Minnesota Cup announces 27 finalists

The Minnesota Cupannounced Monday 27 finalists in the state’s largest startup competition.

The companies will move ahead to the finalist round to present in-person to divisional judges at the end of August. Each division winner will be awarded $25,000 and compete for an additional $50,000 grand prize on Sept. 18.

Capital raised by Minnesota Cup alumni exceeds $1 billion, according to an announcement of the finalists.

This year of the Minnesota Cup saw the most applications and participants in the first round of the process ever, according to a post from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, which runs the competition. In all, 3,052 Minnesotans participated in the application process, marking a 17% jump over the previous record in 2022.

Forty-three percent of the initial participants identify as female and 38% as non-white, the post said. About a third of participants are from Greater Minnesota.

"Our participants and finalists represent Minnesota's finest innovators and creations from a wide range of ages and backgrounds," Kailin Oliver, associate director of Minnesota Cup, wrote in an emailed statement.

Last year’s grand prize winner was Phoam Labs, then known as BKB Floral Foam, which develops sustainable alternatives to foams often used by florists.

This year’s finalists in each of the nine divisions are:

Education & Training

Energy/Cleantech/Water

Food/Ag/Beverage

General

High Tech

Impact Ventures

LifeScience/Health IT

Student

Youth