Venture Madness, the longest-running venture capital and pitch conference in Arizona, has announced finalists for this year’s competition.
Invest Southwest, a nonprofit that organizes the event, said Thursday that judges selected 16 finalists from 130 applicants based on market need, industry attractiveness, competitive advantage, business model, management team and investment opportunity.
The number of applicants for this year’s competition is an increase from 88 that applied in 2023.
“These 16 companies will compete at the 2024 Venture Madness Conference for the chance to pitch to serious investors and win their share of $40,000 in cash prizes,” Sydnie Keddington, the 2024 chair of Venture Madness, said in a statement. “Arizona is at the forefront of some exciting technologies across a number of sectors. Venture Madness offers a platform to highlight the best and brightest startups in Arizona. These companies will showcase their products and services to secure future funding from serious, accredited investors attending this event.”
The 2024 Venture Madness Conference and Expo will be held April 3-4 at the Clayton House in downtown Scottsdale. The event — which offers participants exclusive access to investors and venture capital firms — is hosted in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority.
At the event, early-stage and emerging growth companies compete against one another in a live, pitch-style competition for cash prizes. To prepare for the competition, finalists receive mentorship from seasoned investors, business leaders and entrepreneurs.
Attendees typically include investors, entrepreneurs and service professionals.
Investment firms that have previously attended the event include: Arizona Tech Investors, AZ-VC, Canyon Angels, Grayhawk Capital, Kickstart Fund, PHX Ventures, Signal Peak Ventures, Sonoran Founders Fund and Trinity Capital.
Companies that have participated in Venture Madness have raised more than $1 billion in funding since the event’s inception in 1992.
The event is open to the public and tickets are now available.
The finalists this year include:
- Beyond Silicon
- Bold Street
- Boxxtech
- Clientship
- MealManage LLC
- Microvascular Therapeutics Inc.
- Paramium Technologies Inc.
- Paxauris
- Preamble
- Privv
- Quibble
- Retisio
- Rovicare Inc.
- Simplifyance
- Single Pass
- Turn Medical
