The Medical Center of the Americas Foundation (MCA) and the Melinda and Meyer Marcus Family Foundation Innovation Center are proud to present the inauguration of the Elevate Health Tech Challenge – Pitch Day. On Thursday February 15, six regional start-up companies will showcase their innovative health technologies and strategic business plans competing for a chance to win a $20,000 prize fund. The competition will be held at the Cardwell Collaborative, in the large first-floor conference room from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

In preparation for Pitch Day, the six participating start-ups—Infinite Elements, Oten Medical, Thyroid HQ, Freudensong, Metabolomics Rx, and Flow Aluminum—have undergone an intensive 4-week program through which they worked on refining and elevating their ventures’ investment and technology readiness levels. At this grand finale, they will present their innovative health tech solutions to a panel of five expert judges who will evaluate them on criteria like innovation, viability, and societal benefit. In addition to the competition itself, Pitch Day offers networking with health tech peers, potential partners, community leaders, and investors in an engaging environment.

“The Innovation Center Team at the Medical Center of the Americas has designed a program that goes beyond just gathering startups for a pitch performance. The Elevate Health Tech Challenge inspires a collaborative spirit, provokes healthy cross examination, and sparks synergies that will help to enable further exploration and development of their products and solutions,” says Leonel A. Romero Innovation Ecosystem and Resource Strategist at the Innovation Center.

The Elevate Health Tech Challenge was designed to empower start-ups with the opportunity to grow through collaboration with each other as well as seasoned subject matter experts. Across the four phases of the competition, the six companies have completed comprehensive assessments of their strengths and weaknesses, gaining valuable insights from each other on heightening their startups to the next level.

The Elevate Health Tech Challenge is an initiative of the Innovation Center’s mission to catalyze the growth of the health tech economy by providing a combination of individualized support, access to resources, and networking / critical connections. This Pitch Day will play a pivotal role in bringing together key players across the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.