Our Columbus Inno Madness competition is here. And we've got 16 local startups 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 slightly 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. The bracket is designed to shine a spotlight on 16 innovative, fast-growing local businesses.
The bracket is assembled based on reader nominations, as well as editorial input from the Columbus Inno team. Seeding was determined largely randomly, but with some editorial input to match up companies with similar backgrounds when relevant. Read the contest rules here.
The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most-promising tech companies in Columbus. It is by no means a complete list of the region's best startups, which is a testament to the size of Central Ohio's tech scene. It's also not just a list of the 16 most-funded startups in the region.
Instead, the bracket is meant to represent the full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem. In the end, think of the bracket as just a fun look into tech local companies you need to know in 2022.
First-round voting begins now and continues through noon on March 8. Readers can cast one vote per round. We'll open up voting round by round, ultimately crowning a winner at at the end of March.
Let's get into Round 1:
Meet the Players:
Region A
1. AndHealth: The new healthcare startup from CoverMyMeds founder Matt Scantland. Read more in our recent cover story.
2. Beam Dental: A digital dental insurer rating risk by data on oral hygiene habits measured by a smart toothbrush. Read about its expected growth here.
3. Lower: A digital home lender, now best known for its name appearing atop the home of the Columbus Crew. Here's a recent story on the company's growth plans.
4. Forge Biologics: A biotech gene therapy and genetic material manufacturing startup based in Grove City. It plans to grow to hundreds of jobs in the suburb.
5. Path Robotics: A startup developing autonomous welders. The company had one of the region's largest funding rounds last year.
6. Aware: A startup whose software detects risk and assesses overall employee engagement through real-time analysis of workplace collaboration platforms. The company landed funding from Goldman Sachs last year.
7. Physna: A Columbus transplant billed as the Google of 3D. Google's venture arm invested in the startup last year.
8. Rhove: One of our 2022 Startups to Watch, which calls itself "Robinhood for real estate" by helping everyday investors buy a stake in commercial developments. Read more here.
Region B
1. Olive AI: A Columbus unicorn targeting wasteful healthcare spending through administrative automation that was valued at $4 billion in a 2021 VC round. Read more about its growth here.
2. Branch Financial: Another digital insurer, for home and auto, and a Columbus transplant. Check out some of our recent coverage here.
3. PriorAuthNow: A Columbus software startup seeking to improve coverage and decision-making for medical procedures. Here's the latest on the company's growth plans.
4. Circulo: An AI-powered Medicaid managed care startup founded by Olive founder Sean Lane. The company recently got the OK to operate in Ohio.
5. Empora Title: A real estate title startup digitizing transactions for investment properties. The company was founded by a former employee of now publicly traded Root Insurance.
6. Finite State: A Columbus cybersecurity startup, founded by a Battelle veteran, focused on the internet of things. Read more about the company here.
7. Clarus R+D: A software company that aims to help companies claim tax credits on R&D expenses. The company talked to us about its growth late last year.
8. Fleri: Another one of our Startups to Watch and a social enterprise that helps immigrants direct remittances for loved ones back home, starting with healthcare. Take a deeper dive here.
Read contest rules here.
