Y Combinator, an internationally renowned investment company in startups, recently held demo days for new entrepreneurs. During these days, the most promising startups present themselves, mostly in the tech sector. This year, for instance, many startups were present in the field of biotech and artificial intelligence. We have listed the most interesting ones.
Twice a year
Y Combinator has previously shown to have a nose for successful startups. In the past, for instance, it invested in Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe. Twice a year, the company invests $120,000 in a large number of startups. The startups then settle in Silicon Valley for three months where they receive intensive coaching. A demo day follows at the end of this process, where the startups present their companies to a selected group of invited guests.
The first demo day of this year again showcased a lot of great startups. Many of these startups are betting on the future and new technologies. A brief overview:
Zendar: In a world where self-driving cars seem to be becoming a reality, Zendar is a valuable addition. This company develops HD radar for autonomous vehicles. Driverless cars now rely on two technologies: lidar and traditional radar. Lidar can see the environment in HD but does not do well in bad weather conditions, while radar works well in bad weather but cannot see in HD. Zendar has brought together the best of both technologies in their radar system. The startup itself expects 10 million autonomous vehicles to be made in the next three years.
Pyka: Pyka wants to make 'flying cars a reality' with its auto-pilot single-seat aircraft. The company has already built a nearly 200kg plane that flies itself around and can take off and land in 27 metres. Because authorities want to see a lot of testing before flying cars actually go into use, Pyka is deploying its drones to pollinate crops in New Zealand. From there, it will see what is still needed before human transport is required.
Modular Science: Modular Science aims to automate 99 per cent of the processes involved in growing vegetables with their agricultural robots. In doing so, they aim to make food production healthier for humans and the environment. They charge $2,000 per hectare, which they say is half of what farmers currently pay for employing workers.
May Mobility: Enters the market of autonomous vehicles. The team's main aim is to be the first to enter the market. To do so, it has partnered with the city of Detroit, among others. Their idea is that the vehicle can do its job by using fewer variables. This can be done by having the vehicle operate in a more predictable environment, such as quiet residential areas and business districts.
Sunu: People with impaired vision regularly injure themselves. Sunu wants to do something about this and has developed a bracelet with a sonar sensor. The band lets visually impaired and blind people know when they approach an environmental object. The ultrasonic sound emitted by the Sunu bounces back from objects to the smart band's sensors. Based on the strength of the feedback waves, a vibrating signal is emitted. Depending on the distance from the ambient object, the vibration becomes stronger or weaker. A six-month beta test found that it reduced accidents by 90 per cent. The product has now been patented and manufactured and Sunu has set a goal of selling a bracelet to all blind and visually impaired people in the US (around 10 million).
Kestrel Materials: William Gore built a company by inventing the breathable, waterproof fabric Gor-Tex. He now wants to take the next step in textile science and is working on a fabric that responds to cold by flexing, creating air pockets that trap heat and keep people warm. When the air gets warmer again, the pockets 'collapse' so there is less heat trapped and people stay cooler. The company already has a letter of intent from a major mattress manufacturer that it wants to use the fabric.
Cambridge Cancer Genomics: It can take as much as six months for a cancer patient's doctor to know whether the chemotherapy they have chosen is working. That while two-thirds of treatments fail. Cambridge Cancer Genomics has developed a blood test that can detect failing treatments months faster than standard monitors. The blood test is a concoction of four doctors specialising in cancer research. CGC is also working on an artificial intelligence for personalising cancer treatments. For this, the developers say they are using a dataset four times larger than what patients have access to. Namely, it uses all the data from every medical facility where a patient registers.
Skyways: Skyways builds vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones that can be used by the military to transport equipment. This avoids putting people in danger. It also makes it easier to operate in areas where there is little infrastructure. The drones are fully autonomous and have a payload of 20 kilos. Although they are starting with military drones, the company eventually wants to move towards consumer vehicles.
Airthium: Energy storage is something many companies hope to differentiate themselves in. Airthium opts for a technology that stores energy through the use of heat pumps: thermodynamic energy storage. They use electricity to power the heat pump and store the heat at 500°C in units made of inexpensive materials. The heat pump then becomes a heat engine to convert the heat into electricity when needed. Behind the technology is a team of physicists and experts in fluid dynamics. They build small systems without moving parts, which saves a lot of money. Airthium has already secured two letters of intent worth $4 million a year.
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: Techcrunch
