Artificial intelligence solution to aid stroke rehabilitation wins UPTEC Pitch Day
Braining's pitch, a solution that uses Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support patients in stroke rehabilitation, was the winner of the Best Pitch award at Pitch Day, the event that marks the end of the 12th edition of the School of Startups at UPTEC - Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto.
In three minutes, Nuno Almeida, founder of Braining, presented the concept of his project to the audience and a panel of judges: a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that combines VR and AI to offer both stroke survivors and healthcare professionals a personalised solution for rehabilitation.
The award was handed by Francisca Vieira Matias, a member of the jury and representative of the Santander Foundation, a partner in this edition of the School of Startups. The jury also included João Miguel Dias (Armilar), Rodrigo Dahl (Super Bock), Sérgio Rodrigues (COREangels), Orlando Rocha (Miew) and Filipa Pontes, representing Vodafone Business, an organisation that also supported this edition of the School of Startups.
WAVENG, which created a wave energy converter for renewable energy, won the ‘Best Impact Project’ honour, awarded to the business idea with the greatest chance of making an impact on the market. The idea centres on harnessing wave energy with its Pivoting Wave Energy Converter (PWEC), designed for efficiency and low environmental impact, as well as reduced production costs compared to existing technologies.
During the Pitch Day, 12 of the 22 projects from the 12th edition of the School of Startups took to the stage. This acceleration programme created by UPTEC offered participants “(...) 3 months of many challenges and the development of skills linked to the entrepreneurial path”, stressed Raphael Stanzani, UPTEC's Entrepreneurship Programme Manager. Throughout the programme, participants had access to practical workshops and one-to-one mentoring that allowed their business ideas to evolve: “we were able to see projects move forward with pilots, sign collaboration protocols, qualify for test-beds and attract clients”, adds Raphael.
The award for Best Evolution, which highlighted the progress of one of the business projects throughout the programme, went to Plástica Sonora, a Portuguese artist agency focused on representing women and non-binary people in the world of electronic music. The project, which also includes a radio show platform, aims to fill a gap in the market by adding social value and justice to the music industry.
UPTEC's accelerator programme has already supported more than 500 entrepreneurs and over 200 business projects, resulting in more than 70 new companies. Applications for the next edition of the programme are now open, with an early bird discount, at www.escoladestartups.org.
UPTEC presents 12 new business ideas at another Pitch Day
Solutions with applications in health, rehabilitation and medical emergency, tools for education and culture, or environmental and sustainability management technologies will be presented on 29 January at 2.30pm in the UPTEC Asprela I Auditorium. At the Pitch Day, an event that marks the end of the School of Startups, an acceleration programme run by UPTEC - Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, 12 projects will have three minutes to present their business ideas.
Among the business projects chosen to present are an online platform for setting educational goals for teachers and students, a discount card for local businesses for residents and travellers in the city of Porto, a gamification platform for museums, a solution that uses Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support patients in stroke rehabilitation, and a manufacturer of natural and organic cosmetics.
In addition, the UPTEC event will also feature presentations by a talent agency for Portuguese artists, an AI-powered solution aimed at improving the recovery of post-operative patients, a converter of wave energy into renewable energy, a cloud platform created for endodontics professionals, a sustainability management software for companies, a communication platform for emergency response teams, and a laboratory specialising in drugs created using microgravity.
The event will also feature an interview with two members of the UPTEC community: António Rocha, founder of Smartex and João Guimarães, founder of Intuitivo, both winners of the best pitch award at the Web Summit Startup Competition in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
On Pitch Day, the selected participants will present their project to a jury made up of Francisca Vieira Matias (Santander), Marisa Gomes (Vodafone Business), João Miguel Dias (Armilar), Rodrigo Dahl (Super Bock) and Sérgio Rodrigues (COREangels). In addition to the prize for best pitch, there will also be a prize for best evolution, highlighting the entrepreneurial project's progress throughout the programme, and for best impact project.
The 12th edition of the School of Startups saw the participation of 22 projects that for three months had the opportunity to take part in practical workshops on topics such as market analysis, differentiation, pricing strategy, intellectual property and pitch training, as well as individual mentoring with industry experts and access to UPTEC's workspaces. The initiative was supported by Vodafone Business and the Santander Portugal Foundation, which awarded inclusion grants to women entrepreneurs and people of African descent.
Over the course of 12 editions, UPTEC's acceleration programme has supported almost 500 entrepreneurs and more than 200 business projects, resulting in 70 companies. The startups that have passed through the Startup School - such as Smartex, Addvolt, Wisecrop, B-Parts, Summary, FAHR 021.3, among others - have raised more than 65 million euros in investment.
Entry to the School of Startups Pitch Day is free, but subject to registration via this link.