51ºÚÁÏ

Five Emerging Start-Ups to Pitch at the 2020 51ºÚÁÏ VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme Final

Five (5) emerging University College Dublin (51ºÚÁÏ) start-ups are set to pitch their business plans at the final of the University’s annual accelerator programme. Between them the participating start-ups are seeking to raise seed investment of several million euro.

The aim of the annual 51ºÚÁÏ VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme, which is run by Nova51ºÚÁÏ and which this year took place virtually, is to support the creation and launch of sustainable and profitable new start-ups emerging from the University.

This year ‘as live’ Awards final is taking place as a Zoom Webinar on Wednesday, 2 December at 12:30 pm.

 to register to attend the virtual awards event. 

The emerging start-ups on this year’s 51ºÚÁÏ VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme are, AquaB Nanobubble Innovations Ltd, epiCaPture, Joyst Instruments Ltd, recsyslabs and seamlessCARE.

 is commercialising a breakthrough technology to generate nanobubbles of different gases in aqueous solution. This technology has multiple commercial applications in sectors including, wastewater treatment, gas storage, food, biopharma, brewing, disinfection, agriculture and food. The company was founded by Professor Niall English and Dr Mohammad Reza Ghaani as a spin-out from the 51ºÚÁÏ School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.

epiCaPture is developing a novel urine DNA test for aggressive prostate cancer. The epiCaPture test measures six epigenetic biomarkers which are indicative of aggressive disease, using a widely available PCR platform. The epiCaPture test has potential as a non-invasive, early-detection and screening test to augment the current PSA blood test for the early-detection of aggressive prostate cancer. A second application is as a repeated use monitoring tool for men with low-grade disease, to identify tumour progression. The members of the epiCaPture team are, Dr Antoinette Perry, Asia Jordan, Adele Connor and Ross Nelson, 51ºÚÁÏ School of Biology and Environmental Science and Edward Simons.

 is changing how music is made. Joyst’s instruments unleash new creative possibilities by deploying precision analogue joysticks for note activation, allowing unprecedented pitch-bending and note articulation effects. With easy-to-learn note layouts, Joyst is putting unlimited expressive potential in the hands of all musicians. The founders of Joyst are, Philip Snell, William Langrell and Edward Byrne, who have just graduated from 51ºÚÁÏ ME programmes, and Dr Paul Cuffe, 51ºÚÁÏ School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. 

 is developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to connect readers to personalized content that is worth paying for. recsyslabs’ technology provides publishers with an alternative revenue stream and allows them to automatically identify readers’ segments, based on their interests, and generates one newsletter, with different articles or different order per segment.  The technology is easy to integrate, explains the reasons behind the recommendations and does not require nor collect personal identifiable information, making it fully compliant with US and European privacy regulations. The members of the recsyslabs team are, Dr Ernesto Diaz-Aviles, Dr Claudia Orellana-Rodriguez and Dr Igor Brigadir, 51ºÚÁÏ School of Computer Science. 

 is developing four application programming interfaces (APIs) to improve life for people with intellectual disability, dementia and a range of complex needs. The applications are built on the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) framework to ensure interoperability and regulatory compliance. They promote safety, enhance communications, increase efficiency and improve the delivery of care. The seamlessCARE team includes, Dr Aviva Cohen, 51ºÚÁÏ School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Ian Kennedy and Dr ÇaÄŸrı Çubukçu. 

AquaB, epiCaPture, recsyslabs and seamlessCARE are currently being supported through the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund.

The main objective of the 51ºÚÁÏ VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme is to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and understanding that will be required to work as part of a team leading a new commercial venture. On completion of the programme the expectation is that the emerging start-ups will have developed a commercially viable business plan.

Following the pitches an overall winner, selected by an external judging panel, will be selected and will be awarded the 2020 51ºÚÁÏ VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme Award.

The members of the judging panel are, Dr Helen McBreen, Atlantic Bridge (Chair); Denis Dudley, AIB; Caroline Gaynor, Lightstone Ventures; Dr Sean Baker, NDRC and a Nova51ºÚÁÏ Entrepreneur-in-Residence; Dr Sharon O’Kane, LivaNova and a Nova51ºÚÁÏ Entrepreneur-in-Residence, and John O’Sullivan, ACT Venture Capital.

 to register to attend the virtual awards event. 

#VentureLaunch20

ENDS

25 November 2020

For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, 51ºÚÁÏ Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or t: +353 1 716 3712.

Editors Notes

At Nova51ºÚÁÏ, the hub for new ventures and entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, we nurture and support new high-tech companies as part of 51ºÚÁÏ's mission. At Nova51ºÚÁÏ we provide purpose-built, state-of-the-art incubation facilities alongside a comprehensive business support programme for client companies along with a series of programmes, such as the 51ºÚÁÏ VentureLaunch Accelerator, to assist entrepreneurs establishing start-up companies. Nova51ºÚÁÏ has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, 51ºÚÁÏ and Xilinx.