TitletownTech has announced Ateios Systems and Ubicept as the winners of a its Start-up Draft competition.
They each will receive a $1 million prize as well as $350,000 in credits from Microsoft that can be used for the company’s cloud computing business platform.
Ateios Systems, based in Newberry, Indiana, has developed a chemistry-agnostic platform for manufacturing battery electrodes without toxic solvents or forever chemicals. The process also helps reduce the cost of battery production.
Ubicept, based in Madison and Cambridge, Massachusetts, enables machines to see beyond the limits of traditional cameras, performing in extreme lighting, motion, and environmental conditions. The company’s advanced sensor processing unlocks ultra-low noise, high-speed imaging for robotics, automotive, surveillance, and industrial applications.
The announcement of two winners was a surprise at the end of an hour long livestream that included interviews with the seven companies that were named as finalists as well as Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy and Microsoft President Bradley Smith.
The Packers and Microsoft teamed to create TitletownTech in 2019.
“It was a team effort,” Murphy said. “With Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers, we built something special.”
Smith said TitletownTech’s success will help draw talented people and businesses to a region that has a history of innnovation, particularly in manufacturing.
“I see what is happening in Green Bay as something that is continuing to build momentum,” Smith said. “When you build something, you can keep building on top of it.”
The seven finalists were Ateios Systems, Avant Genomics, CubeNexus, Devii, Shelfmark, SpaceRake and Ubicept. The finalists were selected from nearly a thousand applications across nearly all 50 states and TitletownTech managing director Craig Dickman said, “This has vastly exceeded expectations.
“We’ve connected with parts of the country we never would have connected with before, with founders that we would have never met before. We’re now part of the dialogue in cities that never would have been talking about Green Bay before.”
TitletownTechManaging Director Jill Enos said the NFL production team plans to bring the Start-up Draft winners on stage during Saturday’s NFL Draft broadcast.
Shelfmark was chosen as the fan favorite in online voting. The company uses AI and camera technology so manufacturers can automate visual inspection tasks.
“We are passionate about the success of heartland community businesses,” said Shelfmark founder Pat O’Donnell.
Ateios founder Rajan Kumar said the company could generate billions of dollars once they scale production to meet demand that already tops $100 million.
“We’ve shown the model, we have the know how, and we have compelling tech. We know we’ll be successful,” Kumar said. “This investment allows us to meet industry needs at scale and accelerate the rollout of our next-generation electrodes.”
Ubicept cofounder Sebastian Bauer said their technology allows camera perception at the limits of physics.
“We’re both interested not just in the tech, but also in how that tech can help people,” said Ubicept cofounder Tristan Swedish.
The other TitletownTech Startup Draft finalists were:
- Avant Genomics (Charlottesville, Virginia) – Avant Genomics streamlines liquid biopsy sample preparation through an automated microfluidics platform. The company’s solution reduces cost, waste, and processing time to make precision cancer diagnostics more accessible and scalable.
- CubeNexus (Chicago) – CubeNexus transforms complex sensor and spatial data into AI-ready structures by embedding time and 3D location directly into the data. The company’s technology enables real-time querying and visualization, supporting data-heavy industries like aviation, energy, telecom, and defense, even in GPS-denied environments.
- Devii (Fargo, North Dakota) – Devii offers a low-code platform that rapidly generates APIs and streamlines enterprise data integration. The company’s tools accelerate development workflows while managing secure, efficient access to data across systems.
- SpaceRake (Cambridge, Massachusetts) – SpaceRake builds miniaturized laser communication systems designed for satellites, drones, and other critical small systems. The company’s free-space optical technology enables secure, jam-resistant communication from ground to space and everywhere in between.
