Fifty Portuguese startups have been shortlisted to compete in the first edition of the Startup World Cup Portugal, a competition that will send one national winner to the grand final in San Francisco for a chance to win a $1 million investment prize.
120 applications, 50 shortlisted
According to ECO, the competition drew 120 applications from across the country. The jury has now selected 50 startups working in technology, health, finance, and other innovation-driven sectors to advance to the national stage.
On September 10, the list of 15 finalists will be revealed during an event at the Beato Innovation District, home to Unicorn Factory Lisboa. The following day, those finalists will pitch live to the jury in Lisbon.
Jury and evaluation
Each startup will deliver a five-minute pitch in English before a panel that brings together leaders from the Portuguese innovation and investment ecosystem.
Among them are Teresa Fiúza, executive director at Banco Português de Fomento; Gil Azevedo, executive director of Unicorn Factory Lisboa; Cláudia Machado, head of strategic innovation at Grupo Brisa; and António Grilo, president of the National Innovation Agency (ANI).
One national winner will be selected to represent Portugal at the Startup World Cup Grand Final in San Francisco on October 16 and 17.
$1M prize
The Portuguese champion will compete against winners from 70 other regional stages held worldwide. The global grand prize is a $1 million direct investment from Pegasus Tech Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm with more than $2 billion under management.
The 50 shortlisted startups
Here are the companies selected for the Portugal stage of the Startup World Cup:
- Actif
- AirSafe.ai
- Ambula
- Antonia
- AtivoLabs
- BloodFlow
- blueOASIS
- BRAINR
- BreastScreening-AI
- BRIDGE IN
- ByTheLaw
- CleoCare
- Comudel
- They create knowledge
- EVOWORKFORCE
- FastCompChem
- Fetalix
- Gazelle Wind Power
- GovHorizon
- Granter
- Growappy
- GYST (Get Your S*** Together)
- Immersiv Studios
- Lampsy Health
- Ledovox
- Litehaus
- LoopOS
- Lyzer
- Mantis-AI
- Medgical
- NeuroSoV
- OUR WATCH LEADS – OWL
- PaperWeight AI
- Polaris Regeneration
- ROOTKey
- Rune Technology
- Seamoretech
- Soundsat
- Sunshine + Kittens
- The After Cancer
- Tilect
- TruMarket Blockchain
- ubbu
- Unwind Minds
- Usawa Care
- VeriCasa
- VetBeforePet
- Virtuleap
- WiseWorld
- Yorba
Featured image: Winners of the 2024 Startup World Cup grand final celebrate in San Francisco (Photo courtesy of Pegasus Tech Ventures)
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