Founders of Bloom Applied sciences, Giroptic and Sphero will pitch on to Richard Branson.
What’s it wish to pitch to Richard Branson? Quickly, three startups will know firsthand.
As a part of the Excessive Tech Problem, entrepreneurs from three firms will journey to Necker Island, Branson’s non-public island, and pitch their enterprise on to the titan.
Sphero, Bloom Applied sciences and Giroptic beat out over 1,000 different startups. Every will get quarter-hour to current to Branson and several other different judges.
Pitch day is the ultimate spherical of the six-month problem, which is run by nonprofit MaiTai World.
Associated: BB-8 maker takes its robotic ball to varsities
Boulder-based Sphero catapulted to fame final yr with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Sphero created the pint-sized robotic toy model of the film’s BB-8 character. It grew to become one of many hottest toys of 2015.
However earlier than BB-8, the six-year-old agency was quietly making waves amongst tech fanatics for its first invention : an app-controlled robotic ball.
Sphero even developed it right into a educating software for faculties.
“This past year has been transformational for Sphero on all levels,” mentioned CEO Paul Berberian. “Earning one of the top spots to pitch Branson is an opportunity of a lifetime for our company.”
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Bloom Applied sciences, based in 2014, has developed prenatal expertise and put it on the fingertips of expectant mothers.
The San Francisco-based startup created a wearable machine that syncs with a smartphone and permits girls to measure the frequency, period, and depth of contractions.
Giroptic, primarily based in Lille, France, is the third finalist. It created a 360-degree digicam that may report full spherical photographs and movies and can work with any digital actuality platform.
The three finalists will pitch to Branson, together with Google Maps co-inventor Lars Rasmussen and Samsung Electronics President Younger Sohn, on February 10.
The winner will probably be picked that very same day. All three firms will get the identical prize package deal: mentoring from prime entrepreneurs, tech and infrastructure help from IBM (IBM) and Amazon (AMZN), and the potential to boost new funding from buyers at Necker Island.
Nonetheless, the winner will get the bragging rights and a chance to be invited again to Necker Island and schmooze with Richard Branson subsequent yr.
CNNMoney (New York) First printed January 14, 2016: 2:28 PM ET