Last week saw another milestone for the 2024 Tata Varsity Pitch Competition. On October 11th, NACUE hosted the all exciting Semi-Finals!
Thirty semi-finalists, each a student or recent graduate entrepreneur, pitched-off for a place to represent their competition category in the Grand Final. This was no small feat — as not only would this make them a 2024 Finalist, but also give them a 1 in 7 chance of winning the £15,000 prize and coveted national title for their business.
Participants pitched across the six designated categories, each given just two minutes to convince the judging panel that they should be given a spot in the Grand Final. Read more about each of our semi-finalists below and see who were selected as Finalists.
Health & Wellbeing with Tata Communications
The first category of the day was the highly anticipated Health & Wellbeing category with Tata Communications, which got the day off to a great start.
AIKNIT : AiKNIT creates wearable devices that are customisable, tailor-made and condition adaptive for improved experience for patients with musculoskeletal disorders.
Mami by CupArise : Mami is a mobile app that helps women living in low-income countries identify breast cancer symptoms early and promptly connect with local healthcare providers, starting in Nigeria.
Mude : Mude is an adaptive wear company, combining function and fashion for anyone reliant on medical devices for their health, initially focusing on insulin pump users.
upLYFT : upLYFT’s pioneering wearable robotics technology integrates soft robotics with intelligent textiles to stimulate muscle and bone tissues simultaneously, optimising therapeutic outcomes.
Verified by Maudsley : is building the world’s first AI-enabled, NHS-backed, specialist mental health quality assessment process and verification logo for digital health providers.
Congrats to AiKnit, who were named the winners of this category.
Creative & Design with Tata Elxsi
The Creative & Design category with Tata Elxsi was up next, as pitchers continued to impress the audience and judges.
DEWEY Clothing : DEWEY is revolutionising fashion for over 2.5 billion adults globally who measure 5ft and under by providing stylish, sustainable apparel off-the-rack.
Mude : Mude is an adaptive wear company, combining function and fashion for anyone reliant on medical devices for their health, initially focusing on insulin pump users.
Re-Block : Through the production of AI-empowered material formulation, Re-Block material reduces CO2 emissions by 90% compared to traditional concrete production.
Shroot : Shroot aims to change the gifting industry through sustainable and eco-friendly innovations, starting with their award-winning microgreen cards.
Vida Vodka : Vida Vodka is a sustainable vodka company dedicated to tackling both food waste and carbon emissions.
Mude was chosen as the winner — congratulations!
Genuine Innovation with Tata Consumer Products
The Genuine Innovation category with Tata Consumer Products rounded off the morning session with more brilliant pitches.
FlexiFone : FlexiFone is Europe’s first 100% digital, app-based and multi-network mobile service, automatically switching to the operator with the best coverage for your location.
PulpaTronics : PulpaTronics provides more sustainable RFID tags that eliminate the need for metal mining, simplify manufacturing and streamline recycling.
Rhynco : Rhynco’s technology creates sustainable biodiesel for oil palm plantations by using specially selected insects.
Rokalin Pharmaceuticals : Rokalin Pharmaceuticals is a pioneering pharmaceutical company developing safe and effective treatments for cancers.
Vox Aeris : Vox Aeris is developing a innovative acoustic pre-treatment device designed to enhance commercial ventilation systems, contributing to both improved indoor air quality and decarbonization.
After a tough deliberation, the judges named PulpaTronics as the category winner. Congratulations to the PulpaTronics team!
Social Impact with Tata Consultancy Services
The afternoon kicked off with the Social Impact category with Tata Consultancy Services, continuing the high standards we’d seen in the morning.
BioBright : BioBright uses algae cultivation and advanced monitoring systems to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and water pollution in the maritime industry.
Loomlight : Loomlight provides braille incorporated clothing by prioritizing various sensory experiences like touch, sound, and smell.
Looop Can : Looop Can is an innovative portable cleaning kits for reusable menstrual pads that aim to empower menstruators to manage their periods confidently, even in the face of financial constraints, cultural taboos, and limited access to sanitation facilities.
Qualboat : Qualboat is an autonomous water quality surveying boat that uses AI to predict quality parameters, allowing it to seek out pollution hotspots with no human interaction.
Smart Justice : Smart Justice is a legal technology social enterprise committed to leveraging technology to increase access to justice for underserved communities.
After considerable deliberation, Smart Justice was announced as this category’s winner!
Digital & Technical with Jaguar Land Rover
The penultimate category of the competition was Digital & Technical with Jaguar Land Rover.
BoxxDocks : BoxxDocks is building an AI-enabled track & trace platform, mapping supply chains while reducing costs and carbon emissions within the logistics sector.
BlueSide (Langwell) : Langwell aims to make Generative AI accessible to Lawyers by integrates within Microsoft word at a price point that is affordable for smaller firms.
Ox-Locks : Ox-Locks is creating a smart lock that uses rolling one time codes as entry keys, preventing old codes from being used and keys being stolen or copied.
SolarSub : SolarSub created an innovative passive cooling system for floating solar panels, increasing solar panel efficiency by up to 20%.
YAVA : YAVA’s AI-powered Virtual CTO platform matches early-stage founders and innovators with experienced technology leaders.
While the pitches were all round outstanding, SolarSub was announced as this category’s Finalist.
Early-Stage with IHCL
Last but not least, the semi-finals were concluded on a high note with the Early-Stage category with IHCL
A* Logic : A* Logic is creating a Zappier for developers: handling all the annoying and risky details of doing integrations, so your business can focus on what you do best.
Bobbi : Bobbi is a fitness app on a mission to make sports and fitness accessible to young women, whatever stage of their cycle they might be at.
Della Yellow : Della Yellow’s innovative app teaches users to sew, repair clothing and other sustainable crafting skills through expert led, easy-to-follow tutorials.
Happy Autistic Lady : Happy Autistic Lady delivers neurodiversity training and awareness campaigns to enable businesses and universities to improve staff retention, reputation, and satisfaction.
WildPath : WildPath is on a mission to build the world’s largest dataset of labeled images by engaging millions of visitors worldwide in fun, interactive challenges that directly contribute to AI model development.
The category was judged by representatives from IHCL. After thorough deliberation, they chose Della Yellow, as their winner!
Well done to all semi-finalists and huge congratulations to the finalists! The competition was tough this year with very high standard pitches and ideas, so you all should be proud of your achievements.
Please join us at the Grand Final of this year’s Tata Varsity Pitch Competition, in the lead-up to Global Entrepreneurship Week in November. Ticket registration opens soon on our website: https://bit.ly/TVP2024Final
You will meet some of the fantastic talent that abounds in our network and we are sure you too will enjoy seeing who will be crowned this year’s winner. With grateful thanks to our judges, competition sponsor Tata, and category sponsors Tata Communications, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Consumer Products, Tata Elxsi, IHCL and Jaguar Land Rover.
