some of the finalists previously have received startup awards or other financing around town. They include Ksplice (winner of the MIT $100K last year), Sproxil (winner of a MITX technology award this year), Aukera (MIT $100K finalist this year), OsComp (MIT clean energy prize finalist this year), Locately (raised seed funding last month), and Zyrra (currently closing a financing round).
Here’s the complete list of all 26 finalists; tweet-like descriptions of what they do based on their one-minute pitch; and the amount of money they won (if any). Congratulations to all—let’s keep this competition and mentorship program going strong.
3Play Media—interactive, searchable transcripts and closed captioning for video search ($50K)
7Solar Technologies—greener heating and cooling system for buildings
Abroad101—like TripAdvisor for study-abroad reviews ($50K)
Architexa—-analyzes code and helps developers understand complex software
Aukera Therapeutics—early-stage therapy for Lou Gehrig’s Disease
BrassMonkey—turning smartphones into videogame controllers like the Wii remote
Embed.ly—turns links into embeddable URL previews of video, text, or images (sort of the inverse of Bit.ly)
Energesis Pharmaceuticals—therapeutics to combat obesity and diabetes ($50K)
JoyTunes— interactive videogame to help people learn to play musical instruments
Ksplice—making rebooting obsolete for system administrators ($100K)
Locately—turns mobile phone data into insights for market research, retailers, and transit authorities ($100K)
Novophage—greener, non-toxic alternatives to bleach and antimicrobials
OsComp Systems—natural gas from marginal wells, more efficient compressor system ($50K)
OsmoPure—“clean water in a pinch,” using a special filter ($100K)
Pearl’s Premium—ultra low-maintenance lawn seed that grows slowly and needs no chemical fertilizer ($50K)
RelayRides—car-sharing service for neighbors, wants to “reinvent the wheels” ($50K)
Relay Technology Management—provides real-time data to biotech companies and other organizations to improve drug development
Rentabilities—Amazon.com for renting stuff, everything from a kayak to a slip-and-slide ($50K)
Samanta Shoes—“Give a woman a great pair of shoes and she can conquer the world.” Luxury shoes in hard-to-find sizes ($100K)
ScholarPro—matches up high-school students with private scholarships for college ($50K)
Seeding Labs—reclaim used lab equipment to enable world-class science in the developing world ($50K)
Sproxil—using cellphones to protect against counterfeit drugs
StorageByMail.com—provides access to warehouse space as an alternative to self-storage ($50K)
Symmetric Computing—“supercomputing for the masses” ($50K)
ViThera Laboratories—genetically engineers bacteria that produce drugs in your gut to fight bowel disorders
Zyrra—computer-aided design of custom-fit bras. “Let’s face it, if the bra-wearing population is happier, the rest of us will be happier.” ($50K)
