It’s down to just two.
After three weeks of voting in the second annual AZ Inno Madness competition that pitted 16 Arizona startups against one another, the two remaining in contention for the 2023 championship are Promineo Tech and qBotica.
The semifinal round racked up more than 1,700 votes, and Promineo Tech ended up with 55% of those to beat out YellowBird in Region A. And it was closer in Region B, with qBotica getting 53% of the votes to get the better of Peerlogic.
Much of the competition was close over the past month on the way to the finals, which suggests the championship could come down to the wire. Promineo Tech was the No. 13 seed starting out, and qBotica was seeded No. 11. Seeding was determined using the funding level of each company.
Voting for the final round is now underway and will last until 11:50 p.m. on April 3, with the winner to be announced the following morning. Read the contest rules here.
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, which is assembled based on reader nominations along with editorial input from the AZ Inno team, is designed to shine a spotlight on 16 innovative, fast-growing local businesses.
Meet the participants below.
Still in the hunt
Promineo Tech - A Peoria-based company that partners with community colleges and universities to help them launch and run tech bootcamps.
qBotica - An automated document processing company based in Phoenix.
The rest of the field
AlgoFace - A computer vision and AI face detection startup based in Carefree.
Cereset - Based in Scottsdale, Cereset develops therapies to help the brain recover its balance from trauma, stress and post-Covid issues.
dotScribe - Scottsdale company dotScribe develops a solution for medical writing and decision-making for all providers.
North Commerce - Helps e-commerce businesses build their online stores using the WordPress ecosystem.
Peerlogic - Scottsdale startup building a conversational intelligence platform for the dental industry.
Plannly - Based in Phoenix, Plannly developed a workplace well-being platform powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning to help employees choose personalized wellness options.
Prizm Tx - A clinical-stage biotech that is currently developing drugs to cure orphan and rare genetic diseases.
Qwick - Based in Phoenix, Qwick is an on-demand food and beverage staffing platform.
Reglagene - Tucson-based startup developing novel therapies to treat brain cancers, including an orally administered option that is nearing human clinical trials.
Revolution Parts Inc. - An online seller of automotive parts based in Phoenix.
Rivia Health - A Phoenix based startup that uses automated digital technology to help streamline health care patient payments.
SaiOx - Tucson-based medical device startup building a respiratory assist device.
Vinylly - Phoenix-based Vinylly is a dating app that matches people based on music compatibility.
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.
