Medical Devices, E-Cigs, and Drones: Student Startups Shine At Georgia Tech’s InVenture Prize

InVenture prize

On Wednesday, March 13, Georgia Tech’s 11th annual InVenture Prize wrapped up its final round of competition. Six finalist startup teams got three minutes to present their pitches and four minutes of brief Q&A with a three-membered panel of expert judges, all for the chance to win thousands of dollars for their company.

The stakes were raised even higher as the contestants presented in front of a live audience, televised via Georgia Public Broadcasting. 

One of the last presenters, Ethos Medical, ultimately took home the First Place designation for their ultrasound-based needle guidance system for procedures such as spinal taps and epidurals. The team landed $20,000, a free patent filing from Georgia Tech’s Office of Technology Licensing, and automatic acceptance into the next cohort of Create-X’s Startup Launch Program.

Second place also went to a medical device invention, hand tremor treatment TremorTrainer. The counterweight-based glove earned $10,000, as well as a free patent filing.

Nix, an e-cigarette and accompanying software to help those seeking to quit nicotine addiction, earned them great support among audience members and online viewers. They received $5,000 in the competition’s People’s Choice Award.

Additional teams included HANDLD, a device that enables bicyclists to record and report safety and passing violations by drivers on shared roadways, and Unfoldit, an app based on spatial reasoning skills, folding paper, and creating hole punches.

Lastly, Finger Flyer presented their drone that can be controlled by mere hand gestures. Finger Flyer gained much attention from the younger audience members, especially onlooking students who competed in the K-12 InVenture Prize earlier that day.

Following the competition, Ethos Medical will also move on to compete in the inaugural Georgia InVenture Prize on April 4, and the ACC InVenture Prize Competition on April 17 in Raleigh, North Carolina.