Annual #21toWatch announces shortlist in advance of return to in-person awards event

Next month’s coveted #21toWatch Awards announces 2022 shortlist, featuring some of the most ground-breaking entrepreneurs, startups and innovations from the East of England.

cofinitive 21 to watch

After presenting the Top21 awards virtually for the last two years, the Top21.2022 will be back on the main stage, with winners presenting in-person. The awards will also bring together the alumni from 2019, 2020 and 2021 alongside an exclusive invitation-only guest list made up of investors, press, sponsors, partners, judges, and those who support the entrepreneurial community.

Out of 235 entries received, 127 qualified candidates made it onto a longlist, which has now been pared down to a shortlist of 39, featuring a vibrant mix of ‘People’, ‘Companies’ and ‘Things’.

As some of those listed move from stealth to seed and beyond, it is inevitable that some of those who make it on to the #21toWatch list will have been featured before. This was the case last year when SATAVIA was listed in the Top21 having previously been Top21 in 2019. However, the majority of those listed are appearing for the first time demonstrating the buoyancy of entrepreneurship in our region. In fact, this year over 70% of those that made the longlist are newcomers, and over 60% of this year’s shortlist is made up of entirely new faces.

The shortlist of ‘People’ includes Mohammed Alawami. Mohammed is co-founder of Cambridge Nucleomics and a PhD student at Cambridge University. His work at Cambridge Nucleomics focusses on develop cutting-edge cancer early detection technology that counts native RNA molecules quickly and accurately.

Other shortlisted ‘People’ are Darendra AppanahCambridge ConsultantsDr Christopher Cleaver, DeepForm; Kanta DihalGlobal AI Narratives project at Cambridge University; Marcel GehrungCytedSasha Haco, Unitary; Stephanie MartlewPsyomicsDr Alisa Molotova, Futureworx; Dr Anna Sturrock, Lecturer at University of Essex and Jeroen VerheyenSemarion.

The shortlisted ‘Companies’ include R4DAR Technologies which is on a mission to improve the safety of all road users in the smart autonomous world. It is notably one of 20 companies shortlisted from over 100 applications to take part in Cambridge University’s CISL (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership) Accelerator Programme.

Also, on the ‘Companies’ shortlist is: AgriGrubBioSureCarbon ReCorrosionRADARelectronRxMacomicsMonavateOomph EVOutfield TechnologiesPorotechPsyomicsQureightRisilience, and Sano Genetics.

The ‘Things’ shortlist includes ‘Inficaf’, bio-bean’s latest innovation from spent coffee. A bulk, uniform raw material, Inficaf has applications for displacing petroleum-based virgin and synthetic materials in plastics, automotive friction, and cosmetics, and has potential application in textiles and printing.

Also shortlisted are Antobot’s Robot Control Units (uRCU®); Cambridge GaN Devices’ Gallium Nitride power modules; Climate Code ShirtDIOSynVax Needle Free Vaccines; eScent’s transformative technology; Forefront RF’s Adaptive Passive Cancellation (APC) Technology; Flusso’s FLS110; Happyr Health’s App; HexagonFab’s The Bolt; Mobilityways Platform; Rnwl; Sparxell and WATR – The Smart Water Quality Monitor.

The #21toWatch shortlist is being assessed by four independent judges. This year, the judges are Emmi Nicholl, Managing Director at Cambridge AngelsMatthew Gooding, News Editor at Tech MonitorJames Parton, Managing Director at The Bradfield Centre; and Ruchi Sharma, CEO and Founder at Stemnovate and Top21.2020 winner. The judges will be assessing the candidates based on innovation, challenge, influence, viability and memorability.

Of the judging process, Emmi Nicholl said: “The 2022 #21toWatch programme is a calendar highlight and I am delighted to be part of the judging process.  Cambridge Angels is a proud supporter of many of the previous winners and I know that each winner places great value on being selected. The exceptional quality of the nominations in each category means that the judging process will no doubt be a challenge, and it’s a challenge that I am looking forward to!”

In addition to the stellar cohort of sponsors and partners supporting the #21toWatch campaign is careers and employment company, Form the FutureAnne Bailey, CEO of Form the Future, says “We are excited to support the innovative people and companies that the #21toWatch campaign and awards celebrate. Finding and keeping great people with the skills and competencies to flourish in the 21st Century workplace is one of the toughest challenges for any business, and particularly in emerging technologies. We are looking forward to working with the #21toWatch cohort to help build their future workforce.”

Now in its fourth year, the Awards will make a return to in-person at an exclusive, bespoke event on Thursday 3rd March 2022. For more information, please visit www.cofinitive.com/21toWatch

 



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