SAN DIEGO (November 30, 2021)—UpLyft, the developer of a self-transfer system for wheelchair users, announced the company took home second place in a worldwide startup competition. The contest, Startup Network’s Unicorn Cup, is a global pitch competition for startups that have the potential to become “unicorns”—privately held companies valued at over $1 billion. UpLyft competed against 500 companies from 125 companies.
“We are honored to have been awarded with 2nd place worldwide amongst a highly competitive group of talented startups. We would like to thank Startup Network and Unicorn Events for this amazing opportunity,” the company said in a statement.
In July, the company announced it had over-subscribed its pre-orders for the UpLyft device, which is designed to independently move people with limited mobility weighing up to 600 pounds from bed or gurney to wheelchair and back with no physical force required from a nurse or caregiver. UpLyft addresses a total available market of $19 billion, which includes the homecare market, hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
The company also recently closed a funding round at the San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC) III.
“The low-cost design and ease of operation of UpLyft has the potential to disrupt the patient-transfer marketplace, especially in institutions where facility operators face a huge liability for healthcare workers becoming injured during patient transfer,” said Bobby Edelman, SDAC Due Diligence Lead & Tech Coast Angels Investor at the time. “Pre-orders of the device from consumers indicate a strong interest for an affordable alternative to nurse or caregiver-assisted transfer for people with limited mobility.”
Visit myuplyft.com for more information.
