Four Austin startups were among the 45 finalists selected this week for SXSW Pitch, the annual startup competition at South by Southwest.
Visual content startup Mod Tech Labs Inc. is among companies in the Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice category; Nephrodite Inc., which makes a renal replacement therapeutic, was selected for the Health, Wearables & Wellbeing category; small homes startup Kiro Action LLC is in the Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics grouping; and children's smart phone maker Pinwheel was picked for the Social & Culture category.
One other Texas startup, Houston-based CaseCTRL, which has developed a surgical scheduler powered by artificial intelligence, was also among the finalist startup from around the world.
The entrepreneurs will pitch to a live audience and a panel of judges, which includes Jim Breyer of Breyer Capital and Lance Armstrong of Next Ventures. SXSW Pitch, led by Chris Valentine, will be held March 12-13 at the Hilton Austin Downtown. Category winners will be announced on March 13 at 6 p.m.
“Since its beginning, SXSW Pitch has significantly helped shape the early-stage venture ecosystem and connected promising companies with the resources they need to thrive," Valentine said in a statement. "This year’s competition will proudly feature the highest tier of presenting companies in event history, and we are looking forward to seeing how these startups continue to make industry change moving forward."
In other SXSW news, several more featured speakers have been added to the 2022 lineup. They includes Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell; Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of Austin-based 3D home printing startup Icon; Breyer; Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm and its head of biological sciences, Eriona Hysolli; University of Texas psychology professor Kathryn Paige Harden; and several others from the Austin area.
