Home security firm Graviton has destroyed the field to win the 2015 Startup Village pitch competition, impressing the judges with its sensor-based system to win the 3 million ruble prize and an invitation to become a Skolkovo resident.
Graviton's Maxim Somov, second from left, with other prize winners at Startup Village 2015. Photo: sk.ru
Wednesday’s competition brought Startup Village 2015, Russia and Eastern Europe’s biggest startup conference, to a close.
“Thank you for this wonderful event, our victory doesn’t matter so much, it’s my goal to attract as many people in innovations as possible so we can participate in this event and future events,” said Maxim Somov, Graviton CEO.
Somov came second in the pitch competition at the fifth stage of the Startup Tour in Yekaterinburg in March. He goes home with total prize money of 4,300,000 rubles after receiving a further 1 million from the Fund for Assisting Small High-Tech Enterprises and 300,000 from Skolkovo for making the final.
Natalya Kaspersky, who chaired the seven-person independent jury, said there was no serious debate among the judges about the best project.
“It was easy to agree on the leader and difficult to distinguish second and third,” said Kaspersky. “There were no doubts about the winner.”
Graviton produces a sensor that is installed in doors and windows and alerts homeowners when breaches have been made. More information is available on the company website.
“We are trying to register our patent in 145 countries,” Somov said during his pitch. “Next year we want to enter mass production,” he added. The company requires investment of $300,000 to promote the product overseas.
Second place, meanwhile, and a check for 2 million rubles, went to biomed startup Tektum. The company produces a so-called haemostatic, antibacterial agent that heals cuts and wounds twice as fast as natural processes.
Company CEO Mikhail Gorshenin was unable to collect his prize, assuming he hadn’t won and getting the early train home.
Third place went to another biomed firm, Roman Kholodenko’s promising cancer-fighting startups Real Target, which seeks to kill tumor cells through immunotherapy.
Winners of the Startup Village pitch contest are considered to have passed the application stage for Skolkovo residency, a status that provides startups with all manner of benefits from tax exemption to discounted office space, from acceleration programs to mentorship.
All finalists collected a check for 300,000 rubles from Skolkovo to assist them in their endeavors, while the Fund for Assisting Small High-Tech Companies doled out a million-ruble check to 15 startups.
Several prizes were provided by partners; the winners are listed below: