International. The incMTY Festival 2023 was the opportunity to select the winner of the second edition of Airtech Challenge, an initiative of Daikin Latin America and incMTY.
The theme of the innovative challenge was HVAC, qualifying aspects such as comfort, ease of use of products, automation for users and sustainability of processes, among others.
Airtech Challenge received more than 228 projects in different stages of entrepreneurship, of which 20 were selected and had the opportunity to be part of the digital bootcamp in which 3 were finalists: Cuby Smart by entrepreneur Arturo Martínez Lavin, Bluetek by entrepreneurs Eduardo Jiménez Cohen and Patricio Abusleme Dijimino, as well as Helo by entrepreneurs Edwin Alexander Cuartas and Diego Giraldo Herrera, who received guidance for the presentation of their pitches.
"Daikin's commitment to innovation is part of its DNA. We seek innovation not only within our company, but also outside of it. For this reason, we are always in contact with new partners, such as universities, laboratories or industries related to air conditioning, to make the innovative vision of entrepreneurs a reality," said Kota Fukutoku, Vice President of Corporate Planning at Daikin Latin America.
The Winners
Cuby Smart, described as a quick-and-simple smart system to save energy in air conditioners in vacation rental applications, was recognized by a jury made up of Nikki Greenberg, founder of Real Estate of the Future; Andrés Benavides, CEO of Daikin Manufacturing; Ulrick Noel Solis, General Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurship of Tecnológico de Monterrey and Enrique Flefel, General Director of CYVSA Mexico; who evaluated both the impact and the development of the problem and the proposed solution.
The award ceremony was also attended by Shigeki Hagiwara, Senior Associate Officer and Latin America Representative at Daikin Industries.
The winning startup was awarded $10,000, a trip to Japan and an acceleration program that will allow it to grow its project.
Second place went to Bluetek, winning $5,000 and third place went to Halo, winning $2,500. Both got an accelerator program for their projects.
