SLINGSHOT2020, the deep tech startup competition organised by Enterprise SG, today named NextBillion.ai as a champion of the competition at a virtual grand final round.
The event also named two UK-based startups –Gyro Gear and Keyless Technologies– as runner-up and second runner-up, respectively.
NextBillion.ai, which has recently secured its Series A funding round, is a Singapore-based startup founded by former developers at Southeast Asian tech giant Grab.
Using the skills and knowledge acquired during their time at the company –where they were in charge of developing Grab Maps– the co-founders of NextBillion.ai builds hyperlocal solutions for emerging markets where language and geospatial infrastructure can be more complex and unique.
GyroGear aims to help restore independence and quality for life for people with hand tremors, be it because of Parkinson’s disease or other conditions. Founded by Dr Faii Ong in 2016, the startup builds a wearable device to enable patients to perform daily tasks without caregiver support.
Keyless Technologies is a cybersecurity startup that builds privacy-preserving biometric authentication and personal identity management platform, which it claims to be the world’s first. It is meant to eliminate the need to store and manage sensitive information, enabling businesses to adopt passwordless authentication.
Also Read: Shooting for sustainability with SLINGSHOT 2019
Hosted as part of the Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology (SWiTCH), SLINGSHOT2020 awarded a S$200,000 (US$150,000) Startup SG grant and S$50,000 (US$37,000) cash prize to the champion. The runner-up of the event is set to receive S$25,000 (US$18,000) in cash prize while the second runner-up gets S$10,000 (US$7,400).
Held virtually for the first time this year, the competition also named winners for other categories such as its new COVID-19 track: a Netherlands-based startup called Surfly. Providing a co-browsing and video chat technology, the startup won S$60,000 (US$44,000) worth of prizes from Enterprise Singapore and corporate partner L’Oréal.
e27 observes that amongst the grand finalists, agritech and health tech continued to be a popular theme this year.
Agritech startups in the finalist roster included Israel-based eggXYT, a startup that aims to prevent the practice of male culling in chicken farms through the use of CRISPR gene-editing technology, and Australia-based ProAgni, a startup that aims to cut down the use of antibiotics amongst farm animals.
In addition to Gyro Gear, there was also US-based Elidah which builds a wearable device that aims to help treat incontinence for women.
The post NextBillion.ai crowned as champion of the SLINGSHOT 2020 deep tech startup competition appeared first on e27.