Startup World held its first-ever PHOTONICS Awards during the LASER World of Photonics trade fair (Munich, Germany; June 22-25, 2015)—delivering top prizes to companies working in life sciences. The competition recognizes product innovations from up-and-coming companies working in optical technologies, aiming to help startups raise their profiles at global events.
A jury chaired by Austrian entrepreneur and venture capitalist Falk Strascheg evaluated all submissions before selecting finalists in two categories: 3D Printing and Photonics Technology.
FemtoPrint's (Muzzano, Switzerland) 3D production system for glass microdevices took first prize in the 3D Printing category. This compact tabletop instrument enables manufacture of nanostructures using glass or other transparent materials, for applications including advanced medical equipment.
First prize in the Photonics Technology category went to Nanolive SA, based at the EPFL Innovation Park (Switzerland). The company's 3D Cell Explorer microscope makes it possible to examine living cells in 3D without damaging them.
Winners and finalists exhibited at Startup World, the new marketplace for innovations at LASER World of Photonics. Startup World is a new initiative by Messe München and Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen.
