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Pittsburgh Boasts 7 Teams in the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE

Seven Pittsburgh teams advanced to Round 2 of the $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE, out of 59 worldwide. That’s more than any other U.S. city, and second globally, behind only Montreal, Canada. By comparison, only four teams remain in the running throughout all of Asia. The teams include: · Behaivior: Uses machine learning and wearable tech to support people recovering from opioid addiction. · BlipIQ: Helps memory-loss patients keep track of their memories and share them with family and caretakers. · Choitek: Produces low-cost responsive humanoid robots to engage students in STEM education. · CleanRobotics: Produces TrashBot, an automated waste sorter that separates landfill waste from recyclables. · Expii: Combines learning algorithms with crowdsourced interactive lessons to deliver free personalized education with the aid of AI tutoring. · Marinus Analytics: Develops artificial intelligence tools to help law enforcement stop human trafficking and rescue victims. · SCAD AI: Uses a digital assistant to catalyze strategic learning by bridging the work + life continuum. Pittsburgh is also home to RoboTutor, a finalist in the $15M Global Learning XPRIZE, and Hera, a semi-finalist in the $1M Women’s Safety XPRIZE. Astrobotic, a frontrunner for the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, withdrew from that competition last year to prioritize their business. AI XPRIZEXPRIZE is the global leader in designing and implementing innovation competitions to solve the world’s grandest challenges. Its multi-million dollar prizes incentivize teams around the world to create solutions for pressing problems that the market is unlikely to solve by itself. It also works with a variety of international partners to facilitate critical discussions in policy, industry, academia and civil society, through initiatives like the annual AI for Good Global Summit, which identifies and advances AI solutions that address the UN’s Sustainable Development goals. Ascender, a startup incubator and coworking space in East Liberty, has conducted several programs as an XPRIZE partner. Ascender’s Program Director, Kenny Chen, serves as the region’s XPRIZE Ambassador. Chen aims to further galvanize Pittsburgh communities around XPRIZE activities, to bolster the city’s global profile, and maximize chances of winning current and future prizes.