Innovation is born out of challenging times, and 2023 was no exception.
Last year, economic uncertainty continued to put pressure on venture capital deals and initial public offerings nationwide, prompting investors to refocus capital into high-growth companies and startups to optimize for stability and cash flow.
But the Valley’s tech ecosystem remained optimistic with several startups landing rounds of capital, launching new products and forming partnerships to scale into additional markets.
AZ Inno is highlighting 10 companies on the cutting edge of innovation in 2024 for its annual Startups to Watch list.
The list features startups in various stages of growth that aim to disrupt workplace retention, health care, mining, agriculture, ride-hailing and even Major League Baseball.
Read on to learn more about this year's selection of Startups to Watch.
KeepWOL
Headquarters: Phoenix
Founders: Lauren Fitzpatrick-Shanks
What it does: KeepWOL, which stands for Keep Wondering Out Loud, leverages AI-enabled gamification on its team building platform to engage, develop and retain employees. The platform, which has gained traction among a variety of enterprise-level clients, provides organizations with invaluable data to develop teams and reach goals.
Latest: In late 2023, KeepWOL launched the newest iteration of its platform for commercial clients that introduced new features including an AI game builder, action plans and a team engagement metrics dashboard.
In addition, KeepWOL was a finalist for last year's Venture Madness by Invest Southwest, the state's longest running venture capital and pitch competition. The company completed the Arizona Commerce Authority’s Venture Ready Accelerator program, closed new contracts and entered a strategic partnership with an undisclosed Fortune 100 tech company.
Why you should watch: KeepWOL has dubbed 2024 “the year of delivery,” with emphasis on sales and improving effectiveness of its sales and marketing teams. The company plans to work closely with its new strategic partner to create mutually beneficial relationships with other companies, Fitzpatrick-Shanks said.
KeepWOL, which has raised more than $1.2 million in grants and venture capital, plans to close a new round of funding in the first quarter of 2024 to further scale the company.
Revolute Robotics
Headquarters: Phoenix
Founders: Collin Taylor
What it does: Revolute Robotics has developed a robot that combines drone and rover capabilities, allowing it to conduct inspections in confined spaces. Revolute’s hybrid mobility robot — or HMR — is a drone mounted inside a spherical exoskeleton and contains a mechanism enabling it to roll on the ground when it's not flying to collect data.
The company’s target market is inspection service companies that work with the oil and gas, utility, chemical and mining industries.
Latest: In 2023, Revolute demonstrated the HMR to the U.S. Special Operations Command. It raised $115,000 from more than 200 investors in a crowdfunding campaign.
The company was also accepted into the National Security Innovation Network Vector accelerator and was named a finalist in MassChallenge’s 2023 awards competition, which will announce winners in February.
Why you should watch: The company will continue hosting more product demos for the military and various industries in the first half of 2024. The company is looking to raise a pre-seed round for additional product development in preparation for paid pilots, which will begin with inspection companies in the fourth quarter of 2024, generating its first commercial revenues.
The company hopes to gain approval for its first patent in the coming months, Taylor said.
Polls Platform
Headquarters: Phoenix
Founders: Dominic King, Kevin Hanna and Jeff Hanna
What it does: Polls Platform developed a “white label tool” that companies can use to instantly add polls to their websites or apps to drive organic customer growth, engagement and retention. Its target market is e-commerce sites that leverage the company's shareable polls to drive more revenue by encouraging undecided shoppers to "poll" their friends on products to buy.
Latest: Last year, Polls Platform won second place in Venture Madness, the longest-running venture capital and pitch competition in Arizona. The company has raised $2.4 million in venture capital, including $1.4 million in March in a seed funding round led by New York Angels with participation from PHX Ventures and Arizona Venture Development Corp.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the company launched its fast-growing platform in the Shopify app.
Why you should watch: Polls Platform’s app has garnered more than 5 million users on Apple’s App Store with an estimated 250,000 new users a month. It aims to achieve similar success on the Shopify app.
“2024 is going to be a massive year for us,” Jeff Hanna said. “We’re seeing very encouraging results from our partners in the e-commerce space and our goal is to pioneer a new category of growth tools to help more brands grow via word of mouth.”
Bluetail
Headquarters: Phoenix
Founders: Roberto Guerrieri, Stuart Illian
What it does: Bluetail's software platform centralizes and digitizes aircraft records — including flight hour and maintenance logs — that are typically recorded on paper. The company's customers include small flight schools that use its software to track records for aircraft fleets, private jet operators and large companies that maintain their own fleets.
Latest: In 2023, Bluetail raised $2.2 million in a series A round led by AZ-VC, which is Arizona’s largest venture capital firm. The investment allowed the company to expand its FAA-compliant, cloud-based software platform. In October, it launched the newest version of MACH Conformity, a product module within its software portfolio intended to reduce the time it takes to perform FAA-required compliance inspections.
Why you should watch: Bluetail grew its revenue by 143% from 2022 to 2023 and its app hosts more than 5 million aircraft records, Guerrieri said. The company plans to continue scaling throughout 2024.
“With all the data we are collecting on the life of an aircraft, our next technology move is to continue our ML/AI initiatives and provide even more value to our customers, OEMs, lenders and even the FAA,” Guerrieri said.
Biodel AG
Headquarters: Maricopa
Founders: Ben Cloud
What it does: Biodel AG, a regenerative agriculture startup, makes products that help farmers improve soil health. Its flagship product, Sequester, is a nontoxic soil amendment that helps capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to reverse effects of climate change.
Biodel grows, harvests and processes microorganisms and plant extracts to create its products for landowners and farmers looking to transition to regenerative practices, improve their environmental footprint and sell carbon credits.
Latest: In November, Biodel was among 10 finalists that pitched their companies to a panel of judges in the New Energy Challenge, a competition held in Amsterdam and organized by Rockstart, Shell, Unknown Group, and YES!Delft.
In addition, Biodel raised a series A investment from Pangaea Ventures with participation from Arizona Venture Development Corp., bringing the total amount of venture capital raised by the company to $5 million.
“2023 was our year of entering the marketplace with a couple of products that we produce and I’m glad to say we achieved our sales estimates on those,” Ben Cloud said. "And we're prepared for significant growth in 2024.”
Why you should watch: Biodel has its sights set on scaling its flagship product, Sequester, in nine Western states and northern Mexico — areas that it says encompass more than 30 million acres of degraded soils.
Biodel aims to generate more than $5 million in sales in 2024, based on field trial performance and brisk customer demand for its products. It’s also planning to open another round of capital this year to further fuel product development.
TruLite Health
Headquarters: Tempe
Founders: Alan Roga, Shaung Liu
What it does: The health care technology company created Truity, a platform it describes as the "first comprehensive health equity platform committed to breaking the chain of systemic inequality in healthcare and rebuilding client trust."
The Truity platform — which can be embedded within health providers’ electronic records systems — draws information from a proprietary clinical knowledge base of health equity insights and combines it with patients’ health records to provide personalized information and recommendations for care to clinicians.
Latest: In March, TruLite Health was selected for the Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University MedTech accelerator program. It closed on a $7 million series A round and launched its platform across Indiana-based Parkview Health’s network of 10 hospitals, where initial feedback has been strong, Roga said.
In addition, TruLite Health forged partnerships with the Mayo Clinic to use its Truity platform in clinical practice as well as the Morehouse School of Medicine to offer a health equity coach certificate program.
Why you should watch: TruLite Health told the Business Journal in late 2023 it was in discussions with nearly half of the health systems nationwide regarding its Truity platform. The company plans to focus on expanding client reach to address disparities in the health care ecosystem, Roga said.
AlgoFace
Headquarters: Carefree
Founders: Andrew Bart, Taleb Alashkar
What it does: AlgoFace created a platform to develop ethical 2D and 3D face AI applications for mobile devices, computers, the Metaverse, and augmented and virtual reality. Its face AI enablement engine leverages computer vision, machine learning and generative AI to build products such as virtual try-on, digital avatars and vital sign detection.
Some of AlgoFace’s clients include Samsung, Beauty Industry Group and Vex Hair. The company has generated more than $1 million in contracted revenue and raised $3.2 million in early-stage funding.
Latest: In 2023, the Arizona Commerce Authority awarded AlgoFace a $3,000 AZ Fast Grant to retain a consultant who helped the company prepare a proposal for a Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant to develop its technology for the MedTech industry.
AlgoFace in July submitted a proposal for a separate SBIR grant up to $275,000 in value. The company expects to hear a decision for that proposal in early 2024.
In addition, AlgoFace graduated from the 2023 Fuel AI/ML Accelerator program, which is sponsored by the Walton family of Walmart. It also was among 10 startups selected for ACA’s Venture Ready Accelerator program.
Why you should watch: As of January, AlgoFace has raised more than half of a $5 million seed round from investors including Rebellion Ventures, Band of Angels, Arizona Technology Investors and Canyon Angels.
AlgoFace is focused on scaling enterprise customer and partner acquisition, and growing its workforce. The company’s revenue is projected to be more than $1 million in 2024.
"With our core products developed and market tested — in addition to revving the engine on direct sales via the mass adoption of freemium versions of our enablement technologies, coupled with the formulation and ignition of strategic, integrated, and reseller partnerships — we look forward to the realization of product and partner-led growth," Bart said.
HUM
Headquarters: Phoenix
Founders: Chris and Garrett Kolb
What it does: HUM describes itself as the ride-hailing industry’s first “user-centric platform,” allowing drivers to keep 100% of their fares through its subscription-based model. Passengers on HUM can expect to see fares comparable to other ride-hailing companies without surge pricing.
Latest: HUM validated the proof of concept for its ride-hailing app in February 2023, when Phoenix hosted the Super Bowl LVII and the WM Phoenix Open. That same month, the company launched a beta version of its app in the Valley and Tucson.
HUM now has more than 4,600 riders and drivers signed up for its platform.
Why you should watch: HUM has its sights set on scaling its platform in 2024 by increasing advertising and building upon its established partnerships with Firestone, Arizona State University and the Valley’s hospitality industry.
HUM recently launched a $500,000 crowdfunding campaign to raise capital for future growth. As of Jan. 25, the company had nearly $28,000 in commitments from investors, according to crowdfunding website EquityVest.
“I'm really confident that we've done the work to build up the strong foundation of which we'll be able to grow on successfully during 2024,” Chris Kolb said. “As a team, we’re committed to consistency in all that we do. We show up every day for our drivers and users. We want to provide the most meaningful experience from A to B and make sure you're getting there safe."
PitchCom
Headquarters: Scottsdale
Founders: John Hankins and Craig Filicetti
What it does: PitchCom developed a push-button wearable transmitter that allows baseball pitchers and catchers to communicate plays to each other, replacing traditional hand signals and preventing sign-stealing.
Latest: The MLB approved PitchCom’s transmitters for league play in 2022 and now all 30 teams are using them. PitchCom also signed a multiyear agreement with the MLB for use of its transmitters in Minor League Baseball. In addition, PitchCom’s devices are used in college baseball.
Last year, Time magazine named PitchCom among the top 200 inventions of 2023. That same year, the National Federation of State High School Associations announced a rule change allowing electronic communication between a coach in the dugout and an on-field catcher, paving the way for PitchCom transmitters to potentially be used in high school baseball.
Why you should watch: PitchCom is working with companies to develop automatic ball-strike calling technology and gathering data to boost accuracy of baseball pitch tracking. The company has garnered interest in its PitchCom technology from restaurants, fire departments and other sports leagues, although its main focus is baseball, Filicetti said.
“We're really focusing on baseball, enhancing the breadth of product that we're offering,” he said. “A lot of that is around data collection and integration with other communication and electronic things on the field. And we've got projects with the MLB as well.”
NurseIO
Headquarters: Phoenix
Founders: Ryan Kober, Seth Courson and Callie Maderos
What it does: NurseIO is a technology platform that connects health care professionals with open per diem shifts at medical facilities. The company’s platform provides clinicians with flexible gig work and a solution for healthcare facilities to meet staffing needs.
Latest: The company — which is bootstrapped — generated $25 million in revenue last year. NurseIO has more than 26,000 clinicians signed up for its platform, which is available in seven markets nationwide with Arizona being its largest.
Why you should watch: NurseIO plans to hire eight to 10 additional workers in 2024 to boost its sales team. Within six months, the company plans to rollout an algorithm and AI tool to help medical facilities better determine staffing needs.
NurseIO may consider opening a funding round at the end of 2024 to fuel expansion into five new markets, Kober said.
“We take pride in working with all of our clients (in Arizona), but trying to expand and be a national presence is on the radar for 2024 and moving forward," Kober said.
