Know Hub Chile’s startup acceleration program, which in its fourth edition had the collaboration of Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey, held its final pitch day on October 2, where the winners were selected. They will go on to an international immersion stage in an ecosystem suited to their technology, to advance on their path to market.
A total of 147 teams from various Latin American countries applied to the fourth edition of the program, run by Know Hub Chile in collaboration with the Technology Transfer Office of Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey, supported by ANID, and with the multinational Lockheed Martin as partner company.
From all these applicants, 41 startups were shortlisted, and 11 teams went on to the training phase. Nine of them ultimately presented at the final pitch on October 2, where a jury made up of Patricia Tobar, Senior Manager Business Development at Lockheed Martin; Patricia Elías, Corporate Deputy Manager of Partnerships & Innovation at Entel; Javier Ramírez, executive director of Know Hub Chile; Esteban Zapata, head of Transfer and Entrepreneurship at ANID; and Celia Cano, Global Partnerships lead at Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Technology Transfer Office, chose three winners.
Soquimat, Alba and LifeNano Technologies were the winning teams after delivering pitches focused on what sets their venture apart, their business model, commercial strategy and the investment needed for global growth.
The program, a Know Hub Chile initiative launched in 2019, aims to increase the number and national and international reach of technology businesses based on the research and development (R&D) results generated by universities and research centers. It awards USD 140,000 to be shared among the winners.
Javier Ramírez, executive director of Know Hub Chile, says that “across its different editions, Know Hub Ignition has proven to be an effective tool for turning science into innovation.”
The initiative strengthens the capabilities of science-based startups (EBCTs) through the support of mentors from Chile and Mexico, focusing on the value proposition and customer segment to accelerate their early and global growth. In addition, the three winning teams will have an immersion phase in an ecosystem suited to their target market, business model and technology readiness level, which could be, for example, Mexico, Spain, France or the United States, among others, a destination that will be determined during the program.
Winners
Soquimat is a startup that developed a Multifunctional Self-Healing Anticorrosive Paint (T-COAT) with bio-based additives derived from forestry waste, replacing traditionally used additives that have been banned in the US and EU, such as lead, copper and phosphates, among others. Alba is a kinesthetic technology device designed by UMOV, aimed specifically at people with motor weakness in their upper limbs. And LifeNano Technologies developed an oxygenation technology for enclosed spaces that improves the safety of any personnel in an emergency, for example, in submarines.
Read the original story here https://portalinnova.cl/soquimat-alba-y-lifenano-technologies-ganan-cuarta-version-de-know-hub-ignition/
