The winners of the Juneau Economic Development Council’s Innovation Summit’s annual pitch contest were announced Thursday.
The two winners were each awarded $1,700 and round-trip tickets with Alaska Airlines. The pitch contest — sponsored by Alaska Airlines and the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce — was held Wednesday evening and featured six contestants.
The winner of the Judge’s Prize was Jay Byam, founder and CEO of Kartorium, a software company that uses scans to create 3D environments for industrial projects. Officially Kartorium is “cloud-based digital twin platform,” Byam told the Empire. “Which doesn’t mean much to most people.”
The company uses scans done by drone fly-over or using LIDAR, Byam said, and then renders the information into 3D environments viewable on a phone or computer. The company sometimes does the scanning itself, according to Byam, but he wants to make it easy for customers to upload their own scans.
The Anchorage-based company is already operating but is looking for additional funding. Byam said he’s been able to raise $300,000 from Alaskan investors.
The winner of the People’s Choice award was Jack Finnegan with Fishability Alaska. Finnegan is a charter fishing captain and has an idea for a boat designed to be universally accessible for people with disabilities. The boat would be 34 feet and made from aluminum with a fold-down front for wheelchair access. Finnegan — who’s based in Ketchikan — said he’s been in contact with a boat-maker in Washington state but still needs to secure funding.
• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnuEmpire.
