The Ministry of Digital Transformation has selected 15 technology startups that will represent Ukraine at Startup Grind Global 2020, the tenth global conference of entrepreneurs and investors in Silicon Valley. According to the organizers, the results of the competition have demonstrated great potential for the development of Ukraine as a technological IT center.
“The competition made it possible to select the most interesting and promising Ukrainian startups. The experience of the Competitive Economy of Ukraine [CEU] program in supporting Ukrainian startups in global technological events testifies to the interest of foreign investors in the products of Ukrainian startups,”, USAID CEU Program Deputy Chief Olesya Zaluska told reporters during a pitch in Kyiv last week.
Following the results of the competition, a list of startups-finalists who will be included in the Ukrainian delegation was compiled:
1. Let`s Enhance – Improving Image Quality with Machine Learning;
2. Replay.io – A multi-channel sales platform that automates contacts using emails, calls and tasks;
3. Legal Nodes – A global marketplace for the technology business, with the help of which the founder or legal adviser of a technology company can contact a lawyer that is most relevant to legal needs and financial capabilities;
4. Poptop – The leading marketplace for booking performers of various kinds and locations for events in real time;
5. Delfast – Electric bicycles;
6. Animal ID – Service for the identification of animals;
7. Kray Technology – A drone that helps to increase crop yields and reduce the amount of fertilizer in the agricultural sector;
8. Costless – A personal shopping assistant who helps to make smart decisions, saving money, time and energy. It provides agencies, brands and retailers with real-time analytics, forecasts of changes in prices and volumes of consumption, information on consumer behavior;
9. AxDraft – Helps to draw up legal documents 10 times faster, avoiding mistakes and increasing the efficiency of the legal department by 25%, delegating part of the legal work to “non-lawyers” without risks;
10. Effa – An environment-friendly toothbrush made of paper and environmentally friendly materials as a “green” alternative to disposable plastic brushes;
11. Pix – A backpack with support for animation;
12. Nuka – Creates a convenient way to record. The first product is a waterproof perpetual notebook with the ability to clean sheets. It can be fully synchronized with the nuka mobile application. The second product is an eternal pencil;
13. CamTouch – A complex that allows you to turn any flat surface into an interactive one and control it using a laser pointer or a special stylus;
14. ActiveChat – A service for creating virtual assistants;
15. ADAM – 3D bioprinting of organic bone structures.
Startups-winners will receive the right to participate in the conference in the United States, own exhibition booth, promos, PR support from the organizers and reimbursement of financial costs for logistics.
More than 160 Ukrainian startups fought for the right to participate in the conference, of which 25 applicants were selected who presented their products to the jury during the Open Call Pitch Event in Kyiv in the evening on December 19.
“Of the 160 applications received, more than 50 startups are ready to attract foreign investment and bring their products to new markets,” Startup Grind Kyiv Chapter Director Kateryna Dehtyar said.
According to Startup Grind Kyiv Chapter Co-Director Hannah Zenn, Ukrainian startups that are on the delegate list have great potential to attract Seed and A-round investments, find customers among U.S. companies such as Facebook, Deloitte, Target, BMW, CISCO, as well as partners for further growth.
The competition was held jointly with Startup Grind Kyiv (the official representative of the Startup Grind international startup ecosystem) with the support of the USAID CEU Program.
