Ubergizmo was invited to be a jury member of the International Media Awards of the Korea-U.S. Startup Summit (aka, Korea-US SMEs go TOGETHER) innovation occasion held in New York Metropolis on September 20 and 21, 2022, and we obliged. For an summary of the occasion, learn our earlier publish.
After speaking to greater than 20 firms at varied pavilions and evaluating their merchandise and applied sciences, we’ve got nominated 5 firms whose merchandise resonate with us. Right here they’re beneath, in reverse order:
#5 Lawfully
Lawfully is a service that helps hopeful US immigrants monitor their circumstances with the US Immigration Companies. CEO Joon Ahn leads the corporate, and one among its co-founders is an NYC immigration legal professional.
Having gone by means of the visa, inexperienced card, and US Citizenship course of, I may have an knowledgeable view of their product. Lawfully makes use of the most recent authorities information feeds and processes to provide potential immigrants a world perspective that’s up to date each day, generally a number of occasions.
For instance, it’s doable to know if the particular immigration middle by which an individual’s file is making regular progress by monitoring the variety of circumstances processed each day. By analyzing the successes and rejected circumstances, Lawfully also can spot particular ache factors and lift consciousness to customers as they file their purposes. That might save months by avoiding a re-submission, for instance.
The fundamental service is free, however there are premium options, and extra correct information customers will pay for. There’s additionally the potential of asking inquiries to immigration attorneys and get a reply in minutes. The attorneys decide the payment by slices of 15mn. From what we are able to inform, costs within the vary of $45-$65 are affordable for this service. Lawfully pockets a small payment because the intermediate.
Total, I’d have used this if it existed again then to make sure that issues have been transferring and that the knowledge I submitted didn’t want additional warning.
#4 Teuida Inc
Teuida is a Korean-learning app for English or Vietnamese audio system. The app takes a special strategy by specializing in real-world conditions the place you possibly can perceive the context and vocabulary, and grammar.
That is a superb technique of studying languages, in my view. I Converse three languages (English, French, and Vietnamese), and this system appears to be like fairly conducive to quick and sturdy studying, in my view. That’s in stark distinction with different strategies I’ve been uncovered to, particularly the tutorial model we’ve realized in school.
Based mostly on their information, Teuida observed that greater than 90% of their customers are girls (teenagers to younger adults) studying Korean as a result of they comply with KPOP artists or TV Present actors. They’ve added interactions primarily based on these matters and universes which may present additional incentive and enjoyable to their person base.
Teuida CEO Ji Woong Jang talked about that just about everybody within the firm speaks multiple language, and I can’t consider a greater approach to relate to their clients.
#3 POEN
POEN stands for POsitive Power and is a startup targeted on re-purposing used battery packs. As such, they’re forward of the incoming wave of used batteries, which I about to hit the world as EV skyrocket in reputation.
Battery recycling is a difficult downside and an afterthought for many of the trade and the final discourse round going “all-electric.” Nevertheless, it’s some of the important challenges to sort out if we wish to make that inexperienced future occur.
POEN goals to rebuild new battery packs by re-using particular person cells when doable and re-grouping them collectively into a brand new pack. They work with various kinds of cells and have developed a failure trigger evaluation and inspection methodology that permits them to identify cells that may be reused.
In some circumstances, it’s doable to reconstruct a battery pack match for an electrical automobile (EV), which is the most suitable choice. Different occasions, the cells might be re-assembled into packs destined to less-demanding purposes corresponding to energy banks or e-bikes.
CEO Seong-Jin Choi talked about that if the batteries should not usable, POEN can discharge them with a self-developed system and course of the uncooked supplies to recuperate the essential elements to provide the “Black powder,” which is important to Lithium-Ion batteries.
#2 Mycell
Mycel is an organization that makes use of mushrooms’ mycelium (the basis construction) as its base part to provide synthetic leather-based and even meals merchandise. The thought got here from Mycel CEO Sungjin Sah and has yielded an impressively shut copy of leather-based.
Even upon shut inspection and contact, it’s troublesome to inform if it’s real leather-based since Mycel can reproduce the feel and appear of real leather-based and its pure sturdiness. In response to the corporate, the Mycel leather-based efficiency is comparable just about to pure leather-based.
Since leather-based has fallen out of grace due to adjustments in company practices and its excessive carbon footprint, a product of this high quality satisfies high-end manufacturers looking for higher ESG scores with out compromising the standard.
As for the meals side, Mycel factors out that it may produce a pure ingredient that may add texture to a plethora of plant-based meat merchandise. Nevertheless, whereas the market is doubtlessly bigger, there’s a must customise the mycelium product for every area/tradition. That may be a well-known problem, and firms like Coca-cola or McDonals adapt their merchandise on a regional foundation.
#1 Greenwhale International
Greenwhale international has impressed us with a bio-degradable,non-toxic, plastic materials that appears and feels identical to our digital devices’ common plastic (one may even eat it). Nevertheless, their bio-degradable product will utterly disappear after a few years, whereas plastic may keep round and stay poisonous for hundreds of years.
Greenwhale’s bio-plastic is just not solely better-looking than any competitor we’ve seen, it is usually cheaper to provide, a big benefit in an trade the place prices drive many choices. Whereas their product stays 1.5X costlier than polluting plastics, it’s as much as 2X extra reasonably priced than bio-degradable alternate options.
And identical to common plastics, Greenwhale’s bio-plastic is delivered in pellets, and there are solely minor tweaks to the manufacturing line to make use of it.
That stated, Greenwhale founders Jiyoung Hwang and Taekyun Yoon observe this product is natural, so if uncovered to fixed moisture, some decay may seem, not like polluting plastic. That stated, the quick objective is to exchange one-time-use plastic corresponding to plastic luggage, utensils and different merchandise with brief life spans.
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