Our New Mexico Inno Madness competition is here. And we've got 16 local startups vying for the coveted title of 2023 Inno Madness champion.
Inno Madness is our friendly, bracket-style challenge where readers vote to advance companies based on one question: Who would you invest in? Whether you believe in one mission or product slightly over the other or would prefer to back a more established company versus an early-stage startup, how you answer that question is entirely up to you. The bracket is designed to spotlight 16 innovative, fast-growing local businesses.
The bracket is assembled based on reader nominations, as well as editorial input from the New Mexico Inno team. Seeding was determined by age, funding and previous coverage of each startup, with last year's finalists holding each of the number one seeds.
Meet the participants below and read the contest rules here.
The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most promising tech companies in New Mexico. It is by no means a complete list of New Mexico's best startups, which is a testament to the size of the tech scene in the Land of Enchantment. It's also not just a list of the 16 most-funded startups in the region.
Instead, the bracket is meant to represent the full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem. In the end, think of the bracket as just a fun look into tech local companies you need to know in 2023 — including some of our Startups to Watch.
First-round voting begins now and continues through Tuesday, March 14. Readers can cast one vote per round. We'll open up voting round by round, ultimately crowning an INNO MADNESS winner on Wednesday, April 5.
Let's get into Round 1 ...
Meet the startups, listed in order of their seed:
Solstar Space Co. — Last year's champion develops communications technology for satellites and spacecraft.
Build with Robots — Last year's runner-up offers an automated robot that sprays disinfectant to clean airports and schools.
Circular Genomics — Using circular RNAs to diagnose and treat psychiatric and neurological diseases
Both& Apparel — Clothing brand for transmasculine and nonbinary communities
Terra Vera — Agriculture technology for sustainable crop production
Hoonify Technologies Inc. — Personal supercomputing solutions and supercomputing engineering services
MNT SmartSolutions — Biotech company using magnetic nanoparticles to help keep teeth clean
Goodman Technologies — Laminate nanocomposite manufacturing for demanding user environments
Breeze Inc. — Using idle pipelines for long-duration energy storage and transportation
WaveOn Health — Creating an app-based digital athlete health management system
Rerouted — E-commerce platform for the resale of used outdoor gear
Gilz LLC — Making a smart helmet with an integrated air-filtering mechanism
Faena Co. — Building an immersive Spanish language learning video game
Mindset Integrated — Applying science-based solutions to simplify the collection and analysis of brain data
CareVid — App-based health care information-sharing platform powered by patient creators
Simple Quantum — Cybersecurity consulting and IT support for small-to-medium-sized businesses
Vote for the startup you'd invest in at the link in the bracket above, and read the contest rules here.
