SXSW Announces 2020 Pitch Finalists

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals today revealed the finalists for the 12th annual SXSW Pitch® event, taking place March 14 - 15 at the downtown Hilton Austin. This competition takes place during the Startup Track of the SXSW Conference, with 50 startups chosen to compete based on the technological innovation brought to their fields. One winner will be selected from each category, and the most promising project will receive the Best In Show award.

To determine category and overall winners, the 50 startup finalists will present their innovations to a panel of expert judges in front of a live audience during SXSW Pitch. Participating judges include industry influencers and entrepreneurs from organizations like NEA, Accel Partners, Backstage Capital, Mayfield Fund, Google X, Flybridge Capital, Kapor Capital and more. Participating companies come from all around the world, with finalists this year representing India, Australia, Gibraltar, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea, Denmark, Egypt, the U.S. and Germany, among others.

This year's event includes startups within existing popular technology sectors like artificial intelligence and virtual reality, but also adds three new categories: Consumer Technology & CPG; Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics; and Innovative World Technologies.

The finalists of the 2020 SXSW Pitch in each category are:

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice: Artisense; Deepblocks; Intvo; Sonavi Labs; Wunder

Augmented & Virtual Reality: echoAR; Eyedaptic; holoride; Looxid Labs; Praxis Labs

Blockchain: AgUnity Pty Ltd; DrumG; Quantstamp; Votem; Winding Tree

Consumer Technology & CPG: AVA Technologies Inc; EasyKale Labs; FAVES; Renzoe Box; Trust & Will

Enterprise & Smart Data: LexSet; Passbase; StrongSalt; Syndio; Virtualitics

Entertainment & Content: Citefull; Filmchain; Quicc; St. Noire by Virsix Games; Wriveted

Health, Wearables & Wellbeing: Milis Bio; Radiobotics; Safe Health; Sisu Global; TruPigment

Innovative World Technologies: Betmarkets; Lofty AI; MolyWorks; NeelAgil Technologies Private Limited; Plantible Foods

Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics: cove.tool; Flugauto; Sapient Industries; Trella; Waycare

Social & Culture: Agrona; Applied Bioplastics; Arist; Collective Liberty; Skilllab

This year's finalists represent the most cutting-edge technologies from around the world, chosen from the largest group of applications since SXSW Pitch's beginning.

"Now in our twelfth year of programming, we've become the premier competition for the hottest trends in tech representing the future," said SXSW Pitch Event Producer Chris Valentine. "With our largest class of applicants yet, we're pleased to see that SXSW Pitch continues to be a stage for the tech industry's best and brightest to showcase their groundbreaking ideas and take their companies to the next level."

Out of the 503 companies that participated in SXSW Pitch from 2009 and 2019, over 75 percent have received funding, with combined funding in excess of $6.6 billion (not including undisclosed grants, angel and seed funding). Of these companies, 16 percent have been acquired by established leaders like Google, British Telecom, Huffington Post, Apple, OpenTable, Live Nation and others.

The 2020 SXSW Pitch event will feature 25 companies on Saturday, March 14 and 25 companies on Sunday, March 15. On March 15 at 6:30 p.m. CT, SXSW will host the SXSW Pitch Award Ceremony on the 6th floor of the Hilton in Salon H and announce a winner from each category, including the overall "Best in Show" winner. SXSW attendees will have the opportunity to meet all 50 companies at the SXSW Pitch Meet the Finalist day on Monday, March 16 at 11 a.m. CT at the Hilton Austin Downtown.

For a complete list of the 2020 Finalists, including alternates, visit: https://www.sxsw.com/interactive/2020/sxsw-pitch-2020-finalists-announcement/

To learn more about the Startups Track, visit: 
https://www.sxsw.com/conference/startups/

About SXSW
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. An essential destination for global professionals, the event features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. SXSW 2020 will take place March 13 - 22, 2020. For more information, please visit sxsw.com. 

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SOURCE South By Southwest

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