Extreme Tech Challenge Announces Top 10 Semi-Finalists to Present at CES® 2018

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CES Unveiled - All eyes will be on the largest consumer electronics showcase in the world, CES® 2018 as the Top 10 Semi-Finalists from Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) are slated to present live on-stage, January 11th, 2018 at the Bellini Ballroom at the Venetian Las Vegas. Ahead of CES® 2018, XTC formally revealed the Top 10 who will forge on to the next stages of the contest in hopes of being one of three startups selected to move onto the final round, with an opportunity to pitch to a phenomenal panel of judges spearheaded by Sir Richard Branson. Announced in New York City at CES® Unveiled, this year's Top 10 is arguably the strongest candidate pool to date.

Co-Founder of XTC, Bill Tai remarks: "We are incredibly proud of this year's group as they exhibit variety and are poised to disrupt current technology trends, and tackling the most pressing issues our generation."

Traversing international borders and significantly distinct in both hometown and industry, the contenders hail from Rwanda to Los Angeles, and nearly everywhere in between. The 2018 XTC Top 10 Semi-Finalists advancing to the CES® Showcase are ABRA (Mountain View, CA), AirSwap (Brooklyn, NY), BioCellection Inc. (San Jose, CA), Chooose.today (Oslo, Norway),  Neurotrack (Redwood, CA), Owlet Baby Care Inc. (Lehi, UT),  Powerledger (Perth, Australia), Rayton Solar 2018 (Los Angeles, CA), SafeMotos (Kigali, Rwanda), and Tissue Analytics (Philadelphia, PA).

Extreme Tech Challenge is proud to announce the return of the XTC 2018 Wildcard, who will have the opportunity to showcase in conjunction with the Top 10 Semifinalists at CES® 2018. Congratulations to Piaggio Fast Forward, a company pioneering the intelligent movement of people and goods.

Those attending CES® 2018 will witness these game-changing enterprises compete to stay in contention as the challengers present the complexities of their entries, which encompass blockchain technology, fintech, mobility, sustainability, and nearly every sector of technology on the market. Pitching their innovations on stage to an audience of tech gurus, the fate of the contenders will ultimately be decided by a collective of experts, led for the fourth year by Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of Consumer Technology Association. 

Jockeying for the ultimate prize of global visibility and invaluable resources, the Top 10 Semi-Finalists will pitch their budding ventures to a phenomenal panel of judges, spearheaded by Branson and comprised of the world's leading minds in innovation:

• 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

Since its inception, XTC has gained international notoriety for elevating innovative startups into a new frontier of technology. Who will be crowned the next champion of XTC? Watch the contest unfold here.

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: 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, Ally & Plug and Play, 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.

For more information, contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Extreme Tech Challenge

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