And then there were 16.
After two rounds of voting, our 2024 Inno Madness competition is heating up, and only four single-digit seeds remain: Nature's Fynd, Relativity, Farmer's Fridge and The Mom Project.
Only one startup received more than 60% of the vote in its matchup this round: Echo Labs (60.2%), a Chicago startup that has a new take on transcription services and announced a historic pre-seed funding round to begin 2024.
Meanwhile, things were tight in a number of matchups, with three within 30 votes after more than 700 votes were cast this round.
Check out the bracket below to see the companies that made it to the next round. Voting for Round 3 will close at midnight on Thursday.
For those just joining us now or in need of a reminder, here is an Inno Madness 2024 breakdown:
What is Inno Madness?
Inno Madness is our friendly, bracket-style challenge where readers vote to advance companies based on one question: Which 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 Chicago innovation community.
Here are the companies still in the competition:
Nature's Fynd: A startup that’s created a new method for producing meatless and dairy-free foods.
Relativity: A maker of e-discovery software for lawyers.
The Mom Project: A startup that helps companies hire female candidates.
Farmer's Fridge: A maker of healthy vending machines.
Aqua Cultured Foods: A startup that's making alternative seafood made from fermentation.
Echo Labs: An AI platform capable of human-level transcription.
Pilot Project Brewing: Founded in Chicago in 2019, a launchpad for startup breweries.
Science on Call: A platform that provides 24/7 on-demand tech support to restaurants.
Nutrad: Supply chain software company launched to replace tedious and error-prone manual tasks.
Earnest Agriculture: A startup that partners with farmers to turn their waste into sustainable soil products.
Blip Energy: A smart battery device that wants to make power more affordable.
Mella Pet Care: A pet care startup offering a thermometer that takes a pet's temperature under the hind leg of a cat or dog.
Bracketology: A fantasy gaming platform for reality TV.
Cue the Curves: A personal plus-size shopping assistant and community.
TegoTech: A hard-tech startup making safer wall outlets.
Zuri Fertility: A patient-centered digital fertility clinic.
