Cardiff’s most promising early-stage technology startups have been celebrated in the first Cardiff Startups 2.0 list.
The list, which recognises 15 of Cardiff’s under-the-radar early-stage startups, has been published by nationwide startup community publication TechBlast.co.uk.
These founder-led startups are all bootstrapped, grant-funded, pre-seed or angel-backed and either building or harnessing a unique technology. They are all less than four years old.
TechBlast invited nominations from its readers, key figures in the city's tech scene and an array of incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces. Many of the startups featured are already making waves in the market.
“From digital kitties and student finance platforms; data intelligence talent and immersive training platforms; flexible car insurance and PropTechs; and supercar NFTs and safety apps, the city is rich with startup talent,” said Jonathan Symcox, editor, TechBlast.
“However, it’s no secret that most startups fail to survive. Even those with the greatest potential need help to truly take off, especially in a difficult funding market when VCs have battened down the hatches.
“By shining a light on these under-the-radar companies, perhaps we can help to give them a leg-up.”
Cargo
A ‘digital kitty’ that makes organising group events easier, Cargo is an app which tracks payments, manages messaging to the group and sends automatic reminders. After creating a kitty inviting friends to pay in, users receive a prepaid physical or virtual card to make payments. Founded last year, Cargo is yet to launch.
clear_pixel VR
A neuroscience virtual reality training platform, clear_pixel VR’s virtual lab provides a safe, repeatable environment where individuals can practise and hone industry techniques on vital equipment. It allows them to interact with lab equipment; change settings; set it up and learn processes; try out different equipment manufacturers; and tracks the progress of trainees.
Datamonet
DataMonet’s purpose is to get ‘data in the boardroom’. It does this by making data a core commercial driver for organisations – helping them to grow profitably and ethically – by offering chief data officer and non-executive director services. Led by Sameer Rahman, who has served as CDO for various multinational corporations and FTSE 500 companies.
Driverly
A flexible monthly subscription car insurance platform, Driverly allows users to earn ‘acorns’ for good driving which can then be turned into vouchers or discounts. Utilising AI and machine learning to provide competitive quotes, the app-only platform doesn’t just look at the driver’s demographic – but how they drive.
Empirisys
Empirisys was founded to uncover vital intelligence within organisations. Its team of engineers, process safety experts and data scientists aims to uncover the hidden value of existing, hidden data which can then be refined into insights and transformed into practical solutions. It does this via Sense, an intelligent survey app.
EverKnock
Described as ‘a wedding planner for your home move’, EverKnock aims to reduce the stress of buying or selling a home. It does this through a homemover pack which includes information around legal fees, mortgage, survey, removals and insurance, and also offers support via a ‘personal assistant’ concierge.
Goggleminds
Goggleminds has developed a training platform – Mediverse – to help healthcare professionals and students practise and learn new skills in virtual reality. Available on both VR headsets and computers, it includes training simulations featuring virtual patients that look, react and respond like real people and incorporates data analytics to track performance.
Identitech
A ‘know your customer’ platform, Identitech claims to allow new clients to onboard in just 60 seconds without risking typical due diligence processes. It also verifies the identity of clients remotely and builds a risk profile – protecting businesses from fraud, bad actors and malicious activity.
Let's NVST
The Let’s NVST platform allows property investors and landlords to browse, reserve, sell and even request investment opportunities – all tailored to their requirements. Its listings include investment-specific information such as return on investment, while all purchases include a seven-day cooling off period so investors can undertake as much due diligence as possible.
P1NK NFTs
P1NK NFTs is imminently set to launch a range of 350 NFTs which allow enthusiasts to access supercar experiences, events and drive-outs. Its online and face-to-face community already has more than 550 members while it claims to be working with McLaren, Ferrari and Aston Martin as well as Channel 5 on a TV show to be aired in November 2023.
Parker.ai
Described as a ‘co-pilot for decision making’, Parker believes meetings are fundamentally broken and have become an inefficient way to make decisions. Aiming to accelerate collaboration, the platform summarises meetings and messaging, delivering a personalised real-time view of information to participants – and ultimately driving action.
QZee
A shortening of ‘queue easy’, QZee is a flexible reservation solution for hospitality businesses. The multi-tiered virtual queuing system allows individuals and groups to book ahead and make last-minute plans – helping businesses to avoid dreaded no-shows and last-minute cancellations – and includes smart AI recommendations and location-based exclusive offers.
RouteBuddies
Safety app RouteBuddies allows women – as well as men and gender neutral people – to come together for group activities such as walking to the office or a run around the local park. With options to join communities or find and create private spaces of their own, users can send and receive companion requests. It also offers an enterprise option.
StudentWallet
Currently at the waitlist stage, StudentWallet offers an alternative to traditional bank accounts. Among the features it is releasing to help students take control of their finances are automatic splitting of recurring payments and bills; student grants and bursaries assistance; and advanced budgeting tools.
VisiFish
Serving aquaculture farmers, Visifish is developing non-intrusive monitoring of fish via machine vision technology. Its underwater cameras can be used in various setups – including cages, runs and tanks while the solution can be retro-fitted to cameras already available in aquaculture farms.
