11 Oct 2022
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Sam Sprigg
This year’s AWE EU Start-up Pitch Competition Finalists
AWE EU 2022
This year’s AWE EU event will once again have its own Start-up Pitch Competition, which will see eight finalists try to convince our leading panel of judges made up of industry executives and venture capitalists that their AR/VR start-up idea is worthy of the grand prize. That grand prize, of course, is none other than the AWE EU Auggie Award for “Start-up To Watch.”
AWE is the home of the Auggie Awards – industry recognized accolades that are proudly displayed by companies big and small. The main Auggies ceremony takes place at AWE USA in Santa Clara each year, but events in Europe, Asia and Israel also host their own local awards ceremonies. One of the most coveted Auggies handed out at these local shows is the award for XR start-ups.
Regardless of whether they win or not, the entire Start-up Pitch Competition process provides these final eight start-ups with an incredible platform to showcase their ideas in front of a packed audience that consists of AR/VR industry leaders, experts, talented attendees who may well be looking for their next XR role, and perhaps most importantly, XR investors looking to discover the next addition to their investment portfolio.
Who are the AWE EU 2022 Start-up Pitch Finalists?
The finalists for this year’s Start-up Pitch Competition, who have been selected from a wider pool of dozens of submissions, are listed below, along with a bit of background information on what they do:
Graffiti helps brands improve customer engagement by enabling the deployment of digital features to brick and mortar points of sale. The platform can display real-time product information, right on the aisle of a store, helping customers find the right product with real-time product filtering. Graffiti’s platform also offers real-time data and insights into the point of purchase, providing businesses and brands with insights into their customers' behavior.
Catalyst Entertainment Technology
Catalyst Entertainment Technology is building the robots and content of the future, merging machines with VR. The company’s proprietary, patent-pending technology blends the excitement of real world energy with virtual world experiences and allows for full degree of freedom. Users can move in every direction and play with friends in custom arenas engineered for safety and maximum virtual world integrations.
oVRcome brings virtual reality exposure therapy to smartphones, enabling people that can't make it into a clinic to overcome phobias and social anxiety in the privacy of their own homes. oVRcome is creating innovative VR software to help people experience non-threatening and adaptive interpretations of feared social situations, phobias and anxieties. The company’s goal is to reduce the treatment gap for anxiety disorders through easier and remote access to evidence based mental health services, and to make treatment easy and accessible for everyone who needs it around the world.
Crosscreators enables businesses and creative agencies to launch AR projects on demand in order to enhance the customer experience, helping brands to differentiate themselves and increase ROI. The company offers platform solutions for businesses, agencies and creators, bringing the three together in order to bring about solutions and collaborations for idea generation and AR experience creation.
Nevermet is a VR dating app for the Metaverse. Instead of posting content of themselves, users post content of their avatars, with no human faces allowed – Nevermet isn’t a dating app based on natural looks. After creating a profile and setting age and gender filters, users can scroll through potential love interests, connect with other VR users and go on VR dates.
South African company Uhula’s portfolio of complete Internet of Things (“IoT”) and mobile software development solutions combine hardware, connectivity and software to bring real-time visibility to operations. The company’s solutions help to complement customers’ complex operational challenges with machine learning technology and other advanced analytical applications while visualizing and analyzing data in real time.
PatchXR is developing PatchWorld, a music Metaverse creator that enables musical experiences with marvelous worlds, fanciful instruments, and full-immersion live shows. The platform combines the visual experience and play of gaming with the emotional power of music, and allows anyone to enjoy making music while having fun. Users can make music and jam together remotely, create bands, and invite friends and fans to join the party in fully customizable fantastic virtual worlds.
Valkyrie Industries brings strength workouts to virtual reality using the company’s patented interactive muscle stimulation technology. Its wearable armbands combined with exercises curated by world-class trainers, make fitness more engaging and more efficient. Valkyrie Industries uses EIR armbands to activate muscles as users work out, providing real resistance, unlike any other VR workout. Featuring exclusive fitness classes designed by professional trainers, the EIR armbands make VR workouts more physically intense, efficient, and fun.
GN3RA offers a “Direct to Avatar” (D2A) application to empower a global community of creators to take charge of their virtual self-expression, supporting a more democratic and inclusive digital world. In GN3RA, anyone can create, customize, showcase and trade virtual outfits, in a gamified, easy-to-use way, using runtime cloth simulation and bespoke interactions for Desktop, VR and soon on the web. The platform enables users to design in single or multiplayer sessions, to set up events to showcase their creations, and invite fellow GN3RATORS.
You’ll be able to catch these incredible start-ups showcasing their solutions at AWE EU on October 21 from 10:35 AM-12:00 PM in Sala 1.
Are you an investor looking to attend AWE EU 2022?
If you are an investor interested in taking part, AWE is also offering conference passes for eligible investors in exchange for a couple of hours 1:1 mentoring for AR/VR startups at its augmented and virtual reality event.
You can discover more about why AWE’s AR/VR events are the perfect opportunity for investors here.
The finalists for this year’s competition all have something unique to offer the XR industry, and each pitch will definitely be worth watching, with audience members guaranteed to learn something new as a result. Make sure you don’t miss the pitches, and also the event wrap-up at the end of Day 2, where the winner will receive the Auggie Award for “Start-up To Watch.”
