April 5, 2023

Seven startups have been named finalists competing for a top prize of $20,000 in the annual Governor’s Giant Vision competition.

It’s run in partnership with the  South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Judged on the content of their business plans, the following were selected by a panel of judges as the top qualifying entries that will advance to the next level of the competition set for April 25 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

Advanced Radiation Technology & Solutions LLC: Cloud-based platform for Monte Carlo simulations of radiation interactions with matter, allowing users to build, visualize and share models of specific objects and environments without any coding experience; Jing Liu and Chao Zhang, Vermillion.

BioBest: Minimally invasive, viable, bioinspired ventilation systems for scrubbing effectively the airborne pollutants and toxic fumes from mine ventilation air; Cody Allen and Venkataramana Gadhamshetty, Rapid City.

CellField Technologies LLC: Contract research organization utilizing microphysiological system to provide services to pharmaceutical companies, decreasing drug development costs and dependence on animal models; Scott Wood and Hosein Mirazi, Rapid City.

GreenLight Bionics: Health care laboratory providing virtual reality games to solve physical therapy problems, with current product to address cervical and lumbar spine disorders among Air Force pilots; Kouadio Niamba and Shania Rehmudin, Vermillion.

Latitude-Ag LLC: Unique system to more efficiently and effectively clean out agricultural sprayers, reducing operator exposure to chemicals and eliminating wasted chemicals; Ladd McCluskey, Humboldt.

My Parts Pro LLC: Cloud-based software solution providing a range of features, including picking prioritization, automated order tracking, real-time updates on delivery status and optimized delivery routes; Elliott Zimmer and David Zimmer, Sioux Falls.

Straight Up Care LLC: Web-based platform for peer specialists that features a training course and matching algorithm to bring new peer specialists to the job market, reducing the nationwide care burden and improving addiction and mental health client outcomes; Melissa Dittberner and Jonathan Lewis, Volin.

The following students were named finalists in the student competition, vying for a $5,000 top prize for the best business idea.

BioNanoTech: Biocompatible and optimizable nanoparticle-based DNA carriers to passively deliver DNA plasmids for genetic transformation in plants; Chinenye Izuegbunam and Blessing Ishola, University of South Dakota.

Bio-Navitas: Production of renewable and sustainable graphitized carbon products from corn stover to be used as electrode material for supercapacitors; Bharathkiran Maddipudi and Khang Huynh, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

CounSil: Web-based software solution that guarantees the efficiency and effectiveness of the funding and purchasing processes in the military; John Barbour, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

eqUTI: Urinary tract infection prevention in women; Grace Kramer, Northern State University.

Feldy’s Ice Cream: Mobile ice cream shop/caterer serving SDSU ice cream and other treats; Noah Felderman, Doland School.

Human It: Specializes in human factors and usability engineering, providing seamless and customized solutions, including human factors testing, data analysis and prototype design support; Megan McCray, University of South Dakota.

Oncoplant Therapeutics: Drug-discovery company  dedicated to commercializing an anti-cancer targeted therapeutic for metastatic colorectal cancer using smart drug delivery technology with nanoparticles; Nisitha Wijewantha, Morgan Eikanger and Khosrow Rezvani, University of South Dakota.

Score-Score: Combines a social media platform with a robust music database. The platform enables band directors to catalog and track pieces they are interested in, with its recommendation engine providing personalized suggestions; Chami Senarath, Haakon Anderson, Christian Olson and Haley Armstrong, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

Sunny Honey: Window lighting system to help consumers with seasonal affective disorder; Carolyn Hieb, Cole Hennen and CJ Stukel, South Dakota State University.

Vizion UAS: Next-generation precision agricultural services to aid farming efficiency; Zackery Holloway, Gerald Waterhouse, Devin Filter and Micah Healy, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.