2. Team Colinked (United Kingdom), 1st Place – Innovation Competition, 2013 World Finals
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After winning the World Innovation Competition with SoundSYNK, an app that streams music
simultaneously to multiple devices, team Colinked is now focused on turning their project into a
start-up, aiming to launch later this year. The team is looking to grow their entrepreneurial chops
as they begin an accelerator program this fall, and they already have two additional projects in
development based on the SoundSYNK technology.
3. Ana Ferraz (Portugal), 1st Place – World Citizenship Competition, 2013 World Finals
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After winning the World Citizenship Competition at the World Finals with a device that can
determine a person’s blood type in about five minutes, Ana Ferraz will complete her PhD in early
2014. Ana is working on testing her prototype, collecting funding, creating a company and
launching her product into market. She has also had opportunities to present at conferences in
many countries and continues to perfect her world-changing project – hoping to launch in the
near future.
4. Team Zeppelin Studio (Austria), 1st place – Games Competition, 2013 World Finals
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After winning the Games competition at the World Finals with their game Schein, the team went
on to develop their gaming company, Zeppelin Studio. Located in Wien, Austria, the team is
working hard to create the next best game, focusing on texture, enhanced illumination, 2D and
3D elements and much more in order for the user to have the best possible experience. Schein
has evolved from a small student project into a promising startup.
5. Team quadSquad (Ukraine), 1st place – Software Design, 2012 World Finals
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After taking first place with gloves that translate sign language to audio via a Windows Phone,
the team continues development of their technology and hopes to launch later this year or early
2014. They are currently negotiating investments to secure funding in order to launch their
solution into market. The team was awarded Pride of the Country for being positive role models
in Ukraine and was named one of 2012’s Best Inventions of the Year by TIME.
6. Team Graphmasters (Germany), 2012 World Finals & Imagine Cup 2012 Grant winner
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After competing as World Finalists, Team Graphmasters won first place in the 2012 Microsoft
Imagine Cup Grants program. Their project, Nunav, is an innovative navigation system that can
significantly reduce the CO2 emissions of cars by using an efficient algorithm on the Windows
Phone platform to route traffic. The team is thrilled to be building their solution and hopes to
soon land new partnerships to help bring their technology to market.
7. Team Cipher256 (Uganda), 2012 World Finals & Imagine Cup 2012 Grant winner
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After competing in 2012, Team Cipher256 won an Imagine Cup Grant and created a start-up
around their Windows Phone app, WinSenga, along with other products they have developed.
WinSenga is a mobile application that aids health workers as they assist expectant mothers. The
team is hard at work to launch into market as part of Microsoft’s Innovation Center and Business
Incubation Program.
8. Team Lifelens (USA), 2nd place – 2011 World Finals & Imagine Cup 2011 Grant winner
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After competing in the World Finals, Team Lifelens won an Imagine Cup Grant with their point-of-
care tool that diagnoses malaria using an augmented Windows Phone application. Based in
California, the team continues to work hard at developing prototypes of the software and
hardware, researching, hosting clinical trials and more in order to introduce the solution to
market.
9. David Hayden (USA), 2nd place – Software Design, 2011 World Finals
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After winning second place in Software Design at the World Finals, David Hayden went on to
obtain his PhD and launch his business with the Note-Taker, a device that combines optical
zoom and high-definition video to assist users with visual impairments. Now available on the
Windows 8 platform, David continues to expand his business and build on the device to help
customers including teachers, elderly and students of all ages.
10. Team Simplex (Romania), 2011 World Finals
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After competing in the World Finals with their project that focuses on patient rehabilitation using
the Kinect sensor, Team Simplex launched their business, MIRA REHAB (Medical Interactive
Recovery Assistant). The team is securing funding and continues to work on their company and
product in order to help their customers in rehabilitation in the best way possible.
11. Team Falcon (Ecuador), Imagine Cup 2011 Grant winner
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In 2011, Team Falcon was awarded an Imagine Cup Grant and launched their company,
RioAxis. The team has created multiple products and services under the RioAxis umbrella,
including their first product, Skillbox, an affordable software solution to help hearing-impaired
children by translating audio received from the teacher into sign language. The team is currently
working on obtaining additional funding and selling their software to several institutions.
12. Mrityunjay Bhadauria (India), 2009 Imagine Cup
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After competing in Imagine Cup, Mrityunjay (second from right) launched his project into a
company, EDUKINECT, which provides an educational service platform to help more than
20,000 students be future-ready. The business has grown by 400% annually – supporting
educational services in more than 150 engineering campuses across India, which includes 50
Microsoft Innovation Centers. Mrityunjay continues to give back to Microsoft’s Imagine Cup,
most recently serving as a judge at the 2013 World Finals.
13. Team Wormhole IT (Argentina), 2007 World Finals
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After competing in 2007, Wormhole IT launched their business, which offers affordable web-
conferencing solutions and online education platforms. The company has more than 2,000
customers in 15+ countries, including Falabella, Ebay and Hertz, and they’re now looking to
expand their business in other emerging markets. Wormhole IT had the prestigious honor of
being selected as Endeavor Entrepreneurs earlier this year.