The 30 semifinalists of the 2022 Next Venture Pitch have been announced and include a diverse group of companies seeking solutions to a range of business challenges.
The group will compete for 10 finalist slots to pitch at the 7th NEXT Venture Summit Sept. 22 at the Greenville ONE Center and a chance to pitch at Venture Atlanta Oct. 19-20.
The semifinalists are all from North and South Carolina and were selected from 94 applicants, and among them are a Greenville firm specializing in carbon and alloy bicycle wheels and a Charlotte drone company that produces machines that clean buildings up to eight times faster than traditional methods. Of the 30 semifinalists, 17% are minority- or female-owned companies.
NEXT CEO Eric Weissmann said the caliber of this year’s applicants was outstanding and demonstrates how the NEXT Venture Summit has become a showcase for the Carolinas’ top startups.
“We want to get to the 10 best venture ready, venture backable startups in the Carolinas,” Weissmann said.
He added the event’s continued growth also demonstrates a vibrant Greenville ecosystem that supports high-growth entrepreneurship.
This year’s venture pitch will again feature the largest gathering of venture capital firms in Greenville’s history with 32 individual investor judges representing 27 investor firms and is among the largest gatherings of such firms in state history.
Following its debut last year to enthusiastic response, a pre-conference screening party will be held Sept. 8 at Fluor Field from 4-6 p.m. in conjunction with the Greenville Drive’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Night.
Attendees will view video presentations from the semifinalists and get a chance to vote on the 10 finalists who will present at the Sept. 22 venture pitch.
The NEXT Venture Summit will feature educational sessions, networking opportunities, keynote speakers and a half-day conference affording entrepreneurs one-on-one interactions with investors.
Here are the 30 semifinalists:
Kevel — Durham, NC; kevel.com
Bluerecruit — Raleigh, NC; bluerecruit.us
BOYDbikes Inc. — Greenville, SC; boydcycling.com
Checkeeper — Greenville, SC; checkeeper.com
Earnnest LLC — Greenville, SC; earnnest.com
Ecobot — Asheville, NC; ecobot.com
Elstrin Therapeutics Inc. — Simpsonville, SC; elastrin.com
Girlology — Greenville, SC; girlology.com
Growpath — Durham, NC; growpath.com
Hank AI Inc. — Lexington, SC; hank.ai
Hook Security Inc. — Greenville, SC; hooksecurity.co
Interloop — Charleston, SC; interloop.ai
Land Intelligence — Columbia, SC; landintelligence.net
Lucid Drone technologies — Charlotte, NC; luciddronetech.com
Momtech Inc. — Charlotte, NC; momi.baby
My Relief Wear Inc. — Taylors, SC; myreliefwear.com
Natrx Inc. — Raleigh, NC; natrx.io
North 7th — Greenville, SC; n7th.com
Omedym — Liberty, SC; omedym.com
Parrots Inc. — Winston-Salem, NC; flyparrots.com
Plum CoOwnership Inc. — Durham, NC; plumcoownership.com
ProAxion Inc. — Cary, NC; proaxion.io
Quartix — Charlotte, NC; goquartix.com
Rabbu — Charlotte, NC; rabbu.com
Resultid — Raleigh, NC; resultid.com
ScopeStack — Greenville, SC; scopestack.io
TestedHQ — Mauldin, SC; testedhq.com
TRAKID — Raleigh, NC; trakid.com
Udu Inc. — Durham, NC; udu.com
Zylo Therapeutics Inc. — Greenville, SC; zylotherapeutics.com
