After the second round of voting, it's time for the Final Four in this year's New Mexico Inno Madness startup bracket competition.
The friendly, bracket-style contest got underway a couple of weeks ago, with 16 New Mexico startups facing off after being selected based on reader nominations and our own input. As part of the competition, readers vote to advance companies based on one question: Who would you invest in?
Seeding in this year's bracket was determined by age, funding and previous coverage of each startup, with last year's finalists holding each of the number one seeds. While both of those number one seeds made it through the first round, the second round of voting saw one of those top-ranked companies fall out of the bracket — the other made it through by the slimmest of margins.
Terra Vera, the ag-tech startup, continues its strong run through the bracket with a 96-vote upset over No. 1 seed and last year's champion, Solstar Space Co. Three-seed Terra Vera will face off against No. 2 seeded Circular Genomics in the Region A final after the biotech startup defeated No. 4 seeded MNT SmartSolutions by 50 votes.
In Region B, five-seed WaveOn Health, which is developing a digital athlete health management system, took down No. 7 seeded Mindset Integrated by 46 votes to continue its own strong run through the bracket. And in a stunning come-from-behind victory, No. 1 seed Build with Robots, last year's runner-up, beat out No. 6 seed Gilz LLC by a slim 20-vote margin. Build with Robots and WaveOn Health will face off in the Region B final.
Nearly 700 people cast votes in round two — again, nearly five times as many as in the same round of last year's competition. If you're curious about the full results from round two, you can find those here.
The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most promising 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 startup scene in the Land of Enchantment. It's also not just a list of the 16 most-founded startups in the region.
Instead, the bracket is meant to represent the full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem. In the end, think of our bracket as just a fun look into local companies you need to know in 2023 — including some of our Startups to Watch.
Now, it's time to cast your vote in the Final Four! Find the link to vote in the bracket below, updated after round two's results. And meet the remaining competitors under the bracket, listed based on seeding.
Build with Robots — Last year's runner-up offers automated robots that spray disinfectant to clean airports, schools and other areas.
Circular Genomics — Uses circular RNAs to diagnose and treat psychiatric and neurological diseases
Terra Vera — Agriculture technology for sustainable crop production
WaveOn Health — Creating an app-based digital athlete health management system
Vote for the startup you'd invest in at the link in the bracket above, and read the contest rules here.
