Editor’s Note: This story has been adapted for WRAL TechWire from a blog post originally published by North Carolina State University, with permission. 

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RALEIGH – Locally-founded startups delivered yet another impressive showing at the 2022 eGames Award Ceremony.

The eGames launched in 2009 as an annual startup competition, and the latest event saw more than $100,000 in cash prizes awarded to entrepreneurs with ties to North Carolina State University, which hosts the competition.

Students can enter a student competition, and qualified startups that have licensed technology developed at North Carolina State University can participate in a competition along the Daugherty Endowment Track.

While 49 student teams entered the competition, only 10 reached the finals.

“I love seeing the creative energy that flows from the teams presenting at the eGames. This year was no exception. The energy and excitement carried over into the expo, as well. You know it’s been a successful event when people are still deeply engaged in conversations at the end of the evening,” said Dr. Tom Miller, Senior Vice Provost Entrepreneurship and McPherson Family Distinguished Professor.

NCSU’s eGames features 15 startups vying for $100,000+ in prizes

Students ‘Think’ and ‘Do’

Within the student competition, startups enter two categories, either “Think,” or “Do.”

And all companies who pitch at the eGames are eligible to compete for awards in social impact, design, arts, and cloud technology.

Team Cervu takes the stage as the first live elevator pitch of the evening

So, who won?

In the “Think” category, which is meant for startups in the early stages of development, that operate with a concept and are seeking customers for an initial product or is seeking further customer validation, the winners were:

  • First place, and $9,000, was awarded to Spir Medical, which is in the process of creating a bag valve mask resuscitation device.
  • Second place, and $7,000, was awarded to Rampart Crop Defense, which is combating crop death by mildew prevention.
  • Third place, and $4,000, was awarded to Cervu, which aims to improve access to care and the effectiveness of PFPT to result in better outcomes.

The “Do” category represents student teams that are looking to grow or scale their venture. These teams may have investment, customers or working product they are looking to bring to market at scale.

The winners of the student competition in the “Do” category, which consisted of teams that are seeking to scale an existing venture that has already demonstrated traction in their marketplace, were:

  • First place, and a $10,000 award, went to Wolfpack Medical, which is working to commercialize the Sawyer Junctional Tourniquet, an emergency trauma tourniquet.
  • Second place, and a $8,500 award, went to Dyelation, which creates sustainable, proprietary thermoglow ink for apparel.
  • Third place, and $6,500, went to ByteSize Learning, the developer of a series of fun and engaging learning courses designed for students of elementary-age through high school seniors.
eGames judge Chisa Brookes meets with Audience Choice winners Straight Shot

Daugherty Endowment Track

In the Daughtery Endowment Track, companies pitched for prizes worth as much as $25,000.

First-place winner Vizma Life Sciences, which is developing next-generation, low-cost molecular imaging as an alternative to existing medical imaging technologies to deliver unprecedented diagnostic power that is safer and more convenient, took home $25,000.

The second-place finisher, Mammae Biosciences, took home $15,000.  The company will continue to work toward commercializing a cost-effective and scalable method for producing LacNAc, a key probiotic and beneficial, health-promoting human milk oligosaccharide (HMO), to meet the growing consumer demand for foods containing HMOs.

And, rounding out the cash prize winners, DNAli Data Technologies took home third place and $10,000.  The startup is developing an end-to-end DNA data storage platform to enable long lasting and eternally relevant data storage that is also sustainable and environmentally friendly.

©North Carolina State University