Friday and Nearpeer, both Portland-based tech startups, have each been selected as finalists to compete for a chance at $250,000 in cash at the annual ASU GSV Summit.
GSV Ventures, an early-stage venture fund, announced this week the selection of 200 seed and bootstrapped education and talent technology startups—the “Elite 200″—to present at the ASU GSV Summit, taking place March 30-April 1 in San Diego this year. The ASU GSV Summit is an annual technology conference co-hosted by Arizona State University and GSV Ventures that aims at improving learning and career outcomes through scaled innovation.
“These entrepreneurs are uniquely advancing social and economic mobility by bending the arc of human potential through innovation in education and workforce,” GSV Ventures said in a news release.
The finalists for the GSV Cup will have five minutes to pitch their technology solutions. Three companies will be chosen as winners during the summit, receiving a prize package of $250,000 cash and $100,000 in Google Cloud credits.
Friday and Nearpeer are the only Maine startups on the list, which includes companies from 21 countries spanning every continent except Antarctica.
Friday is a Portland-based software startup founded by Luke Thomas that is building a product to improve communication and engagement among teams.
“At Friday, we’re thrilled to be chosen as one of the GSV Cup finalists. This event has been on my radar for several years—it will be great to make the trip out and network, learn, and share our story,” Luke Thomas, Friday’s founder, told Maine Startups Insider.
Nearpeer is a Portland-based edtech startup with a social media platform designed to connect college students and reduce so-called “summer melt.” It recently raised $400,000 to fuel its growth.
“Unlocking the potential of our next generation, and enabling them to thrive in a rapidly changing world, means we must put our best thinking and capital towards innovating how we prepare individuals to achieve their potential through lifelong learning and engaging and dynamic work environments,” Deborah Quazzo, managing partner of GSV Ventures, said in a statement. “This competition has uncovered some incredibly driven and inspiring entrepreneurs looking to make a big impact. We congratulate the Elite 200 and look forward to hosting these entrepreneurs in San Diego.”
The submissions were judged by VC investors, including representatives from Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, First Round Capital, ICONIQ, Lightspeed, Owl Ventures, NEA Norwest Venture Partners, Reach Capital, and Shasta Ventures, among others.
The 2020 ASU GSV Summit will be held from March 30 to April 1 in San Diego. The 2019 Summit drew 5,000 attendees from more than 45 countries, including more than 500 investors representing $5 trillion of capital.
