During last week’s Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam at SemTech, which was co-hosted by Guidewire Group and Semantic Universe, seven startups chosen as semi-finalists had the opportunity to deliver a five-minute pitch to a panel of judges and an audience of interested conference attendees. View photos from the Pitch Slam.
The panel of experts included Dave McComb, president of Semantic Arts; Brian Cook from nFuse Partners; Michael Winton, director of developer relations at Google; Madeline Duva, president of 3rd Eye Consulting; and Mark Sugarman from MHS Capital.
In addition to Hypios’ first-place finish, Smartlogic and Gnowsis were named first and second runners-up, respectively.
Smartlogic’s Semaphore product aims to enhance and give context to search navigation, particularly through the use of ontologies and taxonomies. For example, media companies use Semaphore technology to improve quality of information feeds, and boost readership and distribution, and investment banks use it to consolidate information costs and better promote primary research.
Gnowsis’ product, Cluug, is designed as a solution to help people remember. Prototyped in Microsoft Outlook, the service is embedded into existing software systems and connects all of your valuable info together, including contacts, files and websites. “If you lose an important document and don’t bring it to your meeting, estimations are this costs around $150,” said Leo Sauermann, founder and CEO. “People spend a lot of their valuable work time looking for information.”
The other Semi-finalists that are still in the running for a spot on the Innovate!100 list include Semantifi, Tip Top Technologies, playence and zAgile. All of the companies did a phenomenal job and we’d like to thank the judges, startups, sponsors and attendees who all helped make the event a success.
If you’d like to attend an upcoming event, the next two Innovate!2010 Pitch Slams will be held on August 16 in Columbia, MO and August 17 in Seattle, WA. Applications are now being accepted from interested startups, and there’s no fee to apply.
