Giroptic, Bloom Tech & Sphero to Visit Richard Branson on Necker Island to Pitch their Products

Giroptic, Bloom Technologies, and Sphero are the finalists in the Extreme Tech Challenge delivered this past week at CES. The threesome will have the opportunity to zip over to Necker Island to cliff dive and kiteboard with Richard Branson. They will also have the opportunity to pitch their products to Sir Richard and perhaps return home with more than the memories of a visit on the private island.  Even better, Branson was magnanimous enough to invite all ten of the semi-finalists which begs the question; will A&E be there filming a reality TV series?

Regardless, Giroptic, Bloom and Sphero are most certainly pleased to be spending a portion of February in the Caribbean. Giroptic, creators of a 360° HD camera launched a rewards based campaign on Kickstarter in 2014.  Based in Lille, France, it became one of the largest French rewards campaigns of all time raising $1.4 million.

Bloom Technology has crafted wearable technology for pregnant women to crowdsourcing the “largest and most comprehensive dataset on prenatal health to better predict and manage preterm birth”.  Their “Belli” sensor measures health parameters, like contractions during the third trimester to detect deviations during ones pregnancy.

Sphero, formerly known as Orbatix, a company that has already raised tens of millions of dollars, has created some pretty cool robots including a clone of the Star Wars BB8.

Reportedly more than 1,200 teams entered for a chance to present during CES 2016. Judges included Robert Scoble, Gary Shapiro, Veronica Serra, Tim Draper and others.  Branson showed up virtually to make a statement. The  Verge pointed out that 70% of the companies Branson invests in have founders that kite board. Better start practicing…

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