From ‘Micro-Factories’ To Urban Farming: These Innovative Firms Are Shaping The Future
July 4, 2019
By Newsroom
The World Economic Forum today unveils its 2019 Technology Pioneers: tech firms from around the world, shaping their industry and their region in new and exciting ways. The 2019 cohort was selected by a committee of 59 leading technology experts, investors and entrepreneurs.
“Our new tech pioneers are at the cutting edge of many industries, using their innovations to address serious issues around the world,” says Fulvia Montresor, Head of Technology Pioneers at the Forum. “This year’s pioneers know that technology is about more than innovation – it is also about application. This is why we believe they’ll shape the future.”
As part of their selection, all Technology Pioneers can participate in a two-year programme with the Forum, when they have the opportunity to collaborate with their emerging tech peers, engage with industry leaders and work with public and private experts around the world. The 2019 cohort is invited to participate at the Forum’s upcoming meeting, the 13th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, Dalian, People’s Republic of China, 1-3 July.
Of the 56 firms selected, 25% of them are female-led and they are drawn from a pool that stretches beyond the traditional tech hubs like Silicon Valley. This year’s group includes, among others: healthcare app DabaDoc from Morocco; Via Verde from Mexico facilitating vertical gardening; manufacturing-focused DataProphet from South Africa; and the first Technology Pioneer from Saudi Arabia, trucking and logistics innovator Homoola.
Countries represented are: China, Finland, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Technology Pioneers are at the cutting edge of a wide range of industries that span agtech, smart cities, cleantech, supply chain, manufacturing, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicles, drones and others.
China’s Dorabot uses robots to create seamless delivery and logistics services. Also based in China, Alesca Life creates cloud-connected farms and farm digitization software to improve the efficiency of food production so that hotels, restaurants or even private homes can produce food in automated “cabinet farms” that use up to 25 times less water and land than traditional methods.
Another Technology Pioneer aiming to address food shortages, US-based Inari Agriculture,uses CRISPR gene-editing technology to produce healthier crops that require much less land and have a significantly lower impact on the environment. Using green technology in another way is Mexico’s Via Verde. This pioneer creates, installs and maintains vertical gardens to transform urban infrastructure into green spaces that generate oxygen, improve air quality, reduce urban heat islands and provide other social and psychological benefits to highly populated cities.
Leading the way in autonomous vehicles is the US company Perceptive Automata. They are combining behavioural science, neuroscience and computer vision for autonomous vehicles to understand how pedestrians, bikes and drivers communicate on the road beyond codified traffic laws. At the cutting edge of manufacturing, DataProphet in South Africauses AI to improve quality and yield.
Other Technology Pioneers are leveraging technology to address social issues. One example is Israeli TIPA,a clean-tech innovator addressing the global plastics crisis with compostable plastics packaging. US-established Marinus Analytics addresses human trafficking by leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence to empower law enforcement and government agencies to protect vulnerable communities.
The 2019 cohort of Technology Pioneers:
Africa
DataProphet (South Africa) – artificial intelligence for manufacturing
Asia
Alesca Life (China) – data-driven, indoor vertical farming and crop management solutions
Coeo Labs (India) – meeting clinical needs in critical care
Dorabot (China) – artificial intelligence-powered robotic solutions for logistics and beyond
Eureka (Singapore) – an artificial intelligence platform for mobile operator and enterprise partnerships
Guangzhishu Technology (China) – providing blockchain-based privacy-preserving computation solutions
Holmusk (Singapore) – leveraging real-world data to address mental health issues globally
Sky Labs (Korea) – developing a cardio tracker to identify arrhythmia, which is difficult to diagnose
Tookitaki (Singapore) – artificial intelligence-powered regulatory compliance solutions for financial institutions
Europe
Bitfury (the Netherlands) – developing and delivering cutting-edge blockchain hardware and software solutions
Black Bear Carbon (the Netherlands) – bringing the circular economy to tires
Callsign (UK) – revolutionizing how people digitally identify themselves
Garrison (UK) – a unique technology providing secure internet access
ICEYE (Finland) – satellite imaging for every square metre on Earth, every hour
Luminance Technologies (UK) – an artificial intelligence platform for lawyers
Open Mineral (Switzerland) – disrupting how base metal commodities are traded
Photanol (the Netherlands) – making biodegradable plastic from CO2, which is only the beginning
Volocopter (Germany) – certified multicopter offering urban air mobility services
Latin America
Via Verde (Mexico) – creating resilient urban environments using vertical green gardens
MENA
DabaDoc (Morocco) – transforming the patient-doctor relationship through networked care
Homoola (Saudi Arabia) – bringing rideshare to the trucking industry
MeMed Diagnostics (Israel) – translating immune system signals into simple diagnostic insights
QED-it (Israel) – enterprise solutions for data privacy using zero-knowledge proofs
TIPA (Israel) – developing and producing compostable flexible packaging
North America
7 Cups (USA) – technology to scale compassion, solving mental health challenges
Airobotics (USA) – pioneers in autonomous robotics with aerial insights and analytics
Airtable (USA) – empowering human creativity by democratizing software creation
Arcadia Power (USA) – making clean energy an easy choice, for everyone
BigID (USA) – helping organizations know their customers by knowing their data
Bright Machines (USA) – bringing intelligence and automation to manufacturing
CyberCube (USA) – cyber-risk analytics to grow insurance in a connected world
Descartes Labs (USA) – building a cloud-based platform to digitize the physical world
Drishti (USA) – extending human potential in increasingly automated factories
Full Harvest (USA) – the first B2B marketplace for imperfect and surplus produce
GHGSat (Canada) – satellite monitoring of emissions from industrial facilities
goTenna (USA) – a leading mobile mesh networking platform
ImpactVision (USA) – real-time food quality and safety decisions
Inari Agriculture (USA) – from nature’s diversity to better seeds
LunaPBC (USA) – people-driven health discovery platform
Marinus Analytics (USA) – artificial intelligence-based tools to help the vulnerable in the digital world
Microvi (USA) – safe water, sustainable chemicals and a clean environment for all
One Concern (USA) – artificial intelligence for natural disaster resilience
Onshape (USA) – a cloud design platform that speeds up product development
Openwater (USA) – changing the way people read and write their bodies and brains
Perceptive Automata (USA) – human intuition for machines
Quantela (USA) – providing a digital platform for smarter urban infrastructure decisions
Relativity Space (USA) – 3D-printed rockets to build the future of humanity in space
Remitly (USA) – digital remittance services helping immigrants send money overseas
Rigetti Computing (USA) – on a mission to build the world’s most powerful computers
Shape Security (USA) – protecting the Global 2000 from bot attacks
Skuchain (USA) – empowering enterprises to grow their global trade with blockchain
Spring Health (USA) – a comprehensive mental health solution for employers
Starsky Robotics (USA) – bringing driverless trucks to the market
Trackonomy (USA) – powering end-to-end visibility and control across global supply chains
Truepic (USA) – restoring trust to digital photos and videos
Vineti (USA) – creating essential software for personalized therapies