Yuko AI Wins Next AI Top Startup Award

BlogKyle Winters July 23, 2022

NEWS

NEXT AI MONTRÉAL AWARDS YUKO AI WITH NEXT AI TOP STARTUP AWARD & A VENTURE SPOT IN THE 2023 COHORT

JEWELS MACPHERSON July 20, 2022

Last week, the NEXT Canada and Next AI Montreal teams joined together to attend this year’s sold-out Startupfest in Montréal’s iconic Old Port. During Startupfest, we created meaningful connections, uncovered innovative ideas, awarded prizes, and made remarkable memories. 

 

For the first time since the festival was founded, there were three $100K investment prizes, with the addition of a $100K prize dedicated to Black entrepreneurs and leaders. Many of our current ventures and alumni pitched for a chance to win an investment prize, with a few of them coming out on top!

Next AI Top Startup Award

Winner: Yuko AI

Last week, the NEXT Canada and Next AI Montreal teams joined together to attend this year’s sold-out Startupfest in Montréal’s iconic Old Port. During Startupfest, we created meaningful connections, uncovered innovative ideas, awarded prizes, and made remarkable memories. 

For the first time since the festival was founded, there were three $100K investment prizes, with the addition of a $100K prize dedicated to Black entrepreneurs and leaders. Many of our current ventures and alumni pitched for a chance to win an investment prize, with a few of them coming out on top!

While Yuko took home the prize, honourable mentions go out to the Next AI top finalists.

SnapWrite AI Inc.

BIEX Health

Désherbex inc.

Oogway

Picketa Systems

$100k Best of the Fest Investment Prize

Best of the Fest is the original Startupfest prize and is open to anyone in attendance. Any startup that impressed the group of angel investors can pitch, and the winner is crowned Best of the Fest.

Congratulations to Friendlier, a Next 36 2021 alumni venture, and Sports AI, a current Next AI Montreal venture, for finishing in the top 10 of this highly coveted prize.

A Friendlier Company is creating a tech-driven reuse system to eliminate single-use food packaging waste. Their turnkey system makes reusable packaging accessible and affordable for food service businesses and their customers. A Friendlier Company’s unique QR code and centralized system allows them to conveniently incentivize consumers to reuse, as well as to collect invaluable data and insights on their process.

Sports AI, a current Next AI venture in the Montreal campus, aims to analyze the performance of sports teams in real time using the advances in artificial intelligence. They are willing to develop an application able to watch games using computer vision and producing metadata that will be analyzed to help coaches athletes to perform better.

The Grandmothers’ Choice Award

Startupfest’s esteemed panel of Grandmother Judges have become a Startupfest favourite, and have an unbeatable track record. Open to any startup in attendance, startups from across the country tested their mettle with the Grandmothers. There’s no monetary award, but the bragging rights are undeniable.

Azimut Medical, a current Next AI venture from the Montreal campus, took the top spot. Azimut Medical is a young startup, and they’re on a mission to solve a fundamental problem among seniors; hip fractures. They’re developing an intelligent belt that detects falls and deploys an airbag around the hips, which helps to prevent fractures.

It was great returning to Startupfest this year and being able to connect with so many of our current ventures, alumni and partners.

We’re also proud to see our current cohort doing so well and taking home some big prizes! 

Our cohort this year has over 100 entrepreneurs and you can meet them all here.