The Arizona Commerce Authority has chosen 30 semifinalist companies for this year’s Arizona Innovation Challenge, a contest for startups looking to scale their businesses.
The Innovation Challenge is designed to help early stage companies scale by connecting them to mentoring, resources and, for some, the possibility of earning non-dilutive cash awards in the future.
The ACA received more than 80 applications before narrowing the field to 30 semifinalists. The semifinalists will receive feedback on their initial applications and pitches ahead of the judging round, which runs from Oct. 20 to Nov. 9.
The judging panel will then select a number of finalists (generally around 15) on Nov. 14 who will then pitch their businesses for a chance to enter the Venture Ready Accelerator, a yearlong company building program from the ACA.
The ACA will pick up to 10 finalists from the Arizona Innovation Challenge who will then enter the Venture Ready Accelerator. Finalists will be announced on Dec. 1.
“Choosing 30 semifinalists from over 80 exciting applicants for this year’s competition was a challenging task,” ACA president and CEO Sandra Watson said in a statement. “Companies applying for this competition continue to impress us with their unique solutions and services.”
Companies can receive up to $150,000 in funding by hitting standard Venture Ready milestones, according to the ACA website.
Botco.ai, Trainual, Qwick, Virtuous, Paradox, CampusLogic, and eVisit are just a few of the many past AIC winners that have gone on to build successful startups in the Valley.
This year just more than 47% of all AIC applications came from IT and software companies, followed by biotech and life science companies which made up 25% of the applications.
Here are the 2022 semifinalists
Bannack Medical LLC - Mesa - Bio & Life Sciences
BlackMountain Botanicals, Inc. dba Dr. Fossum’s Pet Care - Carefree - Bio & Life Sciences
BMSEED - Mesa - Bio & Life Sciences
Carbon Utility LLC - Mesa - Cleantech & Renewable Energy
CenSyn Inc. - Irvine, California - Bio & Life Sciences
CIRQ+ - Scottsdale - Cleantech & Renewable Energy
Converge LLC - Scottsdale - IT & Software
Delta Development Team Inc. - Tucson - Aerospace & Defense
EduFi - Scottsdale - IT & Software
EnKoat - Phoenix - Cleantech & Renewable Energy
Ervaren LLC - Glendale - IT & Software
Glass Dyenamics - Tucson - Cleantech & Renewable Energy
Homer Farms Inc. - Mesa - Cleantech & Renewable Energy
KeepWOL - Phoenix - IT & Software
Movement Interactive Inc. - Phoenix - Bio & Life Sciences
My First Nest Egg - Phoenix - IT & Software
OXbyEL Technologies Inc. - Phoenix - Cleantech & Renewable Energy
Padma Agrobotics - Chandler - Bio & Life Sciences
Paramium Technologies - Tucson - Advanced Manufacturing
Paxauris - Phoenix - Bio & Life Sciences
Ribbit Learning Company - Scottsdale - IT & Software
Sense Neuro Diagnostics - Cincinnati, Ohio - Bio & Life Sciences
Serva Energy - Tempe - Bio & Life Sciences
Tariy - Phoenix - IT & Software
Televeda - Phoenix - IT & Software
Terkel Inc. - Scottsdale - IT & Software
TiFinity Oral Care - Tucson - Bio & Life Sciences
uPetsia Inc. - Oro Valley - Bio & Life Sciences
VitaTouch Inc. - Scottsdale - Bio & Life Sciences
VMAS Solutions Inc. dba TouchPoint Solution - Phoenix - IT & Hardware
