankee to ensure it complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and is safe for children to watch. Its channel and original programming launched in November on iPad and iPhone.
Osano will also pitch in the Enterprise and Smart Data group. Like fellow Austin finalist Molecula, little to no information is currently available about the company. SXSW organizers told us that Osano, a B Corporation like local startup darling data.world, uses machine learning to reveal insights behind data-sharing behaviors.
