School of Startups alumni awarded by Portugal Ventures

Portuguese venture capital distinguished Addvolt and Noocity, and the founder of Corium Biotech for standing out in 2022.

Addvolt, Noocity and the founder of Corium Biotech, Maria João Maia, are among the winners of the Portugal Ventures Awards. The distinctions awarded by venture capital to the School of Startups alumni took place during the PV Founders Get Together 2022 event.

In the Industry & Technology Startup category, the winning company is already a UPTEC graduate: Addvolt. This trophy distinguished the company from this business unit, which, in recent years, has presented a superior level of execution in the critical areas of its development. Addvolt created an Electric Plug-in system, a technology developed by alums from the Faculty of Engineering of the U.Porto (FEUP) and already patented in several territories, ensuring the distribution of fresh and frozen products without resorting to diesel. Furthermore, it is free of CO2 emissions and operates with low noise due to the combination of a gas vehicle with the refrigeration system powered in electrical mode by Addvolt.

In ​​the sustainability category, Noocity was awarded in 2023 for being the company in the Portugal Ventures portfolio that contributed most to the issue of sustainability. Installed in UPTEC Baixa, Noocity creates community gardens in public or private spaces to promote the ecological transition. It develops intelligent technical equipment for turnkey vegetable garden installations, which applies to companies, schools, condominiums, hotels, and more.

The entrepreneur award was awarded to the founder of Corium Biotech, Maria João Maia, this being the recognition given to the CEO of the Portugal Ventures portfolio of companies who stood out in 2023 for her leadership abilities. The U.Porto spin-off – also incubated at UPTEC – produces genuine leather in the laboratory, chemically the same as the leather obtained in traditional processes, but in an ecological, sustainable way and without harming animals. Maria João Maia, an alumnus of the Faculty of Pharmacy at U.Porto, has a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Interactions and believes that “the younger generations will not just look at the price, so they will not buy something that has caused animal suffering or impact negative impact on the environment.”

The Portugal Ventures Awards aim to distinguish startups that stood out in the various categories during the year in question. In its 5th edition, this award highlights eleven categories. It has four winners from startups incubated and graduated from UPTEC, distinguished in the Startup Digital & Technology, Startup Industry & Technology, Entrepreneur and Sustainability categories.

To determine the winners, Portugal Ventures counted on the collaboration of a group of personalities who work daily in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: António Grilo, National Innovation Agency, Luis Guerreiro, IAPMEI, Pedro Silveira, AICEP, Carlos Abade, Turismo de Portugal, Manuel Caldeira Cabral, Startup Portugal, Conceição Zagalo, GRACE, Cristina Campos, Investor, Marcelo Lebre, Remote, Isabel Neves, Investor and Vanda Jesus, iCapital.