Portuguese startup wins pitch contest in San Francisco

Lampsy Health was among 10 Portuguese companies selected to take part in San Francisco Tech Week, which ran from 5 to 7 October.

The programme gave the companies a chance to meet investors and technology businesses and present their work in the US. AICEP and Startup Portugal said it was the first time Portugal had an official event on the conference agenda.

The win came in a pitch competition for the Portuguese group. Lampsy co-founder Vicente Mayer Garção announced the result after the event, saying the prize included $20,000 in services from law firm Cooley LLP and digital marketing agency Bloofusion. He said the support would be useful as the company prepares to enter the US market. RTP reported the startup’s win on Sunday.

Lampsy’s device is designed for home use. It looks like a lamp, with a discreet camera built into it, and uses artificial intelligence to identify movements that may be linked to a seizure. If it detects a concerning movement, it can send an alert to a family member or caregiver. The system does not require the person to wear sensors.

The company was founded by Vicente Garção, Leonor Pereira and Joana Pinto and grew out of work connected to the Instituto de Telecomunicações and Instituto Superior Técnico.

KPMG, which selected Lampsy as Portugal’s winner in its Global Tech Innovator competition in September, says the team developed the device with privacy in mind. The San Francisco pitch contest is a separate competition; Lampsy is also due to represent Portugal at the KPMG global final at the Web Summit in Lisbon in November.

The Portuguese group included companies working in areas such as health technology, artificial intelligence and software. AICEP said the participating startups had raised more than €11 million in investment and employed over 160 people between them.