Sixteenth Annual Competition honors interactive tech startups within nine categories
AUSTIN, Texas, March 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — This evening, South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals announced the winners of the 16th annual SXSW Pitch event presented by KPMG, which took place March 9-10 at the Hilton Austin Downtown during the Startups track of the SXSW Conference. In addition to a winner chosen from each of the nine categories, winners were selected for the “Best Bootstrap Company”, “Best Speed Pitch”, “Best in Inclusivity” and “Best In Show” awards.
The category winners of the 2024 SXSW Pitch event are:
Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice: Gan.ai (San Francisco, CA)
Enterprise & Smart Data: Swif.ai (Santa Clara, CA)
Entertainment, Media & Content: OpusClip (Redwood City, CA)
Extended Reality and Web3: Applix (Austin, TX)
Food, Nutrition & Health: STMPatch (Storrs, CT)
Future of Work: Folio.works (Oakland, CA)
Innovative World Technologies, sponsored by Collins Aerospace: Cephable (Boston, MA)
Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics sponsored by Collins Aerospace: Lotus (San Jose, CA)
Student Startup, sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin: Paradigm Robotics (Austin, TX)
SXSW Pitch 2024 also honored its “Best In Show” winner, OpusClip. Special awards were also presented to Coordle Inc (Baltimore, MD) for “Best Bootstrap Company,” Peadbo for “Best Speed Pitch,” and PHIOGEN for “Best In Inclusivity.”
“We are honored to receive the award for ‘Best in Show’ at this year’s SXSW Pitch event,” said Young Zhao, Founder of OpusClip. “This achievement reflects our team’s consistent hard work, strive for innovation, and commitment to democratizing video creation.”
Each of the Pitch winners received a cash prize, two badges for next year’s SXSW conference, the SXSW Arrow Trophy, and most importantly, exceptional exposure to SXSW attendees and potential investors who are looking for the latest in cutting-edge technology and innovation.
“We are proud that in its 16th year, SXSW Pitch continues to showcase incredible technology innovations and revolutionary startups from around the globe,” said SXSW Pitch Event Producer, Chris Valentine. “SXSW Pitch has always been a meeting place for diverse and novel businesses and entrepreneurs. We are very excited to have expanded in 2024 to involve the young minds in our ‘Student Startup’ category who are shaping the future of leading industries.”
This year’s participating companies represent the most innovative technology startups from around the world. Of the 647 companies that participated in SXSW Pitch between 2009 and 2023, over 93% received funding, with a combined funding of almost $23.2 billion (excluding undisclosed grants, angel, and seed funding).
Prominent trends showcased at this year’s Pitch event included AI integration, industry-specific solutions, and sustainability and environmental impact focused projects. The competition also drew a number of global companies, with startups traveling from countries including Belgium, England, Estonia, France, Israel, Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, among others
SXSW attendees and media will have the opportunity to meet the Pitch finalists on Monday, March 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT at the Hilton Hotel, 4th Floor in Salon DE.
For a complete list of the 2024 Finalists, including alternates, and the Pitch event judges, visit: https://www.sxsw.com/pitch/
To learn more about the Startups Track, visit:
https://www.sxsw.com/conference/startups/
About SXSW
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of tech, film and television, music, education, and culture. An essential destination for global professionals, the annual March event features sessions, music and comedy showcases, film screenings, exhibitions, professional development and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. SXSW 2024 will take place March 8 – 16, 2024, in Austin. For more information, please visit sxsw.com. To register for the event, please visit sxsw.com/attend.
SXSW 2024 is sponsored by Volkswagen, The Austin Chronicle, Porsche, C4 Energy, and Delta.
Press Contacts:
Benjamin Perez
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512-467-7979
Nicole Lombardo
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631-357-9593
SOURCE SXSW
