Ten winners have emerged in the Finals of the 2024 Global Startup Pitch, by WiT and Phocuswright, which was held today.
In the four-hour virtual Finals, which started with the Asia Pacific, went onto Emerging Markets, Europe and North America, and ended with two Wildcards, a team of more than 20 judges picked 10 winners from the different regions. A total of 18 finalists competed tonight in the event, which is in its third year.
In a new format this year, two categories were created per region – Seedup: Under three years and which have raised no more than US$5m and Scaleup: Three to eight years and which have raised no more than US$10m.
The winners from the four different regions are:
Asia Pacific
Belli (Seedup)
Neoma (Scaleup)
Emerging Markets
atlaseek (Seedup)
Flapper (Scaleup)
Europe
Trapi (Seedup)
Hotel Treats (Scaleup)
North America
Nowadays (Seedup)
The Host Company (Scaleup)
Wildcards: Revolutionizing the In-Destination Experience
iWander (Seedup)
Autio (Scaleup)
These winners have emerged from nearly 200 entries which were received for the global competition, with JetBlue Ventures as the global sponsor for the third year running.
The 10 winners will travel to Singapore for showcase presentations at WiT Singapore, Oct 14-16. The audience at WiT Singapore will vote on their favorite Seedup and Scaleup, and the People’s Choice winners will be showcased at The Phocuswright Conference, November 19-21, in Phoenix and WiT Seoul, November 26-27, in Seoul.
All 10 winners of this year’s Global Startup Pitch
“Congratulations to all the winners as well as the 200 startups that applied. It was truly a global competition which represented the variety and diversity of the travel world,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WiT. “We are excited to welcome them to Singapore where our audience will get to vote for their People’s Choice.
“We revised the format this year, based on lessons learnt from the past two years, to have two winners per region rather than having just one winner for the entire competition, recognising that each region is at different stages of development. We also created the Seedup and Scaleup categories to give the smaller, possibly hidden gems a chance to emerge.”
Said Pete Comeau, managing director of Phocuswright, “The Phocuswright/WiT Global Startup Pitch has once again unveiled the next generation of travel disruptors. Thank you to all the judges for giving us their time and expertise to help us get to this point. The travel startup ecosystem is thriving, and we eagerly anticipate seeing how these ideas shape the new age of travel.”
Michael Dykes, vice president, market management, Asia Pacific, Expedia Group, a first-time judge, commented, “Whether we feel that the idea is viable or not, the real point is you have amazing young people creating and innovating. An innovative mind is a precious mind. Keep pushing the boundaries!”
Ross Veitch, CEO and co-founder, Wego, judging for the Asia Pacific region, added, “Finalists this year were quite diverse and featured some strong pitches. AI powered innovation was a refreshing and recurring theme.”
Miriam Moscovici, Vice President Partnerships & Research, BCD Travel, one of the judges for North America, said, “This was one of the most well-prepared group of presenters I’ve seen in a while and the diversity of ideas really shows how innovators are attacking travel challenges from all directions. I think we’ve seen more than one “future big deal” today.”
Stephen Snyder, Managing Director of Operations & Partnerships, JetBlue Ventures, a judge from the beginning of the competition, said he was very impressed by all the startups he had reviewed. “I take my hat off to them for continuing to innovate.”
The Global Startup Pitch is part of WiT and Phocuswright’s ongoing commitment to cultivate innovation, which also includes Phocuswright’s Innovation: Launch, Startup Programs, PhocusWire’s Hot 25 Travel Startups, WiT Bootcamps and more.
Jeff Pan (Belli) celebrates his victory in the Asia Pacific bracket with his dogs
