Entrepreneurs create impact in healthcare with support from Microsoft
BOSTON, April 4 MassChallenge, the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet, today announced the recipients of its first-ever PULSE@MassChallenge scholarship program, which awarded $50,000 through generous support from Microsoft Corp. Each of the 10 companies selected received $5,000 to support their travel and pilot program expenses throughout the six-month PULSE @MassChallenge program.
“Entrepreneurs are unlocking the future of healthcare and creating positive and widespread impact for patients and those who care for them, said Nick Dougherty, Program Director for PULSE @MassChallenge. In collaboration with our partners, we’re excited to announce this year’s scholarship recipients and provide financial support to startups working hard to grow their businesses.”
Launched as a strategic component of the Massachusetts statewide Digital Health Initiative, PULSE @MassChallenge provides promising startups with access to resources, mentorship, and curriculum all at zero cost and for zero equity. Further, the program’s rigorous matchmaking process fosters close collaboration between entrepreneurs and leading healthcare Champions, including world-class institutions, corporations, payors, and more, to successfully address some of the biggest issues patients face.
Digital health startups are developing technologies that empower providers and their patients, enabling a new level of personalized and effective care, said Sharon Gillett, Principal Program Manager for Microsoft Research. By partnering with PULSE @MassChallenge on its first-ever scholarship program, we can help drive innovation and efficient use of cloud technologies in this space.”
2017 PULSE @MassChallenge scholarship recipients include:
- ConquerX – Develops a minimally invasive blood test that can screen and detect different types of cancer in 15 minutes
- Gain Life – Helps individuals change the behaviors that hold them back from the life they want
- Medumo – Improves patient adherence by helping organizations deliver the right instruction to the right patient at the right time
- Neopenda – Advances newborn health in low resource settings through innovative technology solutions
- Spring Care – Helps patients find relief faster through data-driven, personalized care
- SyncThink – Screens for ocular-motor synchronization, a key impairment in concussions
- Rendever – Builds a research-based virtual reality platform to provide cognitive stimulation and socialization
- TORq Interface – Elevates the mode in which hospitals and medical device companies collaborate by leveraging the FHIR API
- VIT Initiative – Helps companies save money by reducing injuries with an easy-to use wearable platform
- VRPhysio – Develops a virtual reality tele-rehabilitation platform that gamifies physical therapy and makes it fun and easy to monitor
In addition to scholarship opportunities, the inaugural cohort of 31 startups will compete for shares of more than $200,000 in equity-free prizes at the PULSE @MassChallenge Demo Day on June 13. Winners will be determined based on overall impact and the degree to which their Champion milestones were met.
For more information on getting involved, please visit masschallenge.org/PULSE.
About MassChallenge:
MassChallenge is the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet. No equity and not-for-profit, we are obsessed with helping entrepreneurs across any industry. We also reward the highest-impact startups through a competition to win a portion of several million dollars in equity-free cash awards. Through our global network of accelerators in Boston, the UK, Israel, Switzerland, and Mexico, and unrivaled access to our corporate partners, we can have a massive impact – driving growth and creating value the world over. To date, 1,211 MassChallenge alumni have raised over $1.8 billion in funding, generated over $700 million in revenue, and created more than 60,000 direct and indirect jobs. For more information, please visit masschallenge.org.
Top PULSE @MassChallenge Partners:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Boston, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, Suffolk Construction, Samuels & Associates, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech, AARP, Shire, Bose, Cerner, Humana, Liberty Mutual, Servier, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Analog Devices, BD, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Philips Healthcare, Microsoft, Ropes & Gray LLP, Beth Israel Deaconess, Boston Childrens Hospital, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Dell EMC, Franciscan Childrens, Massachusetts General Hospital, Pathfinder International, Planetree, and TechSpring of Baystate Health.