IT Innovation Director to Honor Start-Ups
This year, the Retail Business Services' – the services company of Ahold Delhaize USA – Information
Technology (IT) innovation center, Propulsion Lab, is a participating sponsor for MassChallenge – a global network that brings together teams in retail innovation, industry knowledge and government leadership to help develop high-impact start-ups. As part of this engagement, Director of IT Innovation Eric Braun will present the Gold Awards at the MassChallenge final awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 28.
Start-ups admitted into MassChallenge go through four months of curriculum, mentorship and exhibition events designed to produce avenues of growth, funding and third-party collaboration. As a sponsor, Retail Business Services has been actively involved with mentoring, judging, and assisting in the various U.S. awards ceremonies for regional pitch winners.
“Connecting to start-ups helps Retail Business Services and Ahold Delhaize USA’s local brands learn more about innovation, which helps us stay on the forefront of technology and help us bring new ideas to our partners for retail and digital settings," Eric said.
The awards event will be held on Thursday with the start-up showcase from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by the awards from 4:45 to 6:30 p.m. More details can be found here.
Below is the list of participating start-ups:
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Start-up Name |
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1 |
Verdify develops the world’s first plug-and-play technology platform for personalized and shoppable recipes. |
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2 |
HintEd changes how people get training and support for enterprise software. We help companies in eliminating user handbooks, offline training and screencasts. With HintEd, employees are able to add value to the companies much faster, and any enterprise software platform becomes easier to operate. |
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Oyster Common empowers oyster farms with a nationwide farm to table sales operation. Next, we're building the first Virtual Fishmonger, an AI-powered marketplace for local seafood. |
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Freshspire is software used by local food supply chains to coordinate food sourcing and track food distribution. |
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KNWN Technologies creates AI-powered, omnichannel biometric identity authentication enabling businesses to know and protect their users from enrollment and beyond. |
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6 |
Aiki Planning for Emergencies empowers first responders with critical information that saves lives and reduces property loss. |
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7 |
Invento Robotics develops customer service robots that provide the flexibility to account for multiple applications. |
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8 |
Nature Knows provides ready-to-eat, fresh fruits and vegetables packed only in their uniquely designed, breathable eco-friendly formats. All natural, with no preservatives, nut free and gluten free. |
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9 |
Histofi is an AI-augmented digital pathology and cancer care platform for faster diagnosis and treatment planning with better accuracy. |
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