SXSW Interactive Announces 2015 Accelerator® Finalists, Judges and Emcees

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The South by Southwest Interactive Festival today announced the finalists, judges and emcees for the seventh annual SXSW Accelerator competition presented by Oracle, March 14-15, during SXSW Interactive Festival's Startup Village. The Accelerator competition brings together leading startups from around the world to present their innovations to a live audience and panel of experts that includes successful entrepreneurs, investors and industry influencers.

From the more than 500 applications received this year, 48 finalists were chosen across the following six technology categories: Enterprise and Smart Data, Entertainment and Content, Digital Health and Life Sciences, Innovative World, Social and Wearables. The 2015 SXSW Accelerator Category Sponsors are Rackspace (Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies Sponsor) IBM (Innovative World Technologies Sponsor) and Dyn (Social Technologies Category Sponsor), with Prezi serving as the official presentation platform for the competition.

"Over the past six years of companies competing in SXSW Accelerator, more than 50 percent have gone on to receive funding in excess of $1.7 billion and 12 percent of the companies have been acquired," said SXSW Accelerator Event Producer Chris Valentine. "We are looking forward to this year's competition and expect to see these finalists achieve similar, if not greater, success than our past Accelerator participants."

In addition to the 2015 Accelerator finalists, the judges and emcees were also announced today. This year's event boasts a diverse selection of individuals who were chosen based on their demonstrated business and investment expertise and overall industry experience. The list of 2015 Accelerator emcees includes legendary recording artist Sir Mix-a-Lot, CNN Tech Correspondent Laurie Segall and Fast Company Senior Editor Chris Dannen. Notable judges include Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Scott Weiss, Fitbit CEO & Co-Founder James Park and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Partner Mood Rowghani.

"We are excited about this year's group of Accelerator emcees and judges who will play an integral part in the overall success of the event," said Valentine. "Each year, we continue to experience positive growth and the continued interest we receive from industry leaders, venture capitalists and media to participate in this capacity is a testament to the widespread impact SXSW Accelerator has throughout the startup community."

The Accelerator judges will draw upon their wealth of experience and knowledge in startup, technology and creative fields to select the winners from each category. The winners will receive two badges for the 2016 SXSW Interactive conference, various SXSW Accelerator sponsor gifts and, most importantly, the opportunity to receive key exposure to SXSW attendees and potential investors who are looking for the latest in cutting-edge technology and innovation.

This year's SXSW Accelerator finalists are:

Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies

Crate.IO (Vorarlberg, Austria)
Hypori (Austin, TX)
Identified Technologies (Pittsburgh, PA)
Kasisto (New York, NY)
Loopd (San Francisco, CA)
Partpic (Atlanta, GA)
Sapho (San Francisco, CA)
Trendalytics (New York, NY)

Entertainment and Content Technologies

AirDog (Riga, Latvia)
Cloudstitch (Cambridge, MA)
Flixfindr (San Francisco, CA)
Inmobly (Columbus, OH)
Pixbi (New York, NY)
SIX (Tokyo, Japan) 
Weezic (Paris, France)
Zype (New York, NY)

Digital Health and Life Sciences Technologies

Accel Diagnostics (Pittsburgh, PA)
BioBots.io (Philadelphia, PA)
Eko Devices (Berkeley, CA)
Litesprite (Bellevue, WA)
MobileOCT (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Smart Temperature Patch (Sherman Oaks, CA)
Tinnitracks (Hamburg, Germany)
Tute Genomics (Salt Lake City, UT)

Innovative World Technologies

CreoPop (The Central, Singapore)
GroundFloor (Atlanta, GA)
ProtonMail (Geneva, Switzerland)
RapidSOS (Cambridge, MA)
SLANTRANGE (San Diego, CA)
SmartyPans (Oakland, CA)
ZUtA Labs (Los Angeles, CA)

Social Technologies

Cooler (Venice, CA)
Peepsqueeze (Austin, TX)
Platypus TV (Camillus, NY)
Polsie (Nuevo Leon, Mexico)
RealSavvy (Austin, TX)
Reveal Chat (Seattle, WA)
Verie (Chicago, IL)
Vhoto (Seattle, WA)

Wearable Technologies

Feetz (Chattanooga, TN)
FitBark (Kansas City, MO)
Kohana (Canton, MA)
SolePower (Pittsburgh, PA)
Spire (San Francisco, CA)
Tinitell (Stockholm, Sweden)
Waverly Labs (New York, NY)

The 2015 SXSW Accelerator Emcees include:

Mikal Belicove – Journalist/Magazine Columnist, Entrepreneur
Jeffery Dachis – CEO and Founder, One Drop
Chris Dannen – Senior Editor, Fast Company
Fran Hauser – Partner, Rothenberg Ventures
Leah Hunter – Writer, Fast Company
Brad King – Assistant Professor, Ball State University
Andrew McLaughlin – SVP/CEO, betaworks/Digg
Bob Metcalfe – Professor of Innovation, Cockrell School of Engineering at University of Texas-Austin
Mia Saini – TV Reporter, Bloomberg TV
Robert Scoble – Startup Liaison Officer, Rackspace
Laurie Segall – Tech Correspondent, CNN
Ralph Simon – CEO & Co-Founder, Mobilium
Sir Mix-a-Lot – Artist, Rhyme Cartel Records
Sonny Vu – CEO, Misfit Wearables
Alex Wood – Editor-in-Chief, Tech City News

For a complete list of the 2015 Accelerator judges, please visit: http://sxsw.com/interactive/2015-accelerator-emcees-judges.

To learn more about SXSW's Startup Village, please visit: http://sxsw.com/interactive/startupvillage.

To request press credentials for SXSW Interactive, please visit http://sxsw.com/press/accreditation before the February 9, 2015 deadline.

About SXSW Interactive
The 22nd annual SXSW Interactive Festival returns to Austin from Friday, March 13 through Tuesday, March 17. An incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity, the 2015 event features five days of compelling presentations and panels from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer. From hands-on training to big-picture analysis of the future, SXSW Interactive has become the place to preview the technology of tomorrow today. Join us in March 2015 for the sessions, the networking, the evening events, the 18th Annual SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards, SXSW Accelerator, the SXSW Gaming Expo, the SXSW Trade Show, SXSW Create, the Digital Creative Job Market, cross-industry conversations with attendees from SXSW Film and SXSW Music, and most of all, the unforgettable inspirational experiences that only SXSW can deliver.

SXSW Interactive 2015 is sponsored by Miller Lite, Esurance, AT&T, IFC, Mazda, Monster Energy, McDonald's, Philips and The Austin Chronicle.

Press Contact:
Kelly Krause
Press + Publicity, SXSW Interactive
512.467.7979
[email protected]

SOURCE SXSW Interactive

Related Links

http://www.sxsw.com/interactive

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