Over the last year, GSD Venture Studios has brought their vision to life and has made significant strides with GSD Labs. The 10-week cross-border accelerator has assisted over 40 startups from around the world to establish a foothold in Silicon Valley. Providing everything needed for a startup to succeed in the global market, the program offers one-on-one assistance with advisor matching, strategic partnerships, digital marketing as well as sales hacks, press coverage, and more. All in preparation for the main event - a demo day event with invite-only investors.
Both Gary Fowler and Derek Distenfield have a long history of investing in and launching startups and have the battle scars to prove it. Though some have failed, many more have succeeded by leaps and bounds. Through these experiences, they have seen the struggle firsthand that many international startups face in their quest for success. Determined to bridge this gap, they launched GSD Labs in December of 2020. With four cohorts under their belt and a fifth in progress, GSD has secured many partnerships and millions in funding. The team behind GSD Labs is proud of their resounding success during such an unprecedented time in history and is eager to help many more international companies to #GoGlobal.
The 4th cohort’s Demo Day took place in early November and presented companies from Singapore to India, UAE to Germany, and Austria. The diverse group of founders lead companies from emerging markets focusing on AI, cybersecurity, healthcare, e-commerce, legal tech, IoT, and more.
“Our accelerator has attracted startups from underrepresented countries in all continents, driving diversity and inclusion in the global market,” explains CEO and co-founder of GSD Venture studios, Gary Fowler.
After weeks of preparation, thirteen founders, the largest cohort of any GSD Labs accelerator, gathered together for Demo Day. Each founder shared their pitches with GSD’s network of investors in hopes of securing funding to expand into the global market, build out their teams, invest in R&D, infrastructure, and continue to develop and improve their products.
One such startup, I2Pure, is quickly rising the ranks as a promising solution in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to founder Doug Splitz, “all people in the global economy have experienced the devastation of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi generating a social impact of over $644 billion.”
I2Pure’s proprietary chemistry was developed by world-renowned iodine chemist Jack Kessler. Jack has isolated and stabilized molecular iodine, advancing 200 years of iodine chemistry research. I2Pure has isolated the same molecule of iodine that naturally occurs in the body and kills pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi, including coronaviruses. Molecular iodine works by killing pathogens on and in the skin, as well as other surfaces (think medical devices) while leaving healthy tissue unharmed.
I2Pure, a fan favorite at Demo Day, has an impressive 15+ clinical studies under peer review and 35 contracts in the pipeline. They are currently awaiting FDA approval with $9M in contracts signed to date. Because of this, they are confident they will receive the $10M in funding they are seeking.
“We are thrilled that our accelerator has helped global founders across multiple industries and verticals raise money,” according to Derek, COO, and co-founder of GSD Venture Studios.
I2Pure’s pitch positioned itself well alongside other star participants, creating some tough decisions for investors.
Others included VoiceScript, an AI-powered digital court reporting service that will modernize the industry with high-tech voice recognition, AI, and RPA.
Singapore-based Acktec, who is on a mission to develop immersive education utilizing AI-powered adaptive learning, gave the audience a glimpse into their vision of the future of learning.
Fabrik, with their no-code builder of metaverses based in India, is looking to bring ethics, privacy, and security to the digital workplace industry.
Awesome Container Company, who shared in their pitch how they plan to provide the recurring delivery of clean, reusable metal containers to fix the broken recycling system,
cut packaging costs by 50% and eliminate millions of tons of plastic waste across Asia.
Scanbo, with their point of care platform and a medical device which is quickly gaining momentum in Africa by transforming bloodwork with AI. “Scanbo is instant, digital, and affordable, replacing the need for archaic pathology labs and is proven to reduce costs by 30-50%,” says Canada-based founder Ashissh Raichura.
Those in the audience also got to hear from Distichain, a full-stack solution utilizing APIs, blockchain, and AI, and how their cloud-based platform is transforming global trade, along with Niral Networks, SuperFluid Labs, ImageProVision, UP’N’CHANGE and Sparkles.
GSD Labs Demo Day has consistently lived out its mission; to serve as the springboard for these international startups. It will be a busy few weeks as investors deliberate and decide who they want to partner with, bringing them opportunities and funding for expansion, growth, and future success.
If you are interested in viewing the entire Demo Day you can find it here. Please contact Derek Distenfield of GSD Labs (derek@gsdvs.com) if you are interested in making an investment in any of these promising companies.