ASU Innovation Open showcases premier student ventures
Convergence magazine > ASU Innovation Open showcases premier student ventures
Powered by the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Avnet, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the ASU Innovation Open is quickly becoming one of Arizona State University’s most anticipated entrepreneurial events. Open to student-led technology ventures from all over the world, the 2020 ASU Innovation Open competitors pitched for a chance to win up to $300,000 in funding — the most ever offered at the competition.
“Innovation Open represents ASU’s commitment to valuing entrepreneurship in all of its forms,” says Fulton Schools of Engineering Dean Kyle Squires. “For the fourth consecutive year, we have the opportunity to play a role in this impactful experience for young innovators as they move one step closer to bringing their ideas to the marketplace.”
The 2020 competition drew in more than 100 ventures representing 46 universities around the world. It was also the most diverse applicant pool the competition has seen with half the teams being led by minorities and 30% by women. Twenty-five semifinalists were selected to pitch before a panel of judges and industry professionals for their opportunity to win seed funding.
At the 4th annual pitch competition last January, Carlos Navarro, a PhD student in chemistry at the University of Southern California, won the $100,000 Breakthrough Energy Ventures Prize for his business idea, Closed Composites. The company uses chemicals to recycle carbon composite — a very strong, lightweight material that’s used to make airplanes and cars. Currently, there’s no way to recycle the substance, which is typically shredded and burned.
“This year we saw a meteoric rise in the number of applications since last year’s competition,” says Cody Friesen, an associate professor of materials science and engineering in the Fulton Schools and CEO of Zero Mass Water, one of ASU Innovation Open’s founding sponsors. “The talent among these competitors continues to impress us.”
Zero Mass Water is an ASU spinoff founded by Friesen in 2015. Friesen, who has developed a process that combines solar power, air and electricity to ignite a condensation process that draws water from the atmosphere, says his company is about technology that uplifts others.
Designed to advance student-led startups that are tackling some of the world’s most challenging problems, undergraduate and graduate students arrive at the nation’s most innovative university to pitch their leading-edge technology solutions to a panel of startup leaders and industry experts in the annual competition. Their ventures cover areas like artificial intelligence, autonomous transportation, agricultural and climate technology, health care, internet of things, photovoltaics, wearable technology and many more.
“Innovation Open represents ASU’s commitment to valuing entrepreneurship in all of its forms. For the fourth consecutive year, we have the opportunity to play a role in this impactful experience for young innovators as they move one step closer to bringing their ideas to the marketplace.”
– Kyle Squires, Dean, Fulton Schools of Engineering
“Innovation Open represents ASU’s commitment to valuing entrepreneurship in all of its forms. For the fourth consecutive year, we have the opportunity to play a role in this impactful experience for young innovators as they move one step closer to bringing their ideas to the marketplace.”
– Kyle Squires, Dean, Fulton Schools of Engineering
This year’s competition featured several creative ventures using technology to take on unique social and educational challenges. Danya Sherman (pictured above) from Georgetown University won the $25,000 Zero Mass Water Prize for KnoNap, a napkin that can indicate whether a drink has been spiked with a drug. Sherman is hoping to sell her invention to bars and restaurants. And a Brigham Young University team developed Kiri, a smart toy that has the benefits of technology without the drawbacks of screens. The wooden block toy made of natural sustainable materials earned the team the $25,000 On Semiconductor Prize.
The $100,000 Avnet Prize went to Sebastien Mannai, CEO of Acoustic Wells, who developed his technology during his PhD research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He created a sensor that acts as a kind of “stethoscope” for oil wells, allowing them to be monitored remotely and cutting down on in-person inspections and thousands of miles of drive time.
Carlos Navarro, a chemistry PhD student at the University of Southern California, won the other $100,000 prize donated by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investment fund started by Bill Gates. Navarro’s venture, Closed Composites, uses chemicals to recycle carbon composite, a very strong, lightweight material used to make airplanes and cars. Currently, there’s no way to recycle the substance, which is typically shredded and burned.
Winners of the signature competition have continued to earn success with their ventures beyond ASU Innovation Open. The 2019 grand prize winner Katherine Sivoz was a featured speaker at the 2020 event. Since last year’s competition, the Strella Biotechnology CEO has gone on to win more than $3.3 million in seed funding. Strella Biotech’s proprietary biosensor technology and IoT capabilities provide a data-driven approach to ensure the quality of fresh produce through the food supply chain.
ASU Innovation Open embodies the community of innovation and entrepreneurship that permeates ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering. The competition is made possible with the support and industry expertise of a growing list of sponsors, partners that provide critical venture mentorship and funding to the student competitors.