The Arizona Commerce Authority has selected 10 winners in the 2021 Arizona Innovation Challenge. The winners will now go on to grow their businesses in the Venture Ready Accelerator.
The ACA selected these 10 startups after initially naming a group of 26 semifinalists in October and whittling it down to 15 finalists who pitched their companies for a spot in the accelerator.
These 10 companies can receive up to $150,000 in non-dilutive funding by progressing through the yearlong Venture Ready program, while connecting with mentors, honing business plans and preparing for future investment opportunities.
Botco.ai, EnPower, Trainual, Qwick, Virtuous, Paradox, CampusLogic, and eVisit are just a few of the many past Venture Ready participants that have gone on to build successful startups in the Valley.
Here are the 2021 winners for the Arizona Innovation Challenge:
- Ampcera Inc. - A Tucson company that makes the internal solid-state technology for next gen lithium ion batteries.
- Better Agency Inc. - A Mesa company that builds management software for independent insurance agencies.
- Bluetail Inc. - A Phoenix company that makes software that helps private aviation teams manage records for planes.
- Dorm Room Movers - A Scottsdale company that helps students move, store and ship things during their college years.
- Navi Nurses - A Phoenix-based concierge nursing service that assists patients after hospital discharges and during other health transitions.
- ReSuture - A Surprise company building a surgical training device for medical students to hone their skills before they reach the operating room.
- SaiOx Inc. - A Tucson company that makes a respiratory assist device called Hespiro that helps people with COPD breathe.
- TapRoot Interventions & Solutions - A Phoenix company that runs a care management software for caregivers that treat people with Alzheimer’s and mental illness.
- The Patient Company - A Scottsdale company that builds a lateral patient transfer device called the SimPull that moves a patient from one flat surface to another.
- VIVAHR - A Phoenix-based software company that helps HR professionals attract and hire recruits.
