Startups Magazine’s top startups at Rare Founders Demo Day

Rare Founders’ second demo day was a huge success, with 100 founders across 14 sectors pitching their innovative startups to an audience of investors. Each startup was allowed a one-minute pitch, with a further three minutes for audience questions.  

Startups Magazine attended the event as a partner, and watched plenty of pitches from some truly groundbreaking startups. In this article, we highlight our top eight startups that pitched at the event.

Augmentaero

AugmentAero combines augmented reality (AR) with AI and machine learning to enhance aircraft maintenance operations. The company’s main product is a pair of smart safety glasses, which ensure that engineers can access crucial data hands-free, streamlining tasks like manual referencing and real-time diagnostics. This technology aims to significantly improve safety, efficiency, and performance in the aviation industry.

Evolutor

Evolutor is a biomanufacturing startup focused on building new technologies to unlock the power of evolution. Its Accelerated Evolution Platform of molecular tools, hardware, and generative AI leverages the fullest potential of biology to build precision-evolved, high-performance microbes for biomanufacturing.

The startup is developing its flagship precision-evolved microbes that rapidly digest waste rubber tyres. With these microbes, the startup will be able to ferment 40,000 tonnes of waste tyres away from landfill every year: converting this high-value and non-degradable waste into new, advanced biomaterials for a sustainable future.

Healthspan Biotics

Healthspan Biotics is a biotech startup focused on improving brain health by using nature-inspired methods. It leverages AI and laboratory experiments to explore how individuals can protect themselves against brain-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's.

Using advanced AI models, Healthspan Biotics has identified key pathways that are dysregulated in Alzheimer's disease. These pathways were further validated through laboratory experiments, showing that both genetic and pharmacological interventions can effectively delay the progression of Alzheimer's. The research found that a beneficial gut bacterium could activate a neuroprotective pathway, promoting neuronal health and offering a potential new approach to neurodegenerative disease management. By harnessing the power of natural evolution, it has developed a probiotic strain that is able to substantially improve neuronal health in pre-clinical models of Alzheimer's disease.

Heau

Heau is a startup that has developed a smart shower system designed to provide instant hot water, while significantly reducing water and energy waste. The Heau system captures and stores heat from previous showers in a vacuum chamber that is surrounded by special insulation that keeps the water hot for up to three days. When the shower is turned on, this stored heat is instantly released, ensuring hot water is available right from the start, eliminating the usual wait time for the water to warm up. This ensures comfort for the user, as well as ensuring as little water waste as possible.

Kupl

Kupl is a relationship-focused app designed to help couples create meaningful experiences together. The app offers over unique date ideas based on your relationship, making it easier for couples to plan activities, whether at home or exploring local gems. Its goal is to help users break away from repetitive routines and spend quality time together, without the need to spend a lot of money.

The app was developed with an aim to use technology to foster deeper connections and meaningful relationships.

MedSnapp

MedSnapp is an educational platform on a mission to help medical students succeed in medical school exams through gamification. By incorporating elements such as points, badges, leaderboards, and virtual patient diagnosis, MedSnapp transforms traditional medical education into an interactive experience. Students can practice diagnosing patients using a gamified medical inventory and answer multiple-choice questions in a way that mimics real clinical scenarios.

MicroA

MicroA is a biotech startup developing MA001, an inhaled drug for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). MA001 is a sulphated polysaccharide designed to combat lung inflammation and viral infections, which are major causes of COPD exacerbations. The drug has shown promising antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects in preclinical tests, potentially outperforming existing treatments. MicroA’s mission is to offer a cost-effective, safe, and multi-functional treatment that could reduce the need for corticosteroids, improving patient outcomes.

Planet Smart

Planet Smart is developing a biomaterial, a superabsorbent polymer (SAP), which is 100% biodegradable, biobased and microplastics-free. It is a plug and play replacement for the current fossil-based and carbon-intensive SAP, used in nappies and adult diapers. The SAP is the single largest part of these products and absorbs and solidifies all liquids.

Its proprietary technology uses 100% biomaterials to develop PlanetSorb, a biodegradable super absorbent polymer that performs similar to conventional SAPs but leave no microplastics.

For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.