Tag: xtc


XTC 2017 Touches Down at CES 2017 – Meet the Finalists Heading to Branson’s Necker Island 12th January, 2017

The field is set for the final round of Extreme Tech Challenge, hitting its last stop at Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island this February 2, 2017. Traversing a sinuous path to reach this final milestone including a highly-contested Semi-Finals round at CES® 2017, the Top 3 Finalists for XTC 2017 push the boundaries of technology into new frontiers of modern science.

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 VantageRobotics (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.”

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 fueling 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 industry insight to further enhance the XTC experience for both participants and spectators.

STAY CONNECTED: XTC
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Extreme Tech Challenge 2017 Introduces New China Vertical — Thanks to Sponsors iTutorGroup 9th December, 2016

XTC 2017 and iTutorGroup team up to invite China’s brightest female entrepreneurs to join the race to Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island

Beijing, CN – Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) and iTutorGroup join forces in a deal brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship, to create—for the first time ever—the China Vertical category, inviting inspiring female innovators around China to share their ventures with the entrepreneurial community. Now in its third year, XTC pits the most brilliant minds of the entrepreneurial world against one another, catapulting one champion to the top. XTC 2017 draws finalists from across the globe, representing nearly every sector of the tech world from virtual reality to blockchain. Fresh off the unveiling of the Top 25 finalists, this year’s competitors are one step closer to the finals, hailing from London’s Canaria to Tel Aviv’s Intezer Lab and soon: China.

Founding partner and primary sponsor of Extreme Tech Challenge, iTutorGroup, has helped the annual challenge spread its roots deep into the heart of China and beyond. The online-education-based company deploys real-time interactive personalized learning sessions in countless subject matters to connect upwards more than 10,000 teachers, across 80 countries through millions of classes each year. Utilizing a wealth of platforms- vipabc, vipabc junior, TutorABC, TutorABCJr, TutorMing and LiveH2H, iTutorGroup grants students around the world access to invaluable learning opportunities live. Since its inception in 1998, their breakthroughs pushed language learning beyond the confines of the physical classroom, defying physical distance, to provide widespread access to foreign languages and other subjects. Creators of the first commercially available synchronous learning portal, it was only a matter of time until iTutorGroup turned their innate desire for innovation into a thriving partnership with Extreme Tech Challenge.

Reflecting on the strives iTutorGroup has made alongside XTC and what lies ahead for China’s most luminous female entrepreneurs, Dr. Eric Yang extols:

“We are truly excited to be part of Extreme Tech Challenge and support female entrepreneurs in China and around the world. Ever since we started our company, entrepreneurial and innovative spirit has been part of our DNA. We always encourage our employees to think outside of the box and start with new initiatives that will bring our company as well as industry forward. Our focus on innovation has enabled us to grow into a global company with offices in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Tokyo and Taipei, which allows us to impact customers in more than 20 countries every day. Nevertheless, to achieve a lasting change, we need support of many entrepreneurs and innovators which is why we are so happy to be part of this contest and support young female entrepreneurs”, said Dr. Eric Yang, Co-founder and CEO of iTutorGroup and VIPABC.

The invaluable partnership resulted in the creation of the 2016 Women’s Entrepreneur Pitch Contest, which took place in Beijing on November 18, 2016. The Top Five Finalists are Next Dress, Patsnap, Merak, Hosbby and BestSign — Congratulations! A select judge will crown only one winner from the pool of five pioneering candidates. The top-prize winner will be invited to attend the illustrious XTC 2017 Finals on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island with the opportunity to pitch their winning concept during the final round on February 2, 2017, to a panel of esteemed judges including iTutorGroup’s Chief Operating Officer Jerry Huang.

Extreme Tech Challenge will be unveiling the Top 10 candidates moving forward in the competition Saturday, December 3rd, 2016 at MaiTai Global’s annual Ocean Gala. An event to raise awareness for conservation and protection of the world’s ocean and its wildlife, the Ocean Gala is an integral stop on the race to Necker Island.

Stay Connected:
iTutorGroup: Website | Facebook | Twitter
XTC: Website | Facebook | Twitter

About iTutorGroup
iTutorGroup is the global leader in online education providing individualized, personalized learning experiences to hundreds of thousands of students and business professionals in countless subject matters through its network and sourcing of experts and teachers in thousands of centers, institutions and cities around the world. We do this by leveraging big data analytics and utilizing advanced algorithmic matching between students, classmates, teaching consultants and digital content. Since its inception in 1998, iTutorGroup has become the largest online platform driving live human-to-human interactions worldwide. iTutorGroup leads the revolution of education and live interaction with its human-to-human platform and service model. With iTutorGroup, anybody can learn anything from any device, anytime, 24-7.

About Extreme Tech Challenge / MaiTai Global
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 including Sir Richard Branson, Tom Siebel, Theresia Gouw, Jim Breyer and Steph Hannon on Necker Island. Winners will receive resources to amplify their success and scale their companies.

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 fueling philanthropic activities around the world.


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].

 

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