DETROIT, April 28, 2023 – The Global Automotive & Mobility Innovation Challenge (GAMIC) selected four innovative start-ups as winners of its 15th annual competition, sponsored by SAE International and MI Innovation Alliance. The 2023 GAMIC Finalists, hailing from six states and three countries, have a broad array of promising new technologies to advance vehicles and transportation systems of the future. GAMIC invited more than 1500 global mobility start-up companies to compete in this year’s event.
The 2023 GAMIC CHAMPIONS are:
Volexion Inc. – Chicago, Ill.
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Drop-in conformal graphene encapsulation, protecting Lithium battery cathode materials and driving tech improvements. https://www.volexion-inc.com
Magwerks Vision Inc. - Lake Orion, Mich.
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A mobility-focused advanced vehicle illumination and lighting supplier with unique designs. www.magwerksvision.com
Orbis Brakes Inc. – Santa Rosa, Calif.
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New brake technology that delivers dramatically lighter, cooler, safer, and lower brake dust emissions. https://orbisbrakes.com
Vultara Inc. – Troy, Mich.
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A SaaS product that covers the entire automotive cybersecurity engineering lifecycle, from concept design to post monitoring. www.vultara.com
The 2023 GAMIC Finalists also included: It’s Electric, Land Energy, Live Road Analytics, Luchs Security, OSCP, Phoenix Tailings and Pontosense Inc., each one of them an impressive automotive – mobility startup.
GAMIC Master of Ceremonies, John McElroy said: “The quality and ingenuity of the products and services presented by the GAMIC finalists are truly world class. Every automaker, supplier and investor should be lining up to get first crack at bringing them to market.”
Jeremy Holt, President of GAMIC’s Gold Sponsor, Amsted Automotive said: “Amsted Automotive, a torque management specialist in the EV space, was thrilled to sponsor the GAMIC start-up competition which supports the development of innovative mobility technologies. Congratulations to the four winners, showcasing their groundbreaking solutions at the SAE WCX conference in Detroit. Amsted Automotive is proud to be a part of this initiative and looks forward to future collaborations that advance the industry and benefit society as a whole.”
Marcus Hayes, CEO of Orbis Brakes Inc. said: "GAMIC is an incredible forum for encouraging and supporting game-changing technologies. We were inspired by our fellow finalists and look forward to engaging our new connections as we move the Orbis Brakes mission forward.”
To make it to the Finals, GAMIC applicants compete through three rounds: GAMIC Quarter- Finals (Dec.-Jan.), GAMIC Semi-Finals (Feb.) and GAMIC Finals (Apr.) that are reviewed by senior automotive industry executives from OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, as well as from the startup investment community. Judging criteria used to select the teams moving on to the Finals included their business plans, strength of their intellectual property, uniqueness, potential impact of their technologies to the mobility industry. All of the competitors are provided mentoring by industry professionals after passing the Quarter-Final event stage.
The four Champions of the GAMIC competition will receive more than $300,000 USD in-kind commercialization assistance and cash to accelerate their business in the automotive and mobility space. In-kind commercialization prizes include legal, incubation, financial modeling, engineering modeling, investor prep, cyber-security support, and targeted executive introductions. They are also introduced to senior members of OEMs or Tier 1 suppliers with decision-making authority, budgets, and the need for the types of technologies our GAMIC Champions offer. Both the GAMIC Finalists and GAMIC Champions receive access to professional business acceleration services and office workspace from the ACCELERATOR, Windsor, Ontario.
Previous GAMIC Champions and Finalists have gone on to greater success, including being acquired or joint venturing, inking licensing contracts, launching their products faster, and obtaining additional development funding due to their enhanced visibility. In the past eight years, they have raised over $230,000,000 USD in equity investment. Since 2008 GAMIC Winners and Finalists are tough competitors and 95%+ are active businesses today.
Major sponsors for the 15th GAMIC 2023 included: SAE International, MI Innovation Alliance, Amsted Automotive, Denso Corporation, Clear Flame Engines, Thomas & Jones Group, Market Results, The Accelerator as well as a number of in-kind professional organization contributions.
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About GAMIC
The Global Automotive & Mobility Challenge, or GAMIC, is an annual competition for early-stage automotive and mobility companies with new technologies. It was created to: identify innovative companies from around the world; cultivate new technologies and solutions; and hasten their adoption into the automotive and mobility industries.
Participants get exposure to over 7,000 mobility experts at the GAMIC Finals during SAE International’s WCX World Congress in April. Winners share more than $300,000 USD in commercialization acceleration services and cash, along with facilitated introductions to the industry’s top decision-makers and influencers.
GAMIC is an Accredited Partner of STEM.ORG.
GAMIC is a sponsored activity of the MI Innovation Alliance, a 501-c-3 corporation. For additional information visit www.gamicevent.org.
Contact:
David Stout
MI Innovation Alliance
248.798.6369
GAMICleaders@MIinnovationalliance.org