Five Indian startups join Tech Pioneers Community

THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM said 100 new startups, including five from India, have joined its Technology Pioneers Community and these include entities from healthcare and financial services to the metaverse.

Among the five Indian entities, Vahan is building a full-stack labour marketplace for blue-collar workers; SmartCoin Financials is a tech-driven financial inclusion platform empowering the underserved; and Recykal is Asia's first circular economy marketplace.

Besides, Proeon is creating next-generation plant proteins with superior taste, texture and nutrition, while Pandocorp is making supply chain execution intelligent with a fast logistics cloud, the WEF said about the Indian startups on the list.

"Full of young and growing tech companies, the 2022 cohort is forging new paths in healthcare, food production and more with cutting-edge technologies," the WEF said on Tuesday (10).

The list has been announced days before the WEF's annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos from May 22-26.

This year's intake also includes Emerge, which is improving virtual interactions through the development of a device with tactile effects for users at virtual gatherings. Ampd Energy is reshaping the construction industry by pioneering battery energy storage systems, and Alife is supporting healthcare advances by using artificial intelligence to improve the success rate of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

"The 2022 cohort of Technology Pioneers is already bringing great changes to industries around the world," said Saemoon Yoon, Technology Pioneers Community Lead, World Economic Forum (WEF).

"By joining this community, these emerging tech leaders can continue to show not only the impressive tech advancements within their firms but also how their companies are helping to build a better future for us all."

For the first time, over one-third of the selected firms are led by women, well above the industry average. The 2022 Tech Pioneers are based in 30 countries - with Vietnam, Rwanda and the Czech Republic represented for the first time.

In Mexico, microTERRA builds on-site water treatment systems with microalgae that transforms wastewater into a sustainable protein source and clean water. Luxembourg's Mission Space develops a satellite-based space weather intelligence system.

In the US, Bonumose is transforming global food systems with its technology to support the affordable production of healthy alternative sugars such as tagatose and allulose.

This year's companies join an impressive group of alumni that include many household names, such as Airbnb, Google, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Spotify, TransferWise, Twitter and Wikimedia.

The 2022 cohort will also be invited to participate in World Economic Forum workshops and events and high-level discussions during their two years in the community.