We started with 64 companies in the 2024 Inno Madness bracket. After weeks of voting, close calls and eliminations, we are down to two final Greater Boston startups who will compete head-to-head to be crowned Inno Madness Champion.
The competition is down to Rooted Living and Emerald Innovations.
Rooted Living, an eco-friendly, healthy snack startup that aims to reduce reliance on single-use plastic, was founded by Northeastern University student Rachel Domb. Rooted Living defeated companies including security-focused software development platform Wabbi a STAT, a healthcare monitoring company, to make it to the finals.
Emerald Innovations makes sensors and pairs them with a machine-learning model to provide health analytics. The Cambridge-based startup defeated last year's Inno Madness champion HYCU and Somerville software firm SmartBear, among others, to land itself in the final matchup.
A note to readers: You may note that the survey results from the semifinals show that Minute Kitchen came out ahead of Rooted Living. After BostInno and our American Inno editors examined the data in the back end, we found several IP addresses with over 100 votes each. While we’re accustomed to seeing single IPs vote more than once, it raised a flag seeing hundreds of them. Adhering to the official rules that say one vote per IP per round, we eliminated multiple votes from single IP addresses. Once we tallied the votes, with those invalid votes removed, Rooted Living came out ahead by a comfortable margin.
That being said, it's time to vote for the winner:
Voting is now live for the finals, and will stay open until 9 a.m. on April 19.
What is Inno Madness?
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 over the other or would prefer to back a more established company versus an early-stage startup, how you answer that question is entirely your decision. The bracket is designed to spotlight a slice of the Boston innovation community with 64 fast-growing local businesses. The bracket was assembled based on nominations from readers, members of the innovation community and the Inno editorial team. It encompasses a broad range of private, venture capital backed or bootstrapped firms. In some cases, startups in their earliest stages will compete against some established favorites. Below is the full list of companies in this year's competition, and the link to vote. You can read the contest rules here. The bracket is meant to represent a sample of the startup ecosystem in Boston. While it is a competition, think of it also as a way to get to know some new-to-you startups, and as a chance to interact with the startup community.
When can I vote?
Inno Madness 2024 began in mid-March, and we have now reached the finals! The contest will close on Friday, April 19.
Here's the full schedule:
- Round 1: March 13 to March 19
- Round 2: March 20 to March 26
- Round 3: March 27 to April 1
- Round 4: April 2 to April 5
- Round 5: April 8 to April 11
- Round 6: April 15 to April 19
We’ve been keeping you posted on who’s advancing, and who’s not, right here on BostInno.com and in The Beat newsletter, and that's where you can find the winner! Subscribe here if you're not already on the list.
The players are split into four regions in this year's bracket. Here are all of the competitors in the 2024 Inno Madness bracket.
Region A
- Consensus uses an AI search engine to answer scientific research questions.
- SmartBear in Somerville is a software development platform company.
- Causal Labs is a software development platform.
- ConnectRN uses tech to tackle healthcare staffing.
- Salient is using technology to make sub seasonal to seasonal weather forecasts.
- Emerald Innovations is a remote health monitoring system.
- Paperless Parts is a software company that helps manufacturers automize quotes.
- Gradiant develops tech systems to clean and recycle industrial wastewater, and in May became the first unicorn of 2023.
Region B
- Electric Hydrogen became a unicorn last fall with a $380 million series C round for its clean energy technology.
- Topline Pro was founded by Harvard Business School dropouts to provide a platform for professional website development using the latest in tech.
- 3Daughters is looking to disrupt the IUD market by creating an device that is less painful to insert and remove.
- Tines is an automated workflow software company.
- PredictAP closed its $8 million Series A in January, the first instutituional funding for the accounts payable processing startup.
- Descrybe uses AI to create a legal document search engine.
- DataCebo is a generative AI tool that can create synthetic data.
- Minute Kitchen is a vending machine startup founded by Babson students to eliminate food waste.
Region C
- Lightmatter hit unicorn status in December.
- HourWork provides recruitment and retention tools for quick-serve restaurant franchise owners.
- Housing Navigator Mass. is a search tool to assist in the hunt for affordable housing.
- BOND App is an AI-powered application that helps managers connect remote teams.
- Sublime Systems is manufacturing low-carbon cement, and opened its first plant in January.
- Hologram Sciences is developing a way for hospitals to use AI to analyze patient nutrition and prevent malnutrition.
- Aliro Quantum uses quantum computing to offer foundational technologies for companies building networks.
- Adaptive Reader is using AI to rewrite literary classics for all reading levels.
Region D
- Enterra Solutions is trying to bring autonomous decision-making to the business world.
- Purple Carrot is a plant-based meal delivery service out of Needham.
- Wabbi is a security-focused software development platform.
- Rooted Living is a sustainable food brand founded by Northeastern student Rachel Domb.
- STAT develops an in-ear wearable to monitor chronic conditions.
- Cephable is an accessibility technology startup, and it just won a pitch contest at SXSW.
- Epicore Biosystems develops wearable sweat-detecting sensors for athletes and industrial workers.
- Stepwise has developed technology to work as an intermediary between a home’s electric panel and an EV charger.
