Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2021, one of the great competitions for startups that aim to solve the world's biggest problems, has announced its winners. In its 5th year, the competition awards $1 Million in prizes to early-stage tech entrepreneurs solving the world’s toughest problems with innovative ideas that benefit society, catalyze economic growth, and create jobs.
Out of 1745 startups enrolled in the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2021, we are proud to announce that .lumen is among the 20 victors, winning the $50,000 Ethical AI award. This category is aimed at startups that design artificial intelligence in an inherently ethical manner with solutions that address social, environmental, or technological challenges.
Among this year's winners is Virtualahan - which provides people with disabilities with a platform for digital skills training, employment & entrepreneurship support. Another winner is WaterScope - the creators of a quick and easy test that determines whether a water source is drinkable or not. Last but not least, this year's grand prize winner is Zzapp Malaria - which uses artificial intelligence to detect areas at high risk of incubating malaria-carrying larvae.
.lumen is a Romanian startup that creates assistance systems for the blind. There are over 40 million blind people in the world, and with all the advances in technology, the most advanced solution for their mobility has remained the guide dog. .lumen produces a pair of glasses that bring the same benefits as a guide dog, in a scalable package - a solution for the remaining 39,980,000 blind people who do not benefit from an advanced mobility system.