SCET-Silicon Alliance Startup Pitch Contest brings together outstanding student entrepreneurs
The Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET) recently hosted a startup pitch competition in collaboration with the University of Silicon Alliance, one of SCET’s global partners. The Fall 2021 SCET-Silicon Alliance Pitch Contest took place in person at the SCET collider on UC Berkeley’s campus, on November 4, 2021.
The competition was designed for Cal students and international teams working on early-stage venture projects, with a key emphasis on creativity and team diversity. More than 80 applications were received from UC Berkeley and the University of Silicon Alliance, with projects spanning various industries and sectors such as health tech, design, and data, to name a few. Out of the 80 teams, 11 were selected as finalists to pitch their projects in front of a panel comprising of industry experts and judges.
Each selected team had the opportunity to pitch their project idea to industry experts for 3 minutes, followed by receiving feedback from a panel of mentors for 5 minutes. The teams were evaluated across the four criteria: a). the opportunity and problem statement; b). the technology and innovation implemented; c). the robustness of the business model; and d). the quality of the overall presentation along with Q&A. Thus, all the teams presented information on the customer(s), market size, competitive landscape, financial projections, and a business roadmap for their early-stage projects. Moreover, a short solution demo was also required as part of the presentation. The winning teams had the opportunity to win up to $3,000 in funding for their startups!
The Winners of the SCET-Silicon Alliance Pitch Contest
To announce the winners of the Fall 2021 pitch competition:
- In 1st place was Team Telosis from UC Berkeley! A self-administered lymphatic drug delivery platform, Telosis is a patient-friendly and data driven delivery system targeting various therapeutic agents to tumors and their metastatic lymph nodes.
- UC Berkeley Team Sotira bagged the prize for 2nd place! Sotira is a financial tracking, optimization, and pricing discovery tool platform for side hustlers who sell and resell products. With industry-specific templates, Sotira allows customers to track expenses, shipping costs, and profits.
- Lastly, Team WiTagg from the Silicon Lake Vocational and Technical College in Suzhou, China walked away with the prize for 3rd place! WiTagg is a WiSense RF sensing technology that combines a smart antenna array, advanced digital signal processing algorithms, and machine learning to deliver high accuracy positioning and wireless sensing capabilities for many applications.
Ricardo Rodriguez, the Global Programs Coordinator at SCET, expressed his admiration for all the project applicants as he mentioned, “Congrats to all who participated and a big shout-out to the winners – Team Telosis, Team Sotira, and Team WiTagg!”
About UC Berkeley SCET
The Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology is a global innovation hub headquartered at UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering, where aspiring entrepreneurs take deep dives into the world of technology entrepreneurship and embark on the path to developing exciting new ventures. The Center researches emerging technologies in its labs and offers a suite of courses and programs for students, executives, and global innovators. The Center has labs focused on innovation in data science, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and meat alternatives. Additionally, academics from around the world visit the Center to learn about the Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship, a unique innovation pedagogy that focuses on mindset training for innovators and entrepreneurs. UC Berkeley is the world’s #1 public university and ranks as the #2 university for startups and entrepreneurs, according to Pitchbook. UC Berkeley has been at the forefront of innovation in emerging technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.
About the University of Silicon Alliance
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Silicon Valley, the University of Silicon Alliance collaborates with the top universities in Silicon Valley in the United States to redefine online education. The University of Silicon Alliance is committed to keeping Chinese students from all over the world studying at the forefront of innovation and development courses from Silicon Valley. Overcoming language barriers, walking in the forefront of the world, becoming a new star in the entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem, and becoming a compound key talent needed by well-known enterprises. Learn more by visiting https://universityofsiliconalliance.org/!