Last Friday, 20 Dutch startups pitched their business for a chance to win the Computable Awards 2018 Dutch Startup of the year. Chair of the jury is EIT Digital's Netherlands Node Director Patrick Essers. The finals will be on 30 October.
The 20 contestants had already survived an initial selection round conducted by experts from Computable, a leading Dutch computing magazine. In total, 105 startups were competing for the prestigious title of Dutch Startup of the year. Only ten will reach the finals during which a public vote will decide the overall winner. Who will make it through is up to the jury.
Jury
Essers is leading a professional team of judges who all have earned their stripes in the IT world. The jury selected the 20 based on their product, market, team and business to date.
The jury members are: Jeroen Aris, infrastructure architect at Teva Pharmaceuticals; Bart van der Mark, conversational AI Lead Europe at Cognizant Accelerator; Erik van der Meijden, former CEO of Exact; Ruud Pieterse, Chief Architect at DXC Technology; Elles de Vries, New business developer at Rightbrains and Vincent Wouters, CEO of iCreative.
Finals
Computable will publish the list of finalists on 26 June. After that, readers of Computable can vote for the final ten. ‘Startup of the Year’ is one of the categories of the high-profile Computable Awards. In total, Computable gives away 21 awards each year. On 30 October, the winner will be revealed during a spectacular awards show.
EIT Digital Challenge
At the same time as this startup competition is taking place in the Netherlands, the EIT Digital Accelerator is hosting its own annual EIT Digital Challenge looking for the best scaleups in Europe. Fast-growing startups can enter this award until 14 June.
Here is the list of the 20 startups that pitched to the Computable jury:
Tryst Energy aims to replace all batteries in Internet of Things innovations by using only lux light energy.
Expivi helps businesses sell products in 3D with augmented and virtual reality.
Ikbenfrits (IamFrits) automates mortgage searches by linking a robot to a real advisor so customers can find the best mortgage offers at a glance and discuss them with the advisor.
Homerun provides all-in-one recruitment software (ATS) that combines vacancies with storytelling and marketing.
20Face has created the world's first unconditional face recognition software
Hotelchamp has developed an algorithm to offer hotel guests a personalised experience to encourage repeat bookings.
Mind Mansion helps people get over their fears by using a virtual reality game.
Ockel Computers brings together mobile and desktop worlds with ultrathin mobile computers that are as small as mobiles and have the features of desktops.
Shypple aims to be the booking.com of the freight industry. It compares quotes and carriers on different sailings.
GoBlock has developed GoBlock Core which lets clients implement blockchain solutions on a plug and play basis.
Oblivion Cloud Control advises organisations on how to use cloud computing. The team call themselves 'Cloud Warriors'.
Watermelon aims to make the process of online sales and customer service smooth and easy. It provides an overview of chat applications for use in digital client communication.
We.Stream claims to be the world’s first safe mobile WiFi Hotspot with embedded Clous SIM Technology to enable unlimited data in 100+ countries.
SD-Insights wants to help professional drivers improve their driving skills and lower mobility costs.
Testalize.me offers anonymous testing for sexual diseases or drugs. The tests are as reliable as the ones from healthcare centres, says testalize.me, only cheaper and anonymous.
Carapax IT, a social enterprise employing highly gifted IT people with autism, offers clients complex IT systems and services.
Winq is an online platform for developing, sharing and distributing personalised healthcare information and advice so patients and their carers can make better, informed choices.
Quant Base visualises data for companies and government institutions using a tool called Smart Graph. This interactive dashboard aims to help managers make better decisions.
PlaygroundVR helps hospitalised children play outside using Virtual Reality while they are in bed.
