Uber announces winners of UberPITCH 2016
Uber, the smartphone app that has transformed the way people move around in cities, today announced the winners of UberPITCH, an Indian-wide competition to find the country’s brightest startups.
The winning companies _ SeekSherpa, LeanAgri and Ambee _ span e-commerce, agriculture and and health. Uber will now invest US$ 50,000 into the companies and invite them to San Francisco, where they will get advice and guidance from meet top Uber executives and other venture capitalists.
The three were whittled down from a field of more than 5,000 who submitted their ideas via a tap on their Uber app. Of those 100, were shortlisted and subject to a grilling from expert investors, mentors and venture capitalists.
Amit Jain, President Uber India, said, “We were overwhelmed by the response to UberPITCH, which underscored the depth and breadth of the smart ideas that Indian entrepreneurs are generating. All the companies showed a commitment to tackling some really hard problems. Our leaders at HQ in San Francisco can’t wait to meet them and help them on the next stage of their journey. I would also like to wish all the participants the very best of luck as they continue to build their dreams.”
During his recent visit to India in December 2016, Travis Kalanick, Uber’s co-founder and CEO, met some of the entrepreneurs and announced the planned investment of US$ 50,000 in the winners.
Winner Details:
● SeekSherpa | Industry: E-commerce
City: New Delhi
Founder and CEO: Sukhmani Singh
SeekSherpa is a digital platform for locals to market and sell unique experiences to travellers. SeekSherpa works with the city’s locals such as chefs, historians, students, journalists, and photographers in curating interesting immersive and value adding experiences at reasonable price bands for inbound travellers and city dwellers via its tech platform.
● LeanAgri | Industry: Agriculture
City: Chennai
Founder and CEO: Siddharth Dialani
LeanAgri aims to provide end-to-end solutions to farmers to increase their farm productivity. They target implementation of scientific farming techniques to drive agriculture industry towards profitability. Their current farming projects are delivering 300% increase in productivity.
● Ambee | Industry: Health Tech
City: Hyderabad
Founder and CEO: Jaimon Jose
Ambee is a network of hospital and private ambulances on a single technology platform, enabling users to find the nearest ambulance to go to a destination of their choice.
