For the eighth consecutive edition, Hello Tomorrow announces the startup finalists of its Global Challenge, the leading worldwide competition for early-stage deep tech startups. 

An international jury of experts carefully reviewed over 4000 applications to the Challenge, and have identified 70 projects that stood out for their technological innovation, economic viability, leadership, team, and potential impact on our industries, planet, and society. These startups are making truly accessible healthcare a reality and pioneering treatments to complex health problems. They’re regenerating ecosystems, designing new ways to tackle CO2 emissions, and creating more circular, new materials. They’re leveraging quantum, artificial intelligence, and robotics to build better quality and more efficient products, systems and industries. 

They will all be pitching their solutions to a jury at this year’s Hello Tomorrow Global Summit, on 9th and 10th March in Paris. Ten startups will win in-kind prizes (customised coaching sessions and personal introductions with relevant investors & potential partners and clients) and the top three startups will win one of the three equity-free prizes: €100K Grand Prize awarded by Natixis CIB, €30K 2nd prize awarded by X the moonshot factory and €20K 3rd prize awarded by Hello Tomorrow.

Arnaud de la Tour, co-founder and CEO of Hello Tomorrow expressed that "it’s hard to feel anything but optimism for the future when looking at these startups. They reveal the extraordinary ways nature and science can come together to radically reshape our society and industries for the better."

70 revolutionary projects classified into 11 categories by Hello Tomorrow and its partners:

Finalists in the ‘Advanced Computing & Electronics’ category supported by Infineon & Murata:

• Swave Photonics (Belgium) Holographic extended reality projection chips delivering life-like, high-resolution 3D images, viewable with the naked eye

• WeLinQ (France) Enabling quantum computing by interconnecting quantum processors to increase their computational power.

• Scantinel Photonics (Germany) Delivering integrated, flexible, and modular LiDAR systems to propel autonomous mobility. 

• Xinterra (Singapore) Developing new materials in record time using an AI system powered by high throughput experimentation tools. 

• QustomDot (Belgium) Bringing unmatched colors to microLED technology through quantum dot color conversion.

• Atlantic Quantum (USA) Building a new type of processor that will help to eliminate the barriers to quantum computing.

 Finalists in the ‘Aerospace’ category supported by Safran:

• Share my Space (France) Building and operating a network of ground-based sensors to provide a complete mapping of orbital objects. 

• Manta Aircraft (Italy) Developing a multi-purpose aerial platform of hybrid-electric eV/STOL air vehicles with high performance and energy-efficiency.

• Aliena (Singapore) Electric propulsion engines to allow satellites to fly closer to Earth, and provide high-resolution data.

• Undefined Technologies (USA) Developing a next-generation, all-electric, silent drone powered by ion propulsion.

• Nanostine (Spain) Designing a new way of coating surfaces with nanoparticles to improve their performance.

• Scout Space (USA) Building the first in-space observation systems to safeguard orbital infrastructure. 

Finalists in the ‘Digital Health & Medical Devices’ category:

• Floating Genes (France) Developing early cancer detection and monitoring tools from liquid biopsies.

• Gense Technologies (Hong Kong) Creating a portable medical imaging device for home-based preventive screening and chronic disease monitoring.

• Breath of Health (Israel) An affordable, AI-powered, breath-based diagnostics platform for screening tests of non-communicable diseases. 

• UBT (Italy) Designing a novel microwave-based imaging technology to provide safe breast cancer screening to the masses.

• LIQID Medical (South Africa) Pioneering ‘oculosubarachnoid shunting’, with devices to overcome the challenges of existing glaucoma therapies.

• iLoF (UK) Building a cloud-based library of disease biomarkers and biological profiles to cut the time and cost of drug discovery.

Finalists in the ‘Energy’ category: 

• Sweetch Energy (France) Developing a system based on bio-sourced membranes to exploit osmotic power and harness it as an energy solution. 

• Reverion (Germany) Designing reversible, CO2-negative power plants that convert biogas or hydrogen into electricity and produce green hydrogen or methane.

• Sakowin Green Energy (France) Producing sustainable hydrogen and solid carbon from biomethane or natural gas.

• Basquevolt (Spain) Building new solid-state battery technology leveraging a proprietary polymer composite electrolyte.

• Ionate (UK) Developing a new device to replace traditional transformers and enable resilient, flexible power grids.

• Genomines (France) Unlocking additional sustainable nickel supply using genetically enhanced hyperaccumulating plants.

• CalWave (USA) Wave-energy converter technology to produce electricity, operating below the ocean's surface. 

Finalists in the ‘Environment’ category supported by L’Oréal:

• Ucaneo Biotech (Germany) Cell-free system leveraging a biocatalytic membrane to capture CO2 from the air.

• Saltyco (UK) Developing a plant-based alternative to goose down and synthetic fillers.

• Aquafortus Technologies (New Zealand) Treating wastewater using non-thermal recovery and crystallization technology to produce clean water and crystallized salts. 

• BluumBio (USA) Developing new enzyme-based products that can remove harmful chemicals from contaminated soil and water.

• Solv8 Technology (Singapore) Nanofiltration system performing heat-free chemical separations and recycling chemical waste.

• SGMA (UK) Leveraging silica sand to provide a sustainable alternative to plastic.

• New Iridium (USA) Decarbonizing the chemical industry by using photosynthesis-inspired technology to produce low-carbon chemicals.

Finalists in the ‘Food & Agriculture’ category:

• Ivu Biologics (USA) Developing microbial seed coatings to help improve soil health and crop yields.

• Unibaio (Argentina) Biodegradable nano-encapsulation technology designed to significantly reduce the need of harmful chemicals in agriculture.

• MicroMGx (USA) Harnessing microbial chemistry to create more effective and sustainable natural products.

• Sibö (Netherlands) Using a unique isolation technology and data science to predict the best uses out of billions of insect protein combinations.

• Kosmode Health Singapore (Singapore) Triple technology platform valorising agri-food waste into sustainable ingredients for food development.

• Tensorfield Agriculture (USA) Semi-autonomous robots that control weed growth using a pioneering 'thermal micro-dosing' method.

Finalists in the ‘Industrial Biotech & New Materials’ category supported by Solvay: 

• Colipi (Germany) Leveraging bacterial fermentation to transform captured carbon into oils and proteins.

• Dropel (USA) Regenerating proteins from agricultural waste into new and versatile bio-plastics and textile fibers.

• SEPPURE (Singapore) Developing a chemical-resistant nanofiltration technology that can separate chemicals and recover solvents without heat.

• Sóliome (USA) Producing the first sunscreen derived from human cells.

• DePoly (Switzerland) Converting all PET plastic items into virgin grade raw materials without any additional heat or pressure.

• Impossible Materials (Switzerland) Designing plant-based ingredients to enable safe, sustainable products.

• AtomICs (no website) (USA) Revolutionizing data storage and processing by harnessing ubiquitous small molecules.

Finalists in the ‘Industry 4.0 & Autonomous Machines’ category: 

• Lightcode Photonics (Estonia) Building a software-defined 3D camera for autonomous mobility and smart city applications.

• Deeper Pulse (France) Optimizing and automating the design of electric motors and space thrusters.

• Theker Robotics (Spain) Developing advanced microelectronic soldering and desoldering technology for the electronics and semiconductor industries.

• Nobula (Sweden) Enabling true 3D printing of complex glass products for microfluidics, optics and electronic packaging.

• Mindtronic AI (Taiwan) Offering self-learning vision AI and software building blocks for automotive applications.

• Touchlab (UK) Designing an e-skin system that gives robots the ability to sense pressure, location, and direction in real-time.

Finalists in the ‘Medical Biotech & Pharmaceuticals’ category:

• LoValTech (France) Intranasal vaccines that activate mucosal immunity and kill the pathogen as it enters via the nasal route.

• Braizon Therapeutics (Japan) Designing targeted intravenous therapies for neurological diseases.

• Kolibri (France) Combining cutting-edge techniques in acoustics and biology to unlock the cell culture revolution.

• Arjuna Therapeutics (Spain) Developing a platform of entirely novel cancer molecules to address cancers without treatments.

• MediSieve (UK) Enabling the removal of infected cells, pathogens, toxins, or even viruses directly from a patient’s bloodstream.

• Allogenica (France) Developing an emerging class of blood cancer therapy that is more affordable and accessible.

Finalists in the ‘Sustainable Construction & Infrastructure’ category supported by LEONARD:

• Strong by Form (Chile) A high-performance, freeform timber-based composite to replace concrete, steel, and aluminum for the built environment.

• Mykor (UK) Transforming cellulosic waste and fungi into sustainable building materials.

• Caeli Energie (France) Designing low-carbon and energy-efficient air conditioning systems.

• BioZeroc (UK) Creating cement-free concrete through biotechnology.

• Peafowl Plasmonics (Sweden) Transparent solar cells empowering the next generation of IoT devices to enable mass deployment.

• Made of Air (Germany) Taking carbon dioxide from the air, utilising it for manufactured goods that replace fossil-based plastics or high-emission materials.

Finalists in the ‘Unlocking the CO2 Circular Economy’ category sponsored by Orano: 

• Reverion (Germany) Designing reversible, CO2-negative power plants that convert biogas or hydrogen into electricity and produce green hydrogen or methane.

• enaDyne (Germany) Converting CO2 and a hydrogen source into sustainable chemicals and e-fuels in a single process step.
  
  

• Ucaneo Biotech (Germany) Cell-free system leveraging a biocatalytic membrane to capture CO2 from the air.

• Enexor BioEnergy (USA) Converting any type of organic, biomass, or plastic waste into renewable electricity and thermal power.

• Parallel Carbon (UK) New direct air capture technology that leverages existing supply chains and permanently stores CO2.

• ecoLocked (Germany) Decarbonizing construction using novel recipes for concrete and other building materials.

• Osmoses (USA) Tackling energy waste and CO2 emissions through a transformative membrane separation technology. 

About Hello Tomorrow:

Hello Tomorrow is accelerating deep tech innovation to tackle world challenges, by enabling collaborations between startups, corporations, and investors, as well as providing innovation consulting services. Running startup challenges, events and acceleration programs since 2011, Hello Tomorrow is advancing innovations from lab to market. Its flagship competition, the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge, has received more than 30,000 applications from 132 countries. Leveraging its 360° view of deep tech trends and its collaborative network, Hello Tomorrow partners with public and private organizations to help them seize opportunities at the intersection of emerging technologies and environmental & social challenges. More information at hello-tomorrow.org.