Inno Madness
ACBJ
Nominations have closed, and the voting has officially started for Inno Madness.
Our annual bracket-style competition has commenced with 32 startups seeded into rounds. These rounds will face off in the coming weeks as readers vote on the startups they find investment-worthy.
The 32 startups comprise a range of companies. We have a student-led energy gummy startup, the top venture capital-backed firms in the region, artificial intelligence companies, a cryptocurrency services company, edtech startups and even some robots.
Readers have until April 8 to vote in these rounds. We unpacked the first round below.
Vote below in round 1 of Inno Madness.
Voting in round one of 2024's Inno Madness competition begins March 26.
Tampa Bay Business Journal
The Competition
Matchup One: Deepwatch vs. Rush Power
- Tampa cybersecurity firm Deepwatch has raised more than $180 million and closed the largest funding deal of 2023 for Tampa. In the past five years, it has raised more than $256 million.
- Rush Power is an early-stage startup founded by University of Tampa students Morgan Bierbrunner and Isabella Dillio. The startup sells pre-workout gummies, according to its website.
Matchup Two: A-LIGN vs Qleet
- Tampa cybersecurity firm A-LIGN has major partners in the field, like San Francisco-based-Vanta and San Diego-based Drata, and has raised more than $55 million across investment rounds from FTV Capital and Warburg Pincus.
- This beta-stage software firm wants to be an automation delivery platform for growing compute infrastructure. It was founded by Tampa residents Adam Blumenthal and Richard Lander, according to LinkedIn.
Matchup Three: Rewst vs. Clearset.AI
- Automation platform for managed service providers Rewst has raised $31 million in a Series B funding round from California investors and major Florida venture firms. Its founder Aharon Chernin has a repeat history of success in the area.
- This early-stage startup was founded in 2023 and seeks to be a “data scrubbing and cleaning” service for companies. Clearset.AI's founder is Tampa resident Yasmine Gardiner, according to LinkedIn.
Matchup Four: Funnel Leasing vs. Fractio
- The management proptech company, which migrated to Tampa in 2022, closed one of the largest funding rounds of the year with its expanded Series B round of $68 million.
- Tampa startup Fractio was founded by Fatin Kwasny, a longtime Tampa Bay area resident who has worked at tech companies in various cities. She is building Fractio, a subscription platform to connect startups to fractional employees.
Matchup Five: Vu Technologies vs. MaxU
- Production tech company Vu Technologies has expanded its network of immersive LED tech studios throughout the United States and received an undisclosed investment amount from the venture arm of the global consulting firm Accenture.
- Founded by the entrepreneur behind Synapse Summit Brian Kornfeld, early-stage software service MaxU seeks to be a holistic educational and motivational platform for athletes. Kornfeld and his co-founder Dan Greco recently announced a partnership with Iowa-based Perfect Game, which is a talent scouting tool.
Matchup Six: Immertec vs. Kogi Inc.
- It’s been a complicated year for this Tampa-based VR software startup Immertec, but it turned its outlook around with a $4 million extension funding raise in February that matched plans to focus on profitability.
- This early-stage company Kogi Inc. wants to create an AI-generation tool for animating engineering and the work of mechanics. Its founder is Larry Velez, a serial entrepreneur, according to his LinkedIn.
Matchup Seven: Homee vs. Reptrics
- Tampa proptech insurance startup Homee Inc. has raised more than $36 million across an extended Series B funding round. Its investors include names like Liberty Mutual and State Farm Ventures, as well as Boston firm Morningside.
- Tampa-based software startup Reptrics received a $600,000 investment from TampaBay.Ventures in 2022. Its software service seeks to help businesses manage their data.
Matchup Eight: Knack vs. The Natural Nipple
- St. Petersburg-founded edtech startup Knack, which supports tutoring across college campuses nationally, hasn’t revealed the amount of capital it’s raised, but its founder Samyr Qureshi has previously said the amount contains seven figures. The startup also brought on California founder and educator Esther Wojcicki, the mother of the Wojcicki family.
- Tampa startup the Natural Nipple is seeking to support issues with breastfeeding in hospitals through its bottles that can be an infant feeding alternative. The startup has backing from Johnson and Johnson and Florida Blue.
Matchup Nine: Grove vs. Outbound.com
- Grove, previously known as Pocket Network, has pivoted in recent years to build a blockchain data platform. In 2023, it raised more than $7 million from investor firms and wants to make a name for its platform in the cryptocurrency space.
- Tampa entrepreneur Aaron White has spent the past few years building Outbound.com but only officially launched from stealth in March of 2024. The startup plans to offer customizable outbound marketing services by using AI technology.
Matchup Ten: Bedrock vs. ShyftOff
- St. Petersburg-based Bedrock holds a place in Inno Madness history: It’s the winner of the 2023 competition. The startup has raised millions in capital and is primed to compete again.
- ShyftOff seeks to streamline outsourcing and offshoring consulting and contact centers. Florida Funders is an investor in the company.
Matchup Eleven: Harness vs. ArchSlate
- Tampa tech startup ArchSlate closed a $700,000 pre-seed round with participation from Tampa Bay area investors in 2022. Its platform seeks to offer collaboration and automation for the construction industry.
- Financial technology platform Harness has thousands of nonprofit partners and seeks to help nonprofits access donor money in a more streamlined way.
Matchup Twelve: Spontivly vs. Scholar Education
- St. Petersburg-based officially closed its pre-series funding in 2023 with millions in its pocket. The startup has pulled in investment from "Shark Tank" star Marc Cuban and many of the Tampa-area startups alike.
- Tampa edtech startup Scholar Education closed a $1.5 million friends and family funding round in March with participation from a cast of Tampa Bay entrepreneurs and businesspeople. The startup has an AI platform for tutoring students and is piloting its tech in Florida.
Matchup Thirteen: Haddy Inc. vs. Certus Core
- Haddy Inc. is a microfactory lab in St. Petersburg that 3D prints furniture from reclaimed plastics for businesses and has quietly raised more than $6 million in recent years.
- Veteran-founded Certus Core is a Tampa software startup seeking to leverage AI and data analytics for companies. It holds government contracts with the U.S. Air Force and has raised more than $1.5 million in seed funding.
Matchup Fourteen: Hook Security vs. Nickelytics
- The Lakeland-based cybersecurity startup Hook Security closed $5.5 million in 2023 from investors across the state. It intermingles psychology with programming for its cybersecurity tactics.
- While Dallas-based private equity firm T72 Club acquired Tampa adtech startup Nickelytics in 2023, it’s growing and plans to scale its advertising nationally, according to reporting.
Matchup Fifteen: CyberFox vs. Chattr
- CyberFox is a seed planted when Tampa software firm ConnectWise sold for more than $1 billion in 2019. Today, its founders have built a scaling cybersecurity firm.
- Tampa AI hiring software startup Chattr has raised more than $3 million in recent years and partners with fast-food chains and retail stores across Florida.
Matchup Sixteen: Kitchenery vs. Grifin
- Kitchenery is a Tampa-born startup that wants to build cordless technology for the kitchen. It has raised millions and is a graduate of the Techstars accelerator program.
- Tampa fintech startup Grifin makes investing in stocks simpler for users. It has raised millions in funding.
