[bases-alumni-updated] BASES $100K Challenge Winners Announcement
Renee Li
Dear BASES Community,
The annual BASES $100K Challenge has concluded last Friday with the virtual Finale over Zoom. This was one of the most competitive rounds we have seen over the years: over 100 Stanford-affiliated teams applied to compete in Challenge this year. We are so grateful to everyone's support and patience along the way. A huge thank you to everyone on the BASES Challenge Team for putting in so much time and energy, to our sponsors and judges for being supportive and flexible as we moved the competition online, to our contestants for being passionate and understanding when the second half of the competition was carried out in an untraditional way due to the current circumstances. Below is a brief report of our winners this year:
The Morgenthaler Grand Prize Winner & Enterprise Category Winner
Nitricity
Nitricity was our Morgenthaler Grand Prize winning team (and the winner of the Enterprise category). Nitricity won $45,000 in funding, an Interview to join the StartX Student Fellowship, and an interview with Cardinal Ventures.
Nitricy has developed a system to produce carbon-free fertilizer using a novel process invented by their team. The Nitricity technology produces ready-to-use nitrogen with only air, water, and renewable electricity.
Social Impact Category Winner
Formally
Formally is our Social Impact category's winner, winning $15,000 in funding and an interview with Cardinal Ventures.
Formally is an intuitive form filler for immigration and asylum applications. It guides applicants through forms like the I-589 step by step, with easy-to-follow instructions, translated from complex legalese of bureaucratic forms into easy-to-follow English and hundreds of other languages.
Consumer Category Winner
Zinn Labs
Zinn Labs is our Consumer category's winner, winning $15,000 in funding and an interview with Cardinal Ventures.
Zinn Labs is an optical lens manufacturing company that has autofocusing technology built into their glasses. Zinn Labs glasses exhibit better visual acuity when compared to monovision and progressive lenses while maintaining similar contrast sensitivity. Zinn Labs are faster and, compared to progressives, also significantly more accurate.
Medical Category Winner
Molto
Init is our Medical category's Winner, winning $15,000 in funding and an interview with Cardinal Ventures.
Molto has developed a technology that restores blood flow to extremities in patients suffering from critical limb ischemia. Molto has designed a device that is deployed through a catheter-directed, endovascular approach. Molto’s procedure can be performed in a traditional endovascular suite, and forgoes the need for general anesthesia and intubation, thus lowering hospital costs and providing the opportunity for patients with elevated risk of cardiac arrest to undergo the procedure without the additional risk incurred from general anesthesia.
Undergraduate Prize Winners
Init
Init is one of our Undergraduate Prize Winners, winning $7,500 in funding and an interview with Cardinal Ventures.
Init is a software company that tackles the issue of automation of systems documentation. Init seeks to promote productivity in the world of software development by streamlining documentation.
Guardian
Guardian is also an Undergraduate Prize Winner, winning $2,500 in funding and an interview with Cardinal Ventures.
Guardian is a drone and software design company that hopes to tackle the issue of an aging population in times of disaster. Their “see-through” technology ensures that in vulnerable situations those that are at risk for being neglected have their needs met.
Congratulations to our winners and a huge shoutout to everyone who participated in Challenge this year!