Driving change: Companies shaping the future of their industry

It’s no secret that industries are constantly evolving, especially with the onset of new technology. For some companies, change means taking bold steps to improve your life. The following companies are shaking up their industries with new ideas and forward-thinking leadership. Whether improving how you manage health, enhancing your shopping experiences or finding new ways to connect with others, these companies set the bar higher and show you what the future can look like.

Auctus Surgical

Auctus Surgical develops novel technologies focusing on non-fusion scoliosis correction. Scoliosis is a significant problem in many children and adolescents. Some have such severe spinal curves that they have to wear a full torso brace daily, while others progress to fusion surgery traditionally performed with solid rods and screws that straighten but fuse the child’s spine so they no longer have any motion and their torso can’t grow longer. “Our Dynamic Tethering System is a flexible tether surgically implanted on the side of the child’s spine to straighten it,” explains CEO John Ashley. “One end of the tether is attached to an implanted magnetically adjusted spool. The device does not limit the spine’s ability to bend and twist, and the surgeon can use a hand-held magnetic controller to lengthen it as the child grows.” With this device, Auctus Surgical aims to solve children’s scoliosis.

To learn more, visit auctusortho.com.

Dice Menu is a catering logistics company that leverages AI to help users easily manage portioning, allergy management and delivery logistics when placing catering orders. Dice Menu creates specialized menus based on dietary restrictions, cuisine preferences and budget. Once the user picks a menu, they are all set. Dice Menu takes care of the rest with locally vetted restaurants providing the food. “We are redefining how people think of catering by helping the average person place an order for 15 to 100+ guests in a matter of minutes.” CEO, Jay Shah explains, “Essentially, it is our job to make the lives of the people in charge of ordering food easier; we save them time, eliminate decision fatigue and make them look good.” With Dice Menu, getting any event catered is easier than ever. #justDiceit

To learn more, visit www.trydice.com.

GoLocker

GoLocker makes it possible for retailers, consumers and delivery carriers to meet one another in a succinct way. If you’ve ever ordered something online and received a notification that the package was delivered only to find nothing at your front door, you know how frustrating this can be. Thousands face this situation daily, especially those who live in urban areas. Not only is this a problem for consumers, but it’s also a huge loss for retailers. By providing a safe and secure first- and last-mile distribution and access point model, GoLocker adds greater consumer convenience and lower costs for carriers. “Our intelligent lockers are accessible 24/7,” says CEO Kerry Caylor. “We’re carrier agnostic and efficiently manage the logistics, delivering to and picking up from our lockers. With GoLocker, we’ve got you covered, whether it’s buying an item for delivery or returning it to a merchant.”

To learn more, visit www.golocker.com.

Nu Cybertek

Nu Cybertek specializes in providing soft material sensory evaluation using its proprietary PhabrOmeter® system, SAAS platform and AI technology. It focuses on measuring the sensory perceptions of fibrous products. The success of any new soft material, new finish or new product is largely dependent on the acceptance of how it feels to the touch. However, assessment of this quality attribute until now still largely relies on human tactile sensory judgment, which in many cases is not reliable. “Our system consists of instrumented measurements and cloud-based data analysis,” explains CEO Linda Huang.
“Based on AI-pattern recognition theory, PhabrOmeter® provides fast and reliable quality evaluation results by extracting the quality features of sheet-type soft material products and linking them with human perception.” With this technology, users can obtain sensory quantitative data on products to establish their own quality standards, evaluate products’ sensory quality and further improve their quality.

To learn more, visit www.nucybertek.com

Orbo

Orbo is a disruptive Generative AI company that allows users to get personalized skincare and beauty makeover suggestions. The company provides users with detailed skin analysis, virtual makeup try-ons, hair styling, color simulations and a foundation shade finder. With these tools, consumers can find products that best match their individual needs. With its Omni-Channel offerings such as Magic Mirror for stores and patent-pending platform, BeautyGPT, Orbo offers personalized skincare advice and tailored product recommendations based on selfies and simple prompts added by users. It takes the guessing game out of purchasing online beauty products. CEO Manoj Shinde explains, “GenZ seeks authenticity and personalization. So, it becomes imperative for brands to adopt consumer-centric approaches, which drive hyper-personalization. This is where Orbo plays a major role in the beauty and personal care space.” Orbo.ai is not just improving the shopping experience but it’s also helping beauty brands better meet the diverse needs of their customers.

To learn more, visit www.orbo.ai.

PlusTen

PlusTen focuses on maximizing the reasoning capabilities of large language models to develop tailored products for diverse use cases. It gives developers the tools to assess and mitigate risks associated with user prompts, ensuring safe and compliant AI-powered applications. Their core product evaluates user inputs for potential harm, categorizes them and enforces compliance with specific rule sets, acting as a safeguard between applications and users. This is crucial for applications that handle sensitive data, ensuring that results are secure. PlusTen offers monitoring solutions for advanced applications, using statistical analysis to ensure they function as intended. “Our main differentiator is that we’re pushing the limits of what these language models can do to achieve complex reasoning and analysis of what is typically considered hard-to-tackle problems,” says CEO Alec Soronow. “By integrating these new language models to solve those problems, we can get far better results than ever.”

To learn more, visit www.plusten.ai.

Privoce

Voce Chat by Privoce is a private hosted chat solution offering businesses the functionality of other platforms without giving up control over data and privacy. Voce Chat integrates directly into your own website, allowing you to host and manage the chat feature independently. Voce Chat provides versatile functionalities, including social channels, direct messages, live chat widgets, Slack and Discord bridges, an internal email newsletter and AI bot integration, facilitating advanced interactions. Trusted by 100,000+ customers from over 50 countries, Voce Chat combines robust security, flexibility and support of interoperable protocols like Matrix and Solid, making it ideal for NAS home cloud users and businesses seeking a private and customizable communication solution. “I founded Privoce as a decentralized social media project with true data ownership and interoperability,” explains the founder, Han Su. “Decentralization starts with deplatformization. The first step is making everyone a platform, then interoperability.”

To learn more, visit voce.chat.

PV Nano Cell

PV Nano Cell is disrupting the solar industry by significantly reducing metallization costs in the production of solar panels. Up until now, the solar industry has relied heavily on the use of silver to convert sunlight into electricity. However, the exponential growth of the solar industry is causing a depletion in silver which is concerning. In response to this issue, PV Nano Cell reduces the use of silver without affecting conductivity thanks to its nanoparticles-based formulation. Because of this technology’s superior conductivity, PV Nano Cell can produce very fine metallization lines and get better conductivity than wider lines currently used, potentially cutting silver consumption by half. “The solar industry is expected to keep growing, and if manufacturers want to compete with what is currently available, they need a differentiator, and that’s us,” says CEO Avi Magid. Our technology will allow them to be one step ahead and more competitive.”

To learn more, visit www.pvnanocell.com.

Skylight Lending

Skylight Lending provides homeowners with financing for solar, battery and home efficiency items via a fast, safe and reliable online lending platform. The time from initial application to approval and signing is less than 20 minutes. What sets Skylight Lending apart from other lending companies is its market partnerships with equipment manufacturers and suppliers, which translates to the lowest cost for customers. The company also provides fraud prevention and risk mitigation through its partner network and underwriting process. CEO Thomas Dugan explains, “Knowing that most homeowners only buy these items once in their lives, we protect and advocate with them to ensure they get what they want while transparently and effectively coordinating with the trusted partners in our installer network.” With its automated processes and underwriting checks, Skylight Lending can fund projects faster than other market participants providing homeowners with the financing to make their dreams a reality.

To learn more, visit www.skylightlending.com.

Twyne

Twyne is a platform that facilitates real-life connections by linking people within walking distance of each other. When users sign up, Twyne uses their location to match them with others close to home. They can schedule and participate in small online group meetings that mirror casual, in-person gatherings. This approach allows for spontaneous interactions and immediate follow-up, making it easier to build and maintain friendships. It’s an ideal solution for anyone looking to integrate into a new community or get to know those already nearby. Focusing on accessibility and low-barrier engagement, Twyne offers a sustainable way to combat loneliness and enhance community bonds. The company’s founder, Thorsten Hoins explains, “Our business connects people within walking distance platonically. That way, you can build community and find friends. Wherever you are, wherever you land, whenever you move, you can integrate yourself into your community from day one.”

To learn more, visit www.twyne.org

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