Caucasus University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center held the final event of Startup Pre-acceleration program CUnicorn – Demo Day (Batch 2) at CU.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center’s pre-acceleration program CUnicorn aims to promote the development of tech startups at the university.

Over the past 10 weeks, 7 startup teams went through intensive mentorship sessions led by experienced local and international mentors and invited speakers, and learned the basic principles of startup creation and development.

Giorgi Burduli – Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center led the event. Keynote speakers: Kakha Shengelia -President of Caucasus University, Irena Melua - Vice President of Caucasus University for Internationalization, Avtandil Kasradze - Chairman of Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency, and Tamar Gakharia – Chief Financial Officer of CBS Group addressed the delivered opening remarks.

On Demo Day, Startups presented their ideas to industry experts and investors, answered questions of the judges, and met potential partners.

Startups represented on Demo Day:

Portico - Cargo transportation management system that simplifies logistical processes;

EasyDine - A dining establishments reservation platform that gives you an opportunity to see the 360 view of a table, review the menu in details, order, and pay in advance;

Pet-IT - An app offering pet walking services for pet owners and creating hourly job opportunities for pet enthusiast;

Alarmo - Smart system design to monitor the storage conditions of perishable products, that helps businesses ensure product quality and minimize loss;

SAIT - Universal platform for searching, comparing, and purchasing intercity transport tickets;

TourTour - A travel-planning platform that allows users to discover, compare, and purchase packages offered by travel companies;

Be a Chef – An AI-powered app that creates recipes based on the ingredients and tools users have on hand while also minimizing food waste

At the end of the event, the judges – Kakha Shengelia - President of Caucasus University, Avtandil Kasradze - Chairman of Georgia's Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA), Chris Burry - CEO of US Market Access Center (USMAC), Tamar Jikia - Head of Digital & Innovation Department at Cellfie Mobile, Kerry Slattery - International Entrepreneurship Program Manager at The George Washington University announced the winners, who were awarded with prizes by CU, the event general sponsor and the event supporters.

• 1^stPlace: Be a Chef was awarded a cash prize of 5000 GEL by Caucasus University and the general sponsor of the event, Cellfie Mobile.
  Clevertone, the supporter of the event, awarded the mentioned team with marketing services worth 1000 GEL. D BLOCK, another supporter of the event, granted the first-placed startup a one-month access to the shared workspace.
• 2^ndPlace: Alarmo received a prize of 2000 GEL from Caucasus University. Alarmo was also awarded a cash prize of 3000 GEL by Aversi, as the company’s favorite startup. Alarmo also received 1000 GE from an event supporter Awork, as the company’s favorite startup.
• 3^rdPlace: Portico was awarded with 1000 GEL by Caucasus University.

Telecommunications Operator Cellfie Mobile was the general sponsor of Demo Day. The following organizations also supported the event: Startuperi, Aversi, Efes Georgia, Awork, The George Washington University (GW) Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, US Market Access Center (USMAC), Georgia's Innovation & Technology Agency (GITA), AXEL, Gianiani, D BLOCK, and Clevertone.