G'Day USA: Aussie start-ups head to America
The G'Day USA: Australia Week campaign today announced the finalists for the Innovation Shoot Out event, which will see eight Australian technology start-ups travel to San Francisco in January 2010 to demonstrate the commercial viability of their products in the US.
This year's finalists include DigiSensory (smart camera technology), IntelliGuard (denial-of-service protection), Mid-Comp International (supply chain management), MultiTrode (lift station control and water monitoring), PowerHealth Solutions (health technology), Solar Gem (solar power), Synengco (greenhouse gas assessment) and Zarloc (remote help-desk support technology). The winner will receive a prize package designed to help it launch its brand in America.
"The Innovation Shoot Out not only showcases Australia's strengths in the innovation economy, but it also promotes collaboration between Australia and United States business. The US has been, and remains, the driver of global innovation, while Australia has been a major contributor to global innovation, producing a steady pipeline of new ideas and products looking for markets," said Chris De Cure, Australian consul-general in Los Angeles and chair of the G'Day USA Steering Committee.
"From the world's first bionic ear to ultrasound systems, Australia has provided the world with extremely impactful technologies, and we're looking forward to seeing what some of our best innovators can come up with this year."
Other G'Day USA events include the clean tech networking event in San Diego, which fosters relationships between "green" businesses in Australia and the US, and the roundtable business forum in New York, which will allow the clean tech firms from the Innovation Shoot Out to meet with US potential investors.
G'Day USA: Australia Week is an 11-day gala showcasing Australian talent, running from 9 to 22 January, as sponsors vie for American attention (and ultimately dollars). The focus of the program revolves around food and wine, fashion, art, tourism and business. Since its inception in 2004, the program has grown to become one of the largest foreign country promotions held annually in the US.