The inaugural Inno Madness competition from Cleveland Inno is here, and we've got 16 companies vying for the coveted title of 2022 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 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. Inno Madness is designed to shine a spotlight on 16 businesses in the Cleveland area that are driving innovation locally.
The bracket you'll see here was assembled based on reader nominations as well as editorial input from the Cleveland Inno team. That information, along with elements such as recently completed funding rounds and total funding raised to date, helped produce the bracket seedings.
The goal of Inno Madness is to offer a glimpse at some of the companies working in the innovation space in Northeast Ohio. It is by no means a complete list of Cleveland's cutting-edge companies or the city's deep roster of startup ventures. It's also not just a list of 16 companies that have received high-profile funding commitments to date.
Instead, the bracket aims to be a nod to the local innovation ecosystem at large. In the end, think of the bracket as a peak into some of the many forward-looking companies doing business locally that are worth checking out. Some of the companies you've met before, from the Startups to Watch list we produced at the start of 2022. If you're not familiar with all 16 of the companies in the bracket, keep reading. We've got snapshots of the companies featured below.
First-round voting begins now and continues through March 6. We'll open up voting round by round, culminating in an Inno Madness winner in the weeks ahead.
Read the contest rules here.
And with that, let's get into the voting in Round 1.
Meet the Players
AgileBlue: AgileBlue is a cybersecurity company that works to help businesses protect their data from ransomware, phishing and other cyber threats that hit around the world every day. The company late last year raised $2.25 million in preferred equity from a group of experienced technology and private-equity investors.
Axuall Inc.: Axuall is a workforce intelligence company built on top of a national, real-time practitioner data network. The technology enables healthcare systems, staffing firms, telehealth and health plans to reduce onboarding and enrollment time while providing data insights for network planning, analytics and reporting.
BoxCast Inc.: BoxCast is a video-streaming venture. The company last year acquired Florida-based streaming service Stream Monkey on the heels of closing a $20 million Series A investment.
Checkpoint Surgical Inc.: Checkpoint Surgical develops medical devices that serve to protect and repair nerves. The company last year raised $16 million to support a sales expansion and multiple product launches as well as research and development work.
Cleveland Diagnostics Inc.: Cleveland Diagnostics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancers. The company raised more than $19 million last year to help commercialize its first test, which helps detect early prostate cancer.
Cleveland Kitchen: Cleveland Kitchen is a manufacturer of fermented foods such a sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi and salad dressings. The company late last year won a contract to distribute two new products exclusively to Sprouts Farmers Markets in 23 states.
Felux Inc.: Felux is a B2B marketplace and supply chain platform for steel and industrial materials. The company secured $5.1 million in funding last year toward its continued growth.
Lazurite Holdings LLC: Lazurite is the medical-device and technology company formerly known as Indago. The company changed its name last year, when it also raised $10 million toward the completion of regulatory testing of its ArthroFree device — a wireless, minimally invasive camera system designed for the operating room — and to submit the device for U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance.
Neuros Medical Inc.: Neuros Medical is a developer of neurostimulation devices intended to treat chronic pain. The company last year closed a funding round that generated more than $38 million.
Peak Nanosystems LLC: Peak Nano is a commercialization engine for nanotechnology. In October, the company closed a $25 million funding round aimed at increasing the production of its optical lenses and developmental scale films for capacitors and specialty film applications.
Remesh Inc.: Remesh had its origins as a conflict-resolution tool. The company has grown into an AI-powered digital-conversation platform that's used by companies for market research and human-resource management.
RevAir LLC: RevAir produces a hair drying and straightening system. The company last year closed a $9 million funding round.
Smart Soda Holdings Inc.: Smart Soda makes vitamin-infused, flavored, sparkling, alkaline waters and sodas using organic cane sugar. Its products also can be infused with cannabidiol, better known as CBD, and the company recently launched an on-demand functional beverage system.
Splash Financial Inc.: Splash Financial is a digital lending platform that targets the student-loan refinancing marketplace. The company raised more than $44 million in an investment round last year.
SPR Therapeutics Inc.: SPR Therapeutics is a medical-device company that works to provide patients with pain relief without opioids or surgery, featuring its Sprint PNS System. The company in October closed a $37 million funding round.
Thrivable: Thrivable is a market-research company that aims to help health-care companies more quickly complete surveys, polls, interviews and usability studies. The company last year secured $1.7 million in funding.
