AI. Fish
Jimmy Freese, CEO
Justin Kay, Chief Technology Officer
Ai.Fish is a software startup founded by CEO Jimmy Freese and Chief Technology Officer Justin Kay in 2019, focused on intelligent electronic fish monitoring. It was established to address issues in marine conservation and to help prevent overfishing. The company has been awarded grants to speed up processes for electronic monitoring of Hawaii longline fishing boats and to develop and deploy cloud-based software systems, with backing from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Ai.Fish also generates income through consulting and software development, primarily in computer vision.
Website: ai.fish
DataHouse Consulting, Inc.
Hong Phan, CEO
DataHouse Consulting, Inc. is Hawaii’s largest and longest-standing IT consultancy. Its self-built platform called LumiSight was designed for clients to streamline business processes during the Covid-19 pandemic, which within the first year, served more than 400,000 users and reduced clients’ time-to-market by 50%. DataHouse also reported earnings of $24.4 million in 2021 revenue through IT consulting alone. Other notable work during the pandemic includes providing the first solution prototype, AlohaPass, which captured traveler information and coordinated departures and arrivals with respect to Covid-19 travel restrictions in Hawaii and within the American Samoa Government’s TALOFAPass.
DataHouse plans to continue full-steam ahead to fulfill its mission of “delivering world-class solutions to our customers, while providing high-value opportunities for the people in our local and global communities,” Edward Ontai, DataHouse president, said.
Website: datahouse.com
Nalu Scientific LLC
Isar Mostafanezhad, founder and CEO
Honolulu-based software company Nalu Scientific has secured more than $10 million in funding, including grants from the U.S. Department of Energy. Recently, the company joined a distribution partnership to facilitate direct B2B sales. It also services clients in specific industries ranging from aerospace (including NASA) to energy to education. Founder, CEO and 2019 PBN 40 Under 40 honoree Isar Mostafanezhad hired multiple engineering and technical employees who had previously left Hawaii but returned to apply their specialized skills.
“This cutting-edge research and development is creating sustained jobs and economic growth in Hawaii as we work to strengthen the technology industry in the state,” Mostafanezhad said in a statement when Nalu Scientific was awarded a total of $8 million in committed funding across 21 Small Business Innovation Research grants.
Website: naluscientific.com
BLAZER
Oceanit Laboratories Inc.
Patrick Sullivan, president and CEO
Headquartered in Honolulu, Oceanit was selected as the blazer of this category, described as a “mind to market” company that creates value through innovative science, technology and engineering. During the pandemic, Oceanit grew its staff to 200 scientists, researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs in Hawaii and on the Mainland, with international partnerships, as well.
In February, Oceanit’s rapid Covid-19 test, ASSURE-100, or Accelerated Sensor Solution for Urgent Response to Epidemics, was authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under an emergency use authorization. At that time, Sullivan called the FDA approval “a milestone” but also “a way-point to digital medicine” that’s been in the works for seven years, and counting.
“We dreamt up [the ASSURE-100 rapid Covid test] when virtually nothing like it was available – the science was brilliant and bringing this science to life was a huge accomplishment,” he added. “But bringing the technology to market proved equally challenging — we needed to address scalability – manufacturing, clinical, regulations, etc. Today we have a robust rapid test that is simple and easy to use and can be produced in significant volume.”
Website: oceanit.com
TurnoverBnB
Assaf Karmon, founder and CEO
TurnoverBnB was the winner of PBN’s inaugural Inno Madness online competition based on votes from readers. CEO Assaf Karmon said, “We have a worldwide customer base but being supported by our local community feels amazing. TurnoverBnB is a local success story birthed from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Shidler College of Business, through Blue Startups and with support of the Hawaii Angels investor group. Almost all of our Hawaii employees are Shidler graduates and we want to create a role model of success for local entrepreneurs.”
TurnoverBnB is a cleaning service app that helps customers schedule, pay, and find Airbnb vacation rental cleaners and Airbnb cleaning services.
“TurnoverBnB is growing rapidly this year. We have tripled our worldwide head count and sales and we hope to do the same next year!” Karmon said.
Website: turnoverbnb.com
