Three tech startups win $100,000 prize at Constructor University Demo Day

A trio of startups took home the top prize of $100,000 in funding for their bold tech ventures at Demo Day held September 21 at Constructor University. The Lithium Company, HiHolo and Polasight are the latest winners to be crowned at the flagship event of the Constructor Start program. In total, 16 finalists from nine countries pitched startups from sectors like AI, biotech, energy, advanced computing and DeepTech to an expert jury of investors, business leaders and venture capitalists.

The fourth and latest Demo Day took place September 21 at Constructor University’s International Conference Center (ICC). The full agenda included a panel discussion on the future of quantum computing, presentations from CEOs and business leaders, and a speed-dating session for entrepreneurs and investors, in addition to the "main event" pitch contest. After careful scoring and deliberation from the panel of judges, the day culminated with the announcement and awarding of three checks for $100,000 to the winning startups.

“For today’s winners, this $100,000 initial investment is a first step together,” said Dmitry Kurin, Constructor Start CEO. “Through our program, founders can receive up to $1 million in funding from our partner Constructor Capital, along with continued support from our global network of aligned mentors and industry leaders. They also gain access to co-investments from trusted angels and VCs.”

More than 2,100 startups from 70 countries applied to participate in this fourth and latest round of Constructor Start. Just 35 startups were accepted to complete the program, with the top 16 advancing as finalists to Demo Day, following their performance at the first-ever Online Demo Day in July. At Monday's finale event, each finalist had just 3 minutes to pitch their startup and 5 minutes to answer follow-up questions from the jury.

Meet the Winners

Polasight (Switzerland):
founded by Roi Finish (CEO), Davide Scandella (CTO) and Pablo Márquez-Neila (CSO), won $100K. The company, a spinout of the University of Bern, has built a label-free imaging device for use during cancer surgery, using polarized light and proprietary AI models to generate a live tissue map in under a minute, replacing a standard of care that can keep operating rooms idle for 30 to 40 minutes per sample. PolaSight reports 97% agreement with clinical pathology findings across more than 2,000 biopsies collected at two hospital sites.

“Winning at Demo Day is a strong vote of confidence in our mission: giving surgical teams a map of fresh tissue in about a minute, instead of waiting 20 to 40 minutes for today's standard," said Finish. "Constructor Start helped us turn deep science into an investor-ready story, and the storytelling and pitch coaching, the legal and investment-readiness sessions and the Constructor Capital fundraising workshop all went straight into the pitch that won."

The Lithium Company (USA):
Founded by Alex Ivanenko, whose previous venture, HyPoint, exited for $100M, alongside Dmitry Putintsev (Head of Engineering) and Ismael Rodríguez Pérez (Head of R&D), the startup has developed a proprietary electrochemical process that restores depleted lithium-ion batteries by replacing lost lithium rather than replacing the battery. The approach targets an installed base the company estimates at 3.6 terawatt-hours and $110 billion globally. The team has filed two patents and signed two pre-pilot agreements.

“Winning at Demo Day was an incredible honor and an exciting validation of what we’re building," said Pérez, who delivered the winning pitch for The Lithium Company at Demo Day. "Constructor Start gave us the opportunity to step outside of the lab, challenge how we think about turning great science and technology into something meaningful at scale, and connect with an incredible community of founders, mentors, and investors from around the world.”

HiHolo (Georgia):
founded by Kirill Kazakov (CEO), also received $100K. The company has built Holo Engine, a deterministic decision engine designed to run at the edge, positioned as an alternative to large language models for autonomous systems and robotics, where hallucination and auditability remain barriers to adoption. Running hardware-agnostic and offline with a footprint of roughly 15 megabytes, Hi Holo is already piloting across four continents, including anti-money laundering automation with Singapore-based KYC provider Regtank.

In addition to the $100,000 investment from Constructor Capital, the founders of each winning startup received a 60% scholarship for degree programs from Constructor Start partner Nexford University.

Nblick, the France-based startup whose platform measures and improves brand performance on AI search engines, was a secondary winner, taking home the Audience Favorite Award after receiving the most votes during live audience voting from both in-person and online attendees.

Be Part of Batch Five

Applications for Batch Five of the program have already opened, inviting DeepTech and Software+ founders with working prototypes, validated technology or early products who are ready to move towards customers, commercialization and scale to apply. "If you've developed technology that could define the next era of computing, artificial intelligence or advanced materials, Constructor Start can help you turn your technical foundation into a scalable, investment-ready company," said Kurin. "The opportunity is waiting for you, and the time is now."

Entrepreneurs interested in taking advantage of this program can learn more and apply on the Constructor Start website.

About Constructor Start

Constructor Start is Constructor university's comprehensive online program for emerging international tech startups. In addition to an intensive 8-week curriculum, participating startups receive personalized mentorship and workshops from Constructor's global network of tech, science and business experts, and access to up to $1 million in funding from Constructor Capital.

Demo Day and Constructor Start are part of Constructor Group’s vision to drive advancements in science, technology and education through its integrated ecosystem, offering education, research and business solutions. Supported by Constructor Tech, start-ups gain access to key tools and resources to flourish, from Constructor Tech’s advanced research platform CT, to discount codes for Nexford University's 'From Idea to Pitch' course.