SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Girls in Tech (http://girlsintech.org/), an organization focused on the empowerment, entrepreneurship, engagement, and education of women in technology, is proud to announce OmniVis, a biotechnology startup that has developed a revolutionary pathogen detection platform, as the winner of the 2018 AMPLIFY Women’s Pitch Competition, which was held on Wednesday, October 3 at ZenDesk in San Francisco. As the winner of the AMPLIFY pitch competition, OmniVis will receive a $20,000 cash prize along with additional resources, such as office space and laptops, to help move their startup forward. In addition, Project Vive, the creator of low cost speech generation devices, was selected as the Audience Choice Award winner during the event.

“We are thrilled to congratulate OmniVis as the winner of this year’s record-setting competition,” said Adriana Gascoigne, Founder and CEO of Girls in Tech. “OmniVis demonstrated the true power of female entrepreneurship throughout the event, which is more critical now than ever before in the tech industry. Their win is well deserved and I cannot wait to see what the future holds!”

This year’s finalists, which were selected from more than 362 applicants from 46 countries — a record for the competition — include:

• DACA Time, a secure platform designed to simplify the DACA application process for new and renewing applicants
• GlamTech, a dermatology-grade artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology provider for dermatologists and skincare companies
• Innovelity (BLITAB), the first ever Braille tablet using a disruptive actuating technology that creates tactile text and graphics in real time
• JustFix.nyc, a free service that partners with grassroots organizations to create better support systems for New York City’s excluded communities
• Klasha, an all-girls run online fashion retailer designed to make fashion accessible and affordable to millennial consumers in emerging markets
• OmniVis, a biotechnology company that has developed an integrated platform to transform the speed, accuracy, and economics of point-of-care pathogen detection
• PayBee, a technology platform that enable donors to easily donate on mobile, web and in-person, while making it easy for organizations to manage campaigns and donors
• Project Vive, a humanitarian effort to help improve the lives of people with complex communication needs and low motor control through the use of technology to develop, manufacture, and distribute a low cost speech generation device
• WorkAround, an impact sourcing provider, giving displaced people the opportunity to work online from anywhere by connecting them with companies in need of human intelligence tasks.
• WishYourPrice, an e-commerce intelligent technology that lets e-retailers offer personalized prices to each shopper to increase conversion and loyalty

The AMPLIFY winner was selected by a panel of experienced tech professionals and investors, including June Sugiyama of Vodafone Americas Foundation at Vodafone, David Willis of European Wax Center, Stephanie Durflinger of Ellie Mae, Lukasz Weber of Zuora, Kalpa Subramanian of Comcast California, Wendy Pfiefer of Nutanix and Hans Tung of GGV Capital.

“What a tremendous event and congratulations to OmniVis,” said Sherry Baker, President, Marketing and Product Development for European Wax Center, title partner of this year’s AMPLIFY competition. “As a brand that champions women and helps to level the playing field, we are incredibly proud to be partners with Girls in Tech and support their efforts to fix this massive gender gap in the tech industry and bring more attention to the women taking their future into their own hands — one pitch at a time.”

Sponsors of the AMPLIFY Women’s Pitch Competition include European Wax Center, Comcast NBC Universal, Zuora, DLA Piper, Cisco, Nutanix, GoDaddy, ZenDesk, RocketSpace, Ellie Mae, YouNoodle, Vodafone Americas Foundation, and American Tower Corporation.

About Girls in Tech
Girls in Tech (GIT) is a global non-profit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology. Adriana Gascoigne founded GIT in 2007 to create a support framework to help women advance their careers in STEM fields. GIT aims to accelerate the growth of innovative women entering into the high-tech industry and building startups. GIT achieves this through the creation of proprietary, innovative programming and strategic global partnerships.

With headquarters in San Francisco and more than 100,000 members located around the globe, GIT relies on volunteer efforts to lead each of the 60 local chapters. Programming and events vary by chapter based on local interests and needs. GIT is not just for professional women. It exists for anyone with an interest in technology, startups and providing women with a platform for growth. But GIT operates with the spirit of the girl within all of us—fearless, lively and determined. For the latest updates, read GIT’s blog or follow them on Facebook or Twitter. http://girlsintech.org/

SOURCE Girls In Tech