Chennai-based Demach Software wins $125,000 at the QPrize 2014 India regional finals

Chennai-based Demach Software India Private Limited has won US$125,000 in venture financing at the QPrize 2014 India regional finals to expand its business. The company won the competition with its unique user engagement platform for mobile apps - Konotor, that taps into the power of in-app messaging. Technology innovation, industry potential, company’s management capabilities and the attainability of the proposal’s financial projections were some of the factors which favored Demach’s success in the competition.

Demach Software also move forward in the competition and compete for an additional US$150,000 in venture financing at the QPrize Global Grand Prize competition, scheduled at Bloomberg’s Next Big Thing Summit in San Francisco, California.

The four winners at the India level are:

• Demach Software India Private Limited, Chennai - QPrize India 2014 winner
• Mavin Technologies Private Limited, Gurgaon - QPrize India 2014 Runner-up
• LivQuik Technology (India) Private Limited, Mumbai - QPrize One97 Winner
• CarIQ Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Pune - QPrize Persistent Winner

Short-listed finalist of the competition were:

• Demach Software, Chennai: Konotor - a user engagement platform for mobile apps that taps into the power of in-app messaging.
• Mavin Technologies, Gurgaon: enables affordable mobile data for prepaid smartphone users in emerging markets by connecting advertisers with targeted consumers on their mobile devices.
• LivQuik Technology, Mumbai: QuikWallet, enables fast and secure payments on mobile devices.
• CarIQ Technologies, Pune: a connected car platform that offers tailor made services and products that allow users to remotely manage, monitor, and interact with their vehicle.
• QURATER, Bangalore : a customer care solution that enables real-time tracking of complaints, queries and feedback to deliver service management, sales leads and marketing insights that improve customer service, grow the business and build brand advocacy.
• Wooplr Technologies, Bangalore: a local shopping app that allows users to browse, discover and buy by connecting them directly to local stores.
• Edsix Brain Lab, Chennai:. Skill Angels maps and harmonizes academic learning with brain skills through games.
• Spatial Ideas, Mumbai: provides smart, affordable technology solutions to the urban local bodies and government offices to bring transparency, accountability, and efficiency and reduce corruption in core government citizen services.
• CartPerk Technologies, Bangalore: CartPerk enables CPG brands to run retailer-independent loyalty programs over multiple shopping trips and reward users directly by leveraging their smart phone.

The fourth edition of QPrize on boarded Accel Partners, Persistent Systems and One97 Mobility Fund as sponsors and contributors.

Karthee Madasamy, managing director, India and Israel of Qualcomm Ventures said, “The pace of innovation has never been greater. This year’s QPrize finalists are a testament to the type of great ideas that are developing into potentially game changing start-ups. Demach Software India Private Limited embodies the spirit of entrepreneurship. We congratulate them on their accomplishments and look forward to seeing them in the Grand Prize competition.”

Subrata Mitra, Partner at Accel Partners mentioned, “At Accel we have collaborated with some of the best seed & early-stage technology companies from India since 2005, many of which have since emerged as category leaders. Likewise, QPrize has successfully identified several high quality early-stage companies. We are excited to work with Qualcomm on this initiative.”

“Mobile phones are fundamentally changing many ways of doing things. We believe payments also will fundamentally change with mobile phones enabling a lot more scenarios. As a company which has its core business as mobile products and mobile payments, we are excited to support the next generation of bleeding edge companies through our participation in the QPrize competition,” added, Pratyush Prasanna, Vice President at Paytm.

“Technology is at the core of Persistent. Through the Persistent venture fund, we invest in start-up players in our ecosystem and help them define their technology roadmap. We are pleased to support Qualcomm’s initiative of nurturing innovation in India through involvement in the QPrize competition.” said Dr. Anand Deshpande, Chairman and Managing Director, Persistent Systems.

The QPrize 2014 competition received over 450 applications from different parts of the country. Bangalore was closely followed by Delhi in terms of number of applications. The goal of the contest is to identify and fund the industry’s next promising, early-stage technology companies.