By Luis Seijo courtesy SXSW

SXSW is excited to announce the 50+ finalists for the 2023 SXSW Innovation Awards, an amazing collection of forward-focused digital projects from across the United States and around the world. These 50+ finalists are distributed amongst 14 different categories that range from "Artificial Intelligence" to "Health and MedTech" to "Sustainability." Finalists were chosen by a jury of industry judges from the hundreds of entries received by SXSW in the fall of 2022.

Category winners, plus additional honors will be announced at the 24th annual SXSW Innovation Awards Ceremony on the evening of Monday, March 13.

"The SXSW Innovation Awards highlight the creativity, originality and passion of the global community which gathers every March in Austin," said Hugh Forrest, Co-President and Chief Programming Officer. “The finalists in the 14 categories that make up this program point to a world where technology is used in a more thoughtful way, as well as where places of work foster more positive outcomes for all involved."

The event will be hosted by stand-up comedian, actor, and Austin resident Carlton Wilcoxson. Since he started comedy in 2016, he has regularly opened for headliners and hosts multiple popular shows of his own; such as the long-running weekly show Buzzkill at the Buzz Mill and the consistently sold-out monthly show Stoned vs. Drunk vs. Sober. Along with Wilcoxson, history-making Mentor Method Founder Janice Omadeke and The Cru’s Tiffany Dufu will be presenting several of the Innovation Awards categories for the evening.

In advance of the Awards Ceremony, these 50+ digital projects will be available for SXSW attendees to interact with at the Innovation Awards Finalist Showcase on Saturday, March 11, from 12pm-5pm in Griffin Hall at the JW Marriott Downtown Austin. The Finalist Showcase offers SXSW registrants a first look at the most exciting tech developments, including achievements in AI and machine learning, health technology, robotics and hardware, wearable tech, and virtual and augmented reality, plus a chance to place their votes for the People’s Choice Award.

Also, stay tuned for the 2023 SXSW Hall of Fame inductee and the Community Service Awards recipients, both of which will be honored during the Innovation Awards Ceremony on the evening of Monday, March 13.

Browse categories and links below to learn more about these 2023 SXSW Innovation Awards finalists.

Artificial Intelligence

Reality Defender
New York, NY

Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder
Kalamazoo, MI

Artisan - AI enabled SaaS platform
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The World's Best AI Pilot
San Diego, CA

Audio

Mosi Nova
Bloomington, IN

Happy Mama Birthing
San Diego, CA

Nomono Platform
San Diego, CA

Sound Sculpture
Boston, MA

Convergent Gaming

Enabling Productivity in the Metaverse
Wilmington, DE

Time Investigators
Bourne End, UK

Design

Halo Collar: Dog Safety System
Plano, TX

THE NEW BOTANICAL BREWING TECH
Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Lightship L1
Boulder, CO

HoloKit: Accessible Multiplayer AR
Pinecrest, FL

The Pollinator™ Kit for Renewable Design
Alameda, CA

Health and Med Tech

Smell Cyborgs - Biology is Technology!
San Rafael, CA

Music Health+Music for Dementia Care
Los Angeles, CA

NeuraLight – Digitizing Neurology
Tel-Aviv, Israel

Cray X – Powered Exoskeleton
Augsburg, Germany

Immersive

GALWAD
Cardiff, UK

Move.ai iOS Application
London, UK

StoryTrails - The People's Metaverse
Egham, Surrey, UK

Media

for Tomorrow: an Innovation Ecosystem
Los Angeles, CA

Chptr - Remember them together
New York, NY

SURF Music
Tokyo, Japan

Full Color Range
Waco, TX

Patienty Safety Technology

Novel Technology Stabilizes Therapeutics
Houston, TX

It’s Always Safer to be Awake!
Ann Arbor, MI

Kalogon
Melbourne, FL

DiaMonTech D-Pocket
Yokne'am Illit, Israel

Social Impact

The 35*2 Free Initiative
Towson, MD

Ms Rose, Adaptive Media® Math Tutor
London, UK

United for Ukraine Digital Platform
New York, NY

educbank: Expanding access to quality education
São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Sustainability

Atarraya:Sustainable Shrimp-Farming Tech
Indianapolis, IN

World’s Whitest Paint–Thinner Than Ever
Lafayette, IN

The Trees of the Future
Hayward, CA

Nature’s Fynd: Fy Protein™
Chicago, IL

Urban Infrastructure

A New Infrastructure Layer for Society
Port Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Bowery’s Farm of the Future
New York, NY

Power From the People
Brooklyn, NY

How to make grids resilient with EVs
Toronto, ONT, Canada

GAF Beats the Heat by Cooling Streets
Parsippany, NJ

Rising DEI Workplace Innovation

• Chicago Scholars
• PrismWork
• Snyk
• Included.ai
• The Mom Project

Mid-Sized DEI Workplace Innovation

• Washington Technology - Driving equitable and inclusive outcomes in the workplace by harnessing diversity-focused leadership competencies among C-Suite, board members, and people leaders.
• Deutsch NY
• NewSchools Venture Fund
• Bitwise Industries

Enterprise DEI Workplace

• Sephora - Inspiring Inclusion In The Beauty Industry: How Sephora Is Prioritizing DE&I From The Inside Out To Create The World’s Most Inclusive Beauty Community
• Bank of America Merrill - Merrill Advisor Match is a research-driven, digital tool developed to democratize access to financial advice, matching our employees and prospects to financial advisors through a simple and intuitive “matching” questionnaire
• MiQ
• Girls in Tech