Meet the 2024 Technology Pioneers of the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum’s 2024 cohort of Technology Pioneers is a select group of 100 leading tech start-ups with the transformative potential and entrepreneurial spirit essential for shaping a better future. Motivated by recent breakthroughs, this year’s cohort harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) and data to drive sustainability and more equitable decision-making in industries and governments.
This year’s Technology Pioneers include start-ups from 23 countries, a third led by a female chief executive. With a record number of applications, the focus this year is on companies with technology that not only made significant breakthroughs but are also now on hyper-growth trajectories.
Examples of innovation include:
AI for HR
Start-ups are zoning in on solving challenges hiring talent in today’s dynamic job market, leveraging data and AI to make better, fairer decisions. Moonhub is building an AI recruitment platform that analyzes vast amounts of data from a 1 billion-strong talent pool to identify potential job candidates based on numerous factors such as company culture, size, industry and job description. Censia is using AI to mitigate unconscious bias and privilege in the hiring process.
GenAI 2.0
While generative AI (GenAI) has gripped the world over the past 12 months, cutting-edge start-ups are now developing more advanced large language models (LLMs) with transformational applications. You.com is a modern, privacy-focused alternative to mainstream search engines and leverages advanced AI technologies to enhance search capabilities and provide more personalized and relevant results. Sarvam AI is building advanced LLMs in India, one of the largest global markets tailored to local language and vernacular.
New energy solutions
Many view fusion as a promising clean energy technology but the high costs and complexity of the technology pose challenges.
Three start-ups from this year’s cohort take bold approaches to developing fusion technology: Marvel Fusion, which leverages laser-driven inertial confinement; Proxima Fusion, which builds quasi-isodynamic stellarators with high-temperature superconductors and Thea Fusion, which creates simplified stellarator design with planar coils and a shorter time to commercialization.
Space
The space industry is estimated to grow to $1.8 trillion by 2035, from $630 billion in 2023, according to findings in the recent Forum report, Space: The $1.8 Trillion Opportunity for Global Economic Growth. Start-ups in the space economy include satellite makers, in-space manufacturers and space data companies.
Amini is one such space data company addressing environmental data scarcity in Africa by using advanced AI and satellite technology to deliver precise analytics that help industries such as agriculture, insurance and supply chains.
In-space manufacturing specialists Space Forge leverage unique conditions such as microgravity, vacuum and extreme temperatures to produce advanced materials like semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and superalloys that are challenging or impossible to make on Earth.
Based in Switzerland, SWISSto12 leverages 3D printing technologies to build advanced radio frequency components and antenna systems for space, aerospace, and telecommunications applications.
Neurotechnology
Neurotechnology is another area of rapid innovation, with more than $8 billion in venture capital investment to date and growing (according to Pitchbook, $1.4 billion was raised by neurotech companies in 2023, double the amount raised in 2022).
OpenBCI creates open-source hardware and software platforms for brain-computer interface research and applications. Neurable uses advanced data analysis and signal processing techniques to identify and interpret brain signals through headphones to help people understand how to focus better. NextSense builds a brain-responsive earbud for real-time sleep enhancement.
Clean technology
Many consider carbon capture technologies essential for meeting international climate goals, as they remove existing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and reduce emissions from industrial processes.
Heirloom Carbon focuses on direct air capture of CO2 using a unique limestone-based method and aims to reduce the cost of capturing CO2 to around $50 per ton. Captura takes a different approach, focusing on direct ocean capture technology that removes CO2 from seawater by lowering its pH and then converting the carbonates into CO2 gas, which can then be captured and sequestered or utilized.
The 2023 Technology Pioneers comprise:
Africa
BasiGo (Kenya), offering bus operators in East Africa electric buses as a more affordable and reliable alternative to incumbent diesel buses.
Jetstream (Ghana), using digitization and AI to simplify the process of transporting and financing import and export cargo through Africa’s supply chains.
Kapu (Kenya), building a new retail model for Africa’s mass market.
uLesson (Nigeria), offering an expansive library of curriculum-aligned video lessons and quizzes for primary and secondary school students in Africa.
ASEAN
Agriaku (Indonesia), improving agricultural market efficiency by offering price transparency and streamlining the supply chain.
Alta Alternative Investments (Singapore), enabling securities trading, tokenization and distribution of comprehensive products through a digital exchange.
Cosmos Innovation (Singapore), building next-generation perovskite silicon tandem solar technology with AI.
k-ID (Singapore), making it easy for game developers and parents to ensure the safety and privacy of kids and teens online.
Europe
Algorithmiq (Finland), harnessing the power of quantum computing to solve complex problems in life sciences.
Bioptimus (France), building the first and only reference multi-level foundation model for biology that will transform multi-scale data into actionable representations to fuel breakthrough discoveries in biomedicine.
constellr (Germany), delivering daily global land surface temperature data from space optimized for smart farming.
DePoly (Switzerland), allowing the chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate plastic back to its main components.
Dioxycle (France), pioneering breakthrough carbon electrolysis technologies that convert industrial emissions into sustainable, cost-competitive ethylene.
Dotlumen (Romania), using self-driving technology scaled down in the world’s first headset to empower the blind.
Evroc (Sweden), building a sustainable hyperscale cloud and AI infrastructure for the world with a strong focus on privacy.
HelloBetter (Germany), developing digital therapeutics by translating cognitive behavioural therapy into a digital product experience.
Isometric (United Kingdom), issuing scientifically rigorous, high-quality carbon credits and improving transparency and increasing the speed of carbon crediting.
Made of Air (Germany), functionalizing biochar to fill materials and transforming its carbon removal promise into usable, high volume, carbon-negative materials.
Marvel Fusion (Germany), utilizing high-intensity ultra-short lasers and nano-structured fuel targets to commercialize fusion energy.
NatureMetrics (United Kingdom), turning the complexities of nature into simple biodiversity insights and metrics to support nature impact reporting.
PlanQC (Germany), building quantum computers that store information in single atoms.
Pledge (United Kingdom), focusing on decarbonization for logistics supply chains and helping businesses understand, report and reduce their emissions.
Proxima Fusion (Germany), developing fusion power plants based on quasi-isodynamic stellarator technology.
Qubit Pharmaceuticals (France), focusing on quantum-aided drug discovery.
Space Forge (United Kingdom), advanced materials and in-space manufacturing company using extreme temperature, microgravity and ultra-high vacuum conditions in low earth orbit to manufacture materials unable to be grown terrestrially.
Supercritical (United Kingdom), helping businesses get to net zero by measuring their carbon footprint and selling them carbon removal offsets.
SWISSto12 (Switzerland), delivering 3D printing technologies for high-performance radio frequency products and applications and the manufacturing of entire geostationary telecom satellites.
UNIO Enterprise (Germany), delivering internet connectivity to mobile users through a satellite constellation.
Greater China
Botree Recycling (People’s Republic of China), providing a full solution for the recycling of critical battery materials.
Deeplang AI (People’s Republic of China), reshaping knowledge-workers’ information processing workflow empowered by LLM technology.
Dongsheng AI (People’s Republic of China), building industrial vision and AI algorithms for use within the industrial automation sector.
HiDream.ai (People’s Republic of China), building GenAI powered visual multimodality foundation models and applications.
SenseDeal (People’s Republic of China), developing enterprise-level large model applications and unstructured data intelligent processing engines.
TerraQuanta (People’s Republic of China), delivering a large AI weather model for renewable energy and electricity trading.
Triastek (People’s Republic of China), pioneering a 3D printing pharmaceutical process to transform the delivery, development and production of medication.
Viture (People’s Republic of China), producing XR glasses with near-universal device compatibility.
Weiyun AI & Robotics Group (People’s Republic of China), combining medical health and AI to manufacture clinical dental products through custom robots and smart factories.
Westlake Omics (People’s Republic of China), leveraging AI-empowered proteomics technology to provide protein measurement services and clinical tests for disease diagnosis and prognosis.
Yrobot (People’s Republic of China), building soft and lightweight wearable robots that can effectively assist patients with neuromuscular impairments in hospital and at home.
Japan
EdgeCortix (Japan), developing an energy-efficient, ultra-low latency platform that accelerates AI workloads, delivering cloud-level performance at the network edge.
Tenchijin (Japan), harnessing space data to optimize human civilization activities, providing insights for land evaluation and decision-making.
Republic of Korea and North Asia
Nearthlab (Republic of Korea), leveraging autonomous drone solutions to deliver data powered by advanced flight control, computer vision and deep learning data analysis.
TelePIX (Republic of Korea), developing high-resolution optical satellites for earth observation and using the data to solve agriculture, environment and maritime problems.
Wrtn (Republic of Korea), a business to consumer AI aggregator, integrating numerous AI use cases and curating them in a single interface.
Latin America
Bright Cities (Brazil), generating diagnostics and roadmaps for cities and the public sector.
Nagro (Brazil), delivering lending and financial technology for agribusiness.
PhageLab (Chile), creating the fastest diagnosis AI-powered platform to fully characterize pathogenic bacteria and pair them with the right bacteriophages for effective elimination.
Vammo (Brazil), building internet-of-things-enhanced electric motorcycles, supported by a network of battery-swapping stations.
Middle East and North Africa
Aim Security (Israel), providing guardrails for secure and safe use of LLMs.
BrainQ (Israel), developing precision neurology therapies using brain-computer interface technology, designed to target damaged neuronal networks and facilitate neuro-recovery.
Enzymit (Israel), leveraging advanced AI to engineer novel enzymes creating a cell-free platform that facilitates the sustainable and efficient production of valuable chemicals.
Imagindairy (Israel), using proprietary AI models and precision fermentation to efficiently produce sustainable and affordable animal-free dairy proteins.
Khazna (Egypt), building the Workforce Bank for the underserved across the Middle East, starting with Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Wanda Fish (Israel), producing fish fillets by isolating fish cells and growing them in a controlled environment.
North America
2045 Studio (USA), creating a pathway for companies to build cultures rooted in belonging, retention and promotion.
Amini (USA), solving Africa’s environmental data scarcity by leveraging emerging AI tools and space technologies to support its sustainability and climate initiatives.
Artyc (USA), democratizing cold chain access by creating high-quality, accessible and sustainable solutions for all.
Automotus (USA), helping cities reduce emissions, safety hazards and congestion by automating payment and enforcement at the curb with computer vision.
Brimstone Energy (USA), building a technology to do lower-cost production of carbon-negative ordinary portland cement.
Camus Energy (USA), enabling utilities to harness local energy resources for active management of network capacity and reliable operations for a fully electrified, zero-carbon grid.
Captura (USA), leveraging the natural carbon removal powers of the ocean to remove CO2 from the atmosphere at scale.
Carbon Upcycling Technologies (Canada), capturing CO2 in industrial by-products to create material to both sequester and avoid cement emissions.
CATALOG Technologies (USA), a DNA-based platform providing digital data storage and computing.
Censia (USA), delivering bias-free AI and predictive analytics to empower large enterprises globally to make data-driven people decisions.
Cybera (USA), automating global criminal complaint filing in line with INTERPOL recommendations to alert banks, crypto exchanges and law enforcement globally.
Dazz (USA), solving vulnerabilities and preventing risks in cloud development environments.
ELSA (USA), leveraging machine learning, GenAI and advanced speech recognition technology to improve users’ English-speaking communication.
Evrnu (USA), converting textile waste into a new high-performance fibre that is recyclable, biodegradable and compostable.
Fero Labs (USA), AI-driven platform providing predictions backed by confidence bands, full transparency and explainability so factories make efficient production changes.
Fourth Power (USA), scalable thermal battery technology storing excess renewable energy as heat and releasing it as electricity on demand to the grid for long and short durations.
Heirloom Carbon (USA), accelerating the carbon mineralization process to rapidly and permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere and then store it safely.
Inclusively (USA), aiding individuals with disabilities in identifying workplace accommodations and enhancing productivity, retention and access to diverse talent pools.
Juvena Therapeutics (USA), developing disease-modifying biologics to treat chronic muscle and metabolic diseases by unlocking the therapeutic potential of stem-cell secreted proteins.
Kintsugi (USA), voice biomarker software harnessing the power of AI and free-form speech to detect signs and severity of mental health conditions.
Moonhub (USA), providing a recruiter-on-demand platform powered by AI.
Neurable (USA), scaling neuroimaging into everyday products.
NextSense (USA), building a brain-responsive earbud for real-time sleep enhancement.
Nth Cycle (USA), transforming the outputs of metal scrap, electronics recycling, untapped mining resources and waste from existing mines into high-purity critical minerals ready to be used in new production.
Oleria (USA), securely managing access to decentralized SaaS apps and sensitive data.
OpenBCI (USA), building hardware and software for interfacing the human body, brain and mind.
Pictory (USA), using AI to automate the conversion of long-form content into engaging, concise videos.
Populus (USA), providing cities with a software platform to manage connected fleet vehicles to deliver safer and more sustainable streets.
Rabbit (USA), developing a personalized operating system, Rabbit OS, that understands complex user intentions, operates user interfaces and performs actions on behalf of the user through natural language.
Re-Nuble (USA), converting unrecoverable food waste into a suite of biological fertilizers and crop residue into peat-free horticultural substrates.
Robigo (USA), leveraging cutting edge biotechnology tools such as CRISPR and RNAi to empower microbes to protect crops from disease and improve crop yields.
Robust.AI (USA), an industrial-grade cognitive engine leveraging robotics and AI technology for warehouse logistics and manufacturing.
Skygrid (USA), building high-assurance, third-party services to enable the safe operations and airspace integration of autonomous aircraft.
Thea Energy (USA), reinventing the stellarator using computer-controlled arrays of planar coils and replacing the intricate, complex modular magnets required in all other proposed stellarator architectures.
Valora (USA), enabling global peer-to-peer payments and access to decentralized financial tools.
Vibrant Planet (USA), a scenario planning, monitoring and reporting system helping natural resource managers and community protectors prioritize the deployment of resources to build wildfire and climate resilience.
You.com (USA), operating a private search engine to summarize the web for users.
South Asia
Amperehour Solar (India), creating dispatchable renewable energy generating plants.
Cropin (India), developing a farm monitoring and management solution to help farmers geo-tag farms, digitize farm records, monitor crop productivity and improve farm activity.
Entri (India), giving access to learning and upskilling programmes in Indian local languages.
HealthPlix (India), developing AI-powered electronic medical records software for the healthcare sector.
International Battery Company (India), manufacturing large-sized rechargeable prismatic lithium-ion nickel manganese cobalt batteries.
Niramai (India), developing a novel AI-based test for detecting early-stage breast cancer, which is affordable, portable and non-invasive.
NxtWave (India), providing AI-driven, vernacular-based coding courses, enabling thousands of previously unemployed students to secure jobs.
Pixxel (India), developing hyperspectral satellite imagery to capture geospatial data.
Sarvam AI (India), building foundation AI models and platforms for their use with a focus on Indian languages and use cases.
String Bio (India), producing next-generation ingredients for agriculture, animal feed and human nutrition from greenhouse gases.
The 2024 cohort will contribute cutting-edge insights and expertise to the Forum’s global initiatives over the next two years and help scale their impact. More information on past winners and the community can be found here.
