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‘Uber for ocean intelligence’ startup wins Bellingham Angel Investors pitch competition
- Astraeus Ocean Systems, a startup that aims to field a fleet of autonomous boats to gather and analyse information on environmental conditions, has won the Bellingham Angel Investors’ Startup Pitch Competition.
- The contest, which awarded a total of $10,000 in prize money, was the first annual pitch event to highlight entrepreneurs in Northwest Washington state.
- A total of 12 local entrepreneurs pitched their business concepts in front of a panel of judges and an audience of about 50 people.
- Astraeus CEO Alex Parker said he envisioned a globally distributed fleet of solar-powered autonomous surface vessels that can be rapidly dispatched to gather and share sensor data at a lower cost than current ocean data collection methods.
- Ten of the 12 finalists, including Astraeus, were from Bellingham and 10 were tech-related.
- Bellingham-based Astraeus, which also won the "audience favourite" award, plans to conduct trials in Puget Sound this year and hopes to start its first paid pilots in early 2025.
- Other winners included a child care and learning center, an app to help gardeners and a no-code business process automation platform.
- Bellingham Angel Investors said active investments are usually in the $2m to $5m range and the competition was the first step in stimulating the entrepreneurial community in the region.
- Startups also had the opportunity to take part in coaching and workshop sessions in advance.
- Rhys Faler, one of the judges, is the driving force behind Innovate Bellingham, which is hosting a festival in January that he thinks could fit well into the annual cadence of the pitch competition.
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