Our AZ 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 AZ Inno team. Seeding was determined according to funding that the companies have received. Meet the participants below and read the contest rules here.
The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most-promising tech companies in Arizona. It is by no means a complete list of Arizona's best startups, which is a testament to the size of Arizona'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 March 7. Readers can cast one vote per round. We'll open up voting round by round, ultimately crowning an Inno Madness winner on March 29.
Let's get into Round 1...
Meet the Players:
Mosaic - Mosaic Building Group is a digital general contractor and construction platform based in Phoenix.
Qwick - Qwick is an on-demand food and beverage staffing platform based in Phoenix.
EnPower - EnPower is a lithium-ion battery company based in Phoenix.
Forced Physics Data Center Tech - Forced Physics makes server cooling technology in Scottsdale.
Lunewave - Lunewave is based in Tucson and makes antenna and sensor technology.
YellowBird - YellowBird, based in Phoenix, is a health and safety skilled labor and consulting app, matching subject-matter experts with construction, manufacturing and insurance companies
CIRQ+ - CIRQ+ is a Scottsdale company that makes an automated disinfecting platform for commercial properties.
Humabiologics - Humabio is a regenerative medicine startup based in Phoenix.
Aramid Technologies - Aramid is a documentation automation platform based in Gilbert.
qBotica - qBotica is an automated document processing company based in Phoenix.
AlgoFace - AlgoFace is a computer vision and AI face detection startup based in Carefree.
SaiOx - SaiOx is a Tucson-based medical device startup building a respiratory assist device.
Taproot - Taproot is a Phoenix company that runs an AI-powered care management software.
Peerlogic - Peerlogic is a Scottsdale startup building a conversational intelligence platform for the dental industry.
HUUB - HUUB is a Phoenix-based small business support network that helps entrepreneurs connect with local governments.
GitKraken - GitKraken is a Scottsdale company that makes tools for software developers.
Read contest rules here
