Victory! Mexican startups win in Entrepreneurship World Cup

Two Mexican startups, both led by Tec de Monterrey graduates, were winners in two categories at the 2023 Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC), which took place in Saudi Arabia.

BioGrip is a company which develops bionic arms with artificial intelligence for people who have lost their limbs. Apical Biotech helps farmers grow microorganisms which help them manage the land where they plant their crops.

BioGrip won first place in Tech + Space in the Early category, while Apical Biotech was Runner-Up in the Idea Stage category.

These two startups reached the final of the global entrepreneurship competition by being ranked within the Top 100 companies from 53 different countries.

Both companies applied to the competition through INCmty, Tec de Monterrey’s entrepreneurship platform and community, to represent Mexico at the global contest.

Restoring independence to people without arms

BioGrip, the winner of Tech + Space, helps people who have lost their limbs regain their autonomy by developing smart bionic arms with mechanisms for independent finger mobility.

The company, founded in 2019, has included artificial intelligence and sensors in its designs, which allow the mechanical arms to recognize the muscles of the forearm and shoulders so they can allow high-precision finger, wrist, and elbow movements.

All of this is possible without the need to include neural technology to measure the myoelectric signals that patients’ brains send to the muscles of their stumps in order to calibrate device movements.

“We don’t make prostheses; we make artificial limbs which empower our users and give them their independence back,” said Alan Hernández, Tec graduate and the startup’s CEO.

This project also won the 2022 INC Accelerator challenge which took place at INCmty, Tec de Monterrey’s entrepreneurship festival.

Helping farmers manage soil

Apical Biotech was Runner-Up in the Idea Stage category. The startup uses a regenerative agriculture approach which enables farmers to grow their own microorganisms and thereby reduce their reliance on purchases of biological supplies.

The company was founded by Ilse Álvarez, José Otero, and Mónica Serrano, all Biotechnology Engineering Tec graduates.

“It was a blessing that the three of us could be here; it was a great team achievement, and we knew we were coming here to win,” said Álvarez.

“It’s the result of effort, work, and discipline; it took a lot of dedication to reach this point. We’ve been in the market for more than 6 years and this award is the result of what we’ve learned along the way,” said Serrano.

They use high-tech systems and services to help farmers analyze the microbiome of their soil and thus choose the microorganisms that will help improve their crops.

The company allows farmers to make better agricultural decisions by taking full control of the soil, allowing them to make their crops as productive as possible.

“We’re very proud to be able to represent Mexico at the Entrepreneurship World Cup, and to compete with projects at all stages from all over the world; we’re very happy to have had this opportunity,” said Otero.

The EWC: a competition for emerging entrepreneurs

The EWC is a global pitching competition for emerging entrepreneurs, who compete for a million dollars in cash prizes, as well as investment and support for their startups.

The two Mexican startups applied to the competition through INCmty, the only organization in the country certified to carry out the application process.

BioGrip and Apical Biotech reached the world final, and were ranked within the top 100, after passing preliminary rounds and being chosen from among companies from 200 different countries.

The global event first took place in 2019, as an initiative led by the Misk Foundation in Saudi Arabia. It takes place every year and the competition has received around 400,000 applications to date.

This year’s competition took place from March 9 to 12 as part of the Biban23 event, attracting more than 30,000 founders. The top 100 startups presented their work in front of a panel of expert judges in their field in the final round.

*With information from Susan Irais Gaytan, Asael Villanueva, and INCmty.

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