Tag: necker island

WORLD’S LARGEST STARTUP COMPETITION SEMI-FINALISTS PITCH AT CES IN VEGAS 17th January, 2019

The 5th annual race to Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island continues to heat up for Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), the world’s largest startup competition.

XTC Top 10 Semi Finalists awaiting results

After announcing the Top 25 teams on Necker Island this past October, the list of contenders has now been narrowed down to the Top 10 Semi-Finalists. This year’s XTC semi-finals took place on January 10th, 2019 in the Bellini Ballroom at the Venetian Hotel. Each of the 10 companies pitched to a captured audience in the packed room, the judges found it extremely difficult to pick the Top 3. It was one of the most divers Top 10’s to date with companies from Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and throughout the United States, presenting a variety of inspiring technologies, including blockchain, transportation, wearables, IoT and biotech.

Dave Shor, Founder / Lynq

Drew Lakatos, Founder / ActiveProtective

The XTC 2019 Top 3 Finalists are ActiveProtective (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), developing a wearable that protects the hips of older adults using wearable airbags, Elevian (Boston, Massachusetts), creating regenerative medicines, with the potential to treat and prevent many age-related diseases and Lynq (Brooklyn, New York), the the world’s most advanced long-range tracker.

XTC Top 3

Congratulations to the XTC Top 3!

The Top 3 Finalists will now compete for the top spot at the XTC Finals on Necker Island on April 3rd, 2019.

Since 2015, XTC has established itself as the premier competition empowering entrepreneurs with visibility, and resources, leading to and enabling exponential growth. Semi-finalists represent a broad range of industries, including Biotec, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy, Accessibility, Transportation, Internet-of-Things, and more. As a worldwide competition, semi-finalists were travelling to Las Vegas from Australia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Switzerland, and throughout the United States to make their presentations to judges and the crowd. The diversity in the industries, backgrounds, and current stages of the finalists adds an extra layer of complexity and intrigue to the competition as the judges evaluate each company. Each year it has proved to be an exciting event for all present.

XTC judging panel evaluating the Top 10 presenters

The fate of the 10 Semi-Finalists rested in the capable hands of an expert judging panel including Veronica Serra (Founding Partner, Pacific Investimentos and Innova Capital), David Hagan (CEO, Boingo Wireless, Executive Board Member CTA), Shankar Chandran (Sr. Vice President & Managing Director, Samsung Catalyst Fund), Lisa Andrews (CEO, Ignite Alliance), Larry O’Connor (Founder & CEO, OWC).

XTC is proudly partnering with well-known companies in the tech industry, including Bitfury, Cisco, OWC, Zoom, Joy Ventures, INCmty; event partners CES, Necker Island, IBM and Revl as well as supporting partners AP Live, Beep, Onkaro, The Confluence, Imaginex, The Ticket Fairy, Poltio, F6S and VR Fest. Together with XTC, these sponsors offer support and exposure that money cannot buy with this showcase event at the world’s largest technology trade show, CES, and then also at Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island in April 2019.

Learn more about all the semi-finalists, and additional details about the event here: https://goo.gl/UZJM6V.

To learn more about accessing these start-ups and how to attend the finals on Necker Island, contact: [email protected] or call +44 (0)207 145 0150

XTC SPONSORSHIP SERIES ANNOUNCES QUALCOMM VENTURES AS VIRTUAL REALITY VERTICAL SPONSOR 14th November, 2017

Consistently leading conversations on the forefront of innovation and technology, Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is pleased to announce American multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company, Qualcomm, will be joining the Extreme Tech Challenge as an Official Sponsor of XTC 2018. Leading this year’s Virtual Reality Vertical judging panel, Qualcomm will use their unparalleled industry expertise as they choose the best VR startups to receive an incredible prize and to be presented on stage at CES alongside the overall Top 10 start-ups.

Qualcomm has been the cornerstone of communication technology for decades, and as one of the founding companies that helped launch the mobile revolution they are the perfect sponsors to help the Extreme Tech Challenge competitors explore the ever- growing field of Virtual Reality. In order to stimulate human senses with realistic feedback, a successful VR product relies on 3 pillars of immersion: visual quality, sound quality, and intuitive interaction. Offering an unprecedented experience, Qualcomm will be on hand to to guide competitors through this new frontier of mobile technology as Virtual Reality shapes how people will be able interact with the world.

Qualcomm has made it their business to help others build amazing things, and as the latest to join XTC’s 2018 incredible team of sponsors, Kevin Gregory- Senior Director of Business Development at Qualcomm,couldn’t be more thrilled to be involved with this year’s Extreme Tech Challenge.

On the upcoming competition, “‘Qualcomm prides itself on creating enabling technologies that allow new ecosystems to flourish. VR has tremendous potential to change the way the world works and plays. We believe great VR experiences shouldn’t require wires or expensive computers, and we are thrilled that many of the core mobile technologies pioneered for smartphones are enabling the untethered VR future.”

Equally excited about the new partnership with Qualcomm, XTC Co-Founder, Bill Tai, said. “Qualcomm Ventures is a fantastic sponsor to have on-board. With a hugely successful global technology company involved with XTC, they will be able to impart their expertise on the VR vertical, providing support and expertise to the start-ups.”

As part of its sponsorship, Qualcomm will be awarding The Final Champion of XTC 2018 with a meeting with the world-renowned Qualcomm Ventures Team as well as development kits for their unique XR program.

Sponsorship brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s technologies powered the smartphone revolution and connected billions of people. We pioneered 3G and 4G – and now we are leading the way to 5G and a new era of intelligent, connected devices. Our products are revolutionizing industries, including automotive, computing, IoT, healthcare and data center, and are allowing millions of devices to connect with each other in ways never before imagined. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, our QCT semiconductor business.

About Extreme Tech Challenge

The Extreme Tech Challenge is the world’s largest startup competition. It is a contest designed to identify emerging leaders that have the potential to dominate their markets and reward them with greatly enhanced visibility, infrastructure and resources to scale quickly at low cost. Ten world class startups will be selected as semi-finalists to present live on stage at CES with 3 finalists presenting to a panel of all-star judges TBA on Necker Island. Winners will receive resources to amplify their success and scale their companies.

XTC SPONSORSHIP SERIES ANNOUNCES OWC AS SPONSOR OF SUSTAINABILITY VERTICAL 23rd October, 2017

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is proud to announce that US-based manufacturer of storage, connectivity, upgrade and expansion products, OWC will be joining the list of 2017 Sponsors, representing the Sustainability Verticalfor this year’s competition. OWC will also become the Official Data Storage provider of XTC and ACTAI, providing their expertise and services to ensure the competition runs smoothly.

Starting with Apple compatible memory upgrades, OWC’s product offering has grown to encompass the entire spectrum of upgrade and expansion possibilities, all with a focus on easy, DIY setup and installation. With an outlook that focuses on the long term, OWC looks for simplicity in action and sustainability in practice. It’s as much about building exceptional relationships, as it is about building exceptional products.

OWC has made significant strides towards being zero waste with notable sustainability milestones that include:

– 2008 marked the opening of OWC’s sustainable campus Woodstock, IL.
– 2009 saw the addition of a wind turbine at the Illinois campus.
– 2010 earned OWC’s Illinois campus the LEED® Platinum and ENERGY STAR®.
– 2011 began OWC’s box size program, reducing up to 60% of box volume for their products.
– 2014 introduced the first solar array to OWC’s Austin, Texas facility.
– 2015 expanded OWC’s solar initiatives as a second solar array went online at the Illinois campus.

XTC 2018 marks the fourth year of this exciting and innovating competition that brings together the world’s brightest entrepreneurial minds to compete for the chance to pitch their budding business ventures to an all-star panel of judges on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island.

On their involvement in XTC 2018, Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, said “At OWC we love technology and innovation, it’s been a part of our DNA since day one. All of our solutions, from our Mac upgrade and storage solutions to game changing products like our Thunderbolt 3 Dock, and new ThunderBlade V4 are completely driven by innovation, so I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of the 2018 Extreme Tech Challenge.”

As part of its sponsorship, OWC will offer the winner of the Sustainability vertical one of their most sought after products, the OWC Envoy Pro EX. Elegant in design, and easily carried in a coat pocket, backpack, or briefcase, the anodized aluminium body securely houses an OWC Aura Pro 6G Solid State Drive offering 100x greater protection of valuable data than even an Enterprise class hard drive.

Commenting on the partnership, XTC Co-Founder, Bill Tai, said ““We are thrilled to have OWC as a sponsor of the very important and relevant Sustainability Vertical. In addition to this, OWC provide their leading data storage expertise and services to not only XTC, but the wider ACTAI group. We simply couldn’t function without their help”.

Sponsorship brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

About OWC

At OWC, we’re committed to constant innovation, exemplary customer service, and American design. For more than 25 Years, OWC has had a simple goal. To create innovative DIY solutions to give you the most from your technology. Our dedication to excellence and sustainable innovation extends beyond our day-to-day business and into the community. We strive for zero waste, both environmentally and strategically.

XTC 2018 – MEET THE TOP 25 NECKER ISLAND HOPEFULS! 16th October, 2017

Slingshot Sponsorship client Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), the world’s largest startup competition, is back again for its fourth annual year, unveiling The Top 25 contenders moving on to the next phase of the challenge, slated to take place this January at CES 2018. The Top 25 was formally announced at CTA Innovate! and Celebrate at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco, and presented by emcee and renowned tech writer Brent Rose.

XTC’s selected Top 25 will be narrowed down to the Top 10 Semi-Finalists who will then pitch on stage at CES to compete for the ultimate prize of global visibility and invaluable resources, with three finalists to pitch their ventures to Branson on Necker Island alongside a phenomenal panel of judges.

Making discernible waves overseas during last year’s challenge, XTC is poised to welcome its largest pool of international contenders to date. The 2018 Top 25 companies reach far beyond American borders, representing countries such as France, Norway, Australia, Germany, Rwanda, and Singapore. The industries these companies represent are as diverse as their home base, with emphasis placed on verticals such as Blockchain, Sustainability, FinTech, Transportation and IoT.

Among international frontrunners to the finals in February 2018 are Norway’s climate action tool chooose.today, touch-free gesture control interface creators BlueMint Labs’ Bixi hailing from France, Powerledger – an Australian company creating a blockchain-based peer-to-peer energy trading platform, and Germany’s sustainability stewards AIRY – a plant pot designed to ventilate root systems.

Stateside, the bank of competitors is stacked with brilliant minds from Silicon Valley to the east coast covering a wide range of cutting-edge trends that span the spectrum of tech industries from BioTech and Gaming to Healthcare. Companies such as Mountain View, CA’s NextBiotics – a biotechnology platform engineering viruses, infant healthcare platform Owlet Baby Care Inc., and Florida’s Immersed Games – an online game world for real STEM learning experiences, are all prospects who may have never crossed paths, yet now find themselves on a leveled playing field competing for the ultimate prize.

Other noteworthy aspirants include Bluefield Technologies, who is utilizing microsatellite sensors to analyze high-value methane emission data and Neurotrack, a company transforming the diagnosis and prevention of memory loss.

Past iterations of XTC have showcased the latest breakthroughs in sectors such as Virtual Reality, Healthcare, Genetics and Transportation, and this year proves to be even stronger. In an inspiring showcase of the evolving landscape of startup-driven discoveries, XTC serves as the platform where science and ingenuity collide to create a new paradigm of advancement in consumer, enterprise and medical tech.

XTC 2018 is proud to present the pioneering Judges’ panels for the Semi-Finals and the Final Round:

Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, Investor & Philanthropist Returning XTC Finals Judge
Gary Shapiro, CEO Consumer Technology Association, Returning XTC Semi-Finals Judge
Koichi Narasaki, Chief Digital Officer, Sompo
Valery Vavilov, CEO, BitFury
Tom Siebel, Veteran software entrepreneur and founder of C3 loT, Returning XTC Finals Judge

XTC 2018 TIMELINE

Stage I – October 11, 2017 – Top 25 Announcement
Stage II – November 9, 2017 – Top 10 Announcement at CES Unveiled NYC: Two months ahead of CES 2018 10 Semi-Finalists will be selected from the Top 25 XTC challengers. In addition to unveiling the Semi-Finalists, the annual event showcases the future of tech before the new year.
Stage III – January 11, 2018 – XTC Semi-Finals at CES: Extreme Tech Challenge returns to CES Las Vegas for the semi-finals in 2018. This stage of the contest will see the chosen Top 10 pitch their tech live on-stage in hope of being one of three companies selected to move onto Necker Island.
Stage IV – February 28, 2018 – XTC Finals on Necker Island: Top 3 Finalists present to a panel of all-star judges, spearheaded by Branson.

XTC would like to extend special gratitude to the current sponsors on board for 2018 – Sompo, OWC, Zoom, Jungle Creations, Cisco, Qualcomm, and Meltwater. Thanks to their generous partnerships, XTC 2018 will be the most comprehensive iteration to date!

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About Extreme Tech Challenge
Extreme Tech Challenge is a competition that empowers entrepreneurs and their companies by providing visibility, resources, and it gives competitors the ability to grow exponentially in scale and knowledge at a low to no incremental cost. XTC strives to inspire and provide growth to up and coming entrepreneurs and businesses by surrounding them with mentors to help guide them as they build on product success with business success.

XTC pulls this all together into an experience that money cannot buy with showcase events at the world’s largest technology trade show, CES, and also at Sir Richard Branson’s own Necker Island.

Hurricane Irma Relief
XTC alongside Richard Branson and The Virgin Group continue to do everything possible to support and assist the local BVI community that they call home. Please explore the various donation options & spread awareness to Richard Branson’s efforts with Virgin and their support of the BVI relief fund . By covering all of Virgin Unite’s Hurricane relief overheads, Richard Branson and the Virgin Group have made it possible for 100% of the donations received directly to the local BVI communities.

EXTREME TECH CHALLENGE 2018 TOP 25

ABRA – AirSwap – AIRY GREENTECH – Bansen Labs – BioCellection Inc. – Bixi Bluemint Labs – Bluefield Technologies – Chooose.today – EVmatch – Immersed Games – Lavabit – LYNQ – Neurotrack – Nextbiotics – Owlet Baby Care Inc. – Piaggio Fast Forward – Powerledger – Rayton Solar 2018 – REVL – SafeMotos – Square Lovin – TenX Wallet – CoLoadX – Tissue Analytics – WooHoo by SmartBeings

XTC Sponsorship Series Presents: Jungle Creations As Sponsor For Social Media Vertical 4th September, 2017

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is excited to introduce first time judges and proud official sponsors of the Social Media Vertical category Jungle Creations to the 2018 XTC Sponsorship Series. Jungle Creations specializes in viral content creation and distribution for an array of global brands and regularly tops the charts for the most shared branded campaigns on Facebook. Regularly achieving over four billion views a month on its social channels alone, they’re in the top 10 most viewed media platforms in the world and in March 2017 their channel VT was the most viewed channel on all of Facebook.

Now in it’s fourth year, XTC 2018 returns more exciting and innovative than ever as the competition brings together the world’s brightest entrepreneurial minds to compete for the chance to pitch their budding business ventures to an all-star panel of judges on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. Jungle Creations will be be joining the team of global sponsors who will be on hand to guide and support this year’s applicants as they compete in the Tech Challenge of their lives.

“At Jungle Creations we’re always on the look-out for exciting and innovative technology companies to showcase to our billions of viewers. With our platform reaching millions of people a day, we think it’s important to use this influence to give ground-breaking tech companies an opportunity to be seen.We’ve carefully crafted our network to offer specific, relevant audiences for brands. By building platforms with unique identities and audiences, we’re able to market category-specific brands to the right people at the right time.We’re proudly sponsoring the Social Media vertical to help start-ups learn how to market the right way on social by utilising platforms like ours to grow their businesses, drive sales and raise awareness of their world-changing tech.” – Mitch Strong, Jungle Creations Commercial Partnerships Director

As part of its sponsorship, Jungle Creations will offer prizes to the contestants within the Social Media Vertical as well as to the Winner of XTC 2018. Up for grabs is one Social Media Consultancy session with the Head of Social at Jungle Creations and one branded video distribution on its largest page VT.

Commenting on the partnership, XTC COO, Sabine Schindlbauer said: “We are delighted to welcome Jungle Creations as the official Social Media Vertical sponsor. Integrating brands into XTC helps the entire competition grow, whilst also helping Jungle Creations achieve their objectives. With Jungle Creations’ leading content platforms showcasing our start-ups technology, it will enable them to grow and drive global awareness.”

Deal brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

XTC Sponsorship Series Presents: Meltwater As Sponsor For New Data & Analtyics Vertical 10th August, 2017

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) 2018 is excited to announce the addition of a data & analytics vertical for this year’s competition, which will focus on highlighting tomorrow’s most promising data science companies. The new vertical will be sponsored by Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence. Meltwater’s Outside Insight technology uses advanced AI and data science to help more than 25,000 clients leverage valuable external data to make more informed business decisions. Meltwater was founded in Norway in 2001 by CEO Jorn Lyseggen, who bootstrapped the company with $15,000. Today it has more than 1,500 employees and 55 offices globally.

On their involvement in XTC 2018, Jorn Lyseggen, Meltwater Founder & CEO, said: “Meltwater has long been dedicated to supporting the next generation of tech startups through our data science hub, Shack15, in London and our non-profit, MEST, in Africa. I’m thrilled to be part of this year’s XTC and to support the next big innovators.”

Lyseggen will be the official judge for the Meltwater data & analytics prize. The winner of this vertical will receive 2 seats at a hot desk in one of Meltwater’s global Shack15 data science hub locations (including London, SF and Shanghai) for 3 months. Shack15 was launched in London in 2016 as a co-working and events space specifically focused on data science startups, as part of Meltwater’s commitment to fostering tech startup communities around the world.

Commenting on the partnership, XTC COO, Sabine Schindlbauer said: “We are delighted to welcome Meltwater as the official Data & Analytics Vertical sponsor. Their leading technology and media intelligence showcases exactly what our competition stands for, and their fantastic prize for the winner of the vertical will continue to help data-focused startups grow.”

Deal Brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

About Meltwater

Meltwater helps companies make better, more informed decisions based on insights from the outside. More than 25,000 companies use the Meltwater media intelligence platform to stay on top of billions of online conversations, extract relevant insights, and use them to strategically manage their brand and stay ahead of their competition. With over 55 offices on six continents, Meltwater is dedicated to personal, global service built on local expertise. Meltwater also operates the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a nonprofit organization devoted to nurturing future generations of entrepreneurs.For more information, follow Meltwater on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or visit meltwater.com.

3rd Annual XTC 2017 Concludes on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island – Congrats to Winner VANTAGE ROBOTICS! 15th February, 2017

After narrowing down the competition at CES 2017, the final three competitors headed down to the Caribbean for the finals.

XTC Finals – Necker Island, British Virgin Islands – The race to Necker Island culminates with an unprecedented, photo-finish judging: Separated by less than half a percent in point total, Vantage Robotics is named of winner of Extreme Tech Challenge 2017!

XTC 2017 Champion Vantage Robotics (San Francisco, CA) has created the best flying camera in the world, making it easy and safe, for anyone to capture stunning aerial video and stills. Their team includes DARPA Grand Challenge winners, IDEO alumni, and experienced entrepreneurs spearheaded by founders Joe van Niekerk and Tobin Fisher. Three years ago, Tobin Fisher, CEO and co-founder of Vantage Robotics, cut his hand on a plastic-bladed quadrotor; inspired by his injury, he set out to design flying cameras with the same ease of use as products he helped create at IDEO. Vantage’s first product, Snap, is a fully portable, safe, and incredibly easy-to-use 4K flying camera.

Tobin Fisher remarks: “We’re honoured beyond words to be selected amongst such a prestigious group of companies. After working on hundreds of product iterations over four years to realise the goal of true freedom of perspective for aerial video, we feel incredibly grateful to get this level of recognition for our solution from such an amazing group of judges. Thank you to Bill Tai, Sir Richard Branson, the judges, XTC, and everyone else who believed in us along the way.”

As the last rays of sunlight fell across the glistening beaches of Necker Island, the evening gave way to the final round of the swift competition. Each finalist took to the stage to present their ventures to the final round of judges and – for the first time ever – to a global audience via MaiTai Global’s livestream. Following an intensive Q&A with the three finalists, the judges deliberated privately to determine the winner, which proved to be a tight race down to the last minute.

Winner Vantage Robotics was selected by a prestigious panel spearheaded by special guest judge Sir Richard Branson, who hosted the final round of the challenge on his own Necker Island. Branson was joined by Venture Capitalist Jim Breyer, Founder and CEO of C3 IoT Tom Siebel, CTO for the Hillary for America campaign Steph Hannon, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Aspect Ventures Theresia Gouw, and Chief Operating Officer, iTutor Group Jerry Huang.

An all-encompassing experience, the judges expressed excitement over the integral role they played in shaping the challenge and the calibre of competitors XTC draws. “The process was fascinating; the contrasting teamwork, listening skills, intense passion – all of this was demonstrated in all three of the finalists and that part of it was really exciting. I congratulate the XTC team for pulling all this together; great deal of fun, intellectually energising and very enjoyable.” – Jim Breyer, Founder & CEO, Breyer Capital

“The ambition and innovation of all the contestants was mind-blowing, including the semi-finalists, each of which could have taken the top prize. The judges deliberation was intense as Vantage Robotics and Cresilon were a dead heat by our scoring system.” – Steph Hannon, CTO for the Hillary for America campaign

A fierce competition spanning several months and crossing three critical judging platforms, XTC invited over a thousand world-class entrepreneurs to showcase their cutting-edge innovations. The contest is designed to provide winners with valuable infrastructure to scale at low incremental cost, and exposure to a network of world class advisers to help them turn their venture into a successful business. With the first two rounds of the competition taking place at MaiTai Global’s annual Ocean Gala in December and the world’s largest consumer electronic showcase in January at CES® 2017 Las Vegas, XTC traverses the globe in search of the next great startup.

As part of the Finals, Special guest judge Sir Richard Branson took to the stage to deliver his take on winning company Vantage Robotics: “There’s fantastic intensity around the Vantage Robotics team, the judges thought it was wonderful the way they have driven towards simplicity. I personally think the market is very large and I just love the product…and the fact that it’s not going to cut your head off.”

Congratulations to the Extreme Tech Challenge 2017 Participants!

Redefining the way military, first responders, and doctors handle medical emergencies, Second Place Runner Up Cresilon (New York, NY) is a plant-based hemostatic gel that accelerates the natural blood-clotting process. Founders Joe Landolina and Isaac Miller are connected by one shared mission: to improve wound care and advance the standard of medical treatment.

Third place finisher ReDeTec (Toronto, CAN) is the producer of a desktop filament extruder and recycling unit for 3D printers. The innovative company creates novel plastic processing technology with significantly reduced energy and space requirements, freeing plastic recycling from the factory floor and making it a much more accessible technology for everyone. ReDeTec is the brainchild of Dennon Oosterman and Alex Kay, who deliver a free, safe way to recycle virtually anything plastic.

Joining the XTC Finalists onstage was winner of principle sponsor iTutorGroup’s China Vertical, Co-Founder of Best Sign, Joy Wan. Best Sign allows users to view, sign and send important documents from anywhere in the world and has the industry’s first ISO27001 international safety certification, providing comprehensive, financial-level security.

XTC is presented by MaiTai Global, a vanguard collective of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, creators, and athletes. Participants combine their energy, network and resources to help each other achieve professional success, pushing the limits of work and play while also fuelling philanthropic activities around the world.

MaiTai Global would like to express their deepest gratitude to the 2017 Sponsors: Founding partner iTutorGroup, Semi-Finals partner CES® 2017 and vertical sponsors Deloitte, Dianrong, IBM, Living In Digital Times, Treasure Data, VR Fest and Zoom for their generous support and insight to further enhance the XTC experience for both participants and spectators.

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#XTC2017

2017 Extreme Tech Challenge Top 3! 6th February, 2017

Having edged past twenty five progressive and worthy competitors from across the globe, the 2017 Extreme Tech Challenge Finalists represent an expansive breadth of industries: hemostatic solution innovators Cresilon (New York, NY), filament recycling startup ReDeTec (Toronto, CAN) and hi-tech aerial camera specialists Vantage Robotics (San Francisco, CA).

The Semi-Final round proved to be a photo-finish race for the finalists, who pitched their fledgling ventures live onstage alongside their Top 10 contemporaries under the glittering Las Vegas skyline. Impossibly close to call, the Top 3 were ultimately chosen by a collective of tech’s most brilliant trailblazers. President and CEO of Consumer Technology Association Gary Shapiro presided at the helm of the judges’ table, accompanied by Founder and Managing Partner of SoftTech VC Jeff Clavier, Director of Intel Capital Christine Herron, Founding Partner of Pacific Investments and Innova Capital Fund Veronica Serra, Founder and Managing Partner of Binary Capital Jonathan Teo and Founder and CEO of Dianrong, Soul Htite.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2017 EXTREME TECH CHALLENGE TOP 3!

Redefining the way military, first responders, and doctors handle medical emergencies, finalist Cresilon is a plant-based hemostatic gel that accelerates the natural blood-clotting process. Founders Joe Landolina and Isaac Miller are connected by one shared mission: to improve wound care and advance the standard of medical treatment.

Producer of a desktop filament extruder and recycling unit for 3D printers, finalist ReDeTec creates novel plastic processing technology with significantly reduced energy and space requirements, freeing plastic recycling from the factory floor and making it a much more accessible technology for everyone. ReDeTec is the brainchild of Dennon Oosterman and Alex Kay, who deliver a free, safe way to recycle virtually anything plastic.

Third finalist Vantage Robotics has created the best flying camera in the world, making it easy for anyone to capture stunning aerial video and stills. Their team includes DARPA Grand Challenge winners, IDEO alumni, and experienced entrepreneurs spearheaded by founders Joe van Niekerk and Tobin Fisher. Vantage’s first product, Snap, is a fully portable, safe, and incredibly easy-to-use 4K flying camera.

The Finalists will now face the most stringent and final round on Necker Island, pitching their venture to Sir Richard Branson alongside 2017 Finals judges including venture capitalist, founder and CEO of Breyer Capital, Jim Breyer, Veteran software entrepreneur and founder of C3 loT, Tom Siebel, Managing Partner of Aspect Ventures, Theresia Gouw, CTO for the Hillary for America campaign, Steph Hannon and COO of the iTutor Group Jerry Huang.

Looking ahead to what awaits Necker Island, Finals Judge Steph Hannon remarks:“The discipline, focus and passion of extreme athletes is mirrored in exceptional entrepreneurs. I can’t wait to see limits pushed and peak performance achieved when groups of both gather for XTC finals on Necker Island.”

Support the Startups Supporting You 16th November, 2016

Investing in innovation and entrepreneurship is necessary for any business to not only grow and evolve, but ultimately to survive. Becoming complacent and ignoring advances in your field can leave you left in the wake of competitors that mould themselves to adapt with changes in technology.

Given that it is not always possible to rely on your internal team for innovation many companies are recognising the need to invest in startups with new and fresh ideas. Not only does this foster creativity and innovation under their brand but it also is a way to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to advances in their industry.

One company that has seen the need to foster talent early is Nestlé who have developed their own platform to actively invest in startups. Nestlé HENRi was created with the objectives to enhance quality of life, contribute to a healthier future, tackle global issues and make genuine positive effects for millions across the world. Not only is this socially constructive for Nestlé’s brand but it also has proven benefits for sales and engagement with Nestlé products.

For example, through partnering with the startup Blippar, Nestlé have since been able to unlock new levels of engagement with their customers for both Milo & Nesquik products in an untested AR territory. Without opening themselves up to external ideas and investing in start-ups, this would not have been possible.

It’s not too late!

For companies that do not have the resources to set up projects of this scale, there are alternative ways to invest in start-ups & innovation. Slingshot is currently working with Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), the world’s largest startup competition supported by Sir Richard Branson, Bill Tai (Twitter) and Jim Breyer (Facebook). XTC gives brands an opportunity to sit beside some of the world’s most influential business leaders, while ensuring that they are the first to have access to all new ideas & technology that this competition uncovers.

XTC gives brands the chance to integrate their entire suite of services throughout key events at the XTC Semi-Finals held at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January reaching over 170,000 tech savvy enthusiasts, and the XTC Finals taking place on Necker Island in February 2017.

Anchor judge of the program, Sir Richard Branson, sees the event as an opportunity to uncover untapped ideas and technology, “we are hunting for people and ideas that can literally change the world!”

Sponsor involvement is still available for the 2016/2017 XTC program. Sponsoring enables your businesses to align to a category specific to your industry, not only allowing your business to judge the entrants but also positioning you as an influencer among the best in global business. If you’d like to hear more information about partnership opportunities we have available, please contact Hayley Williams at [email protected].