Student startups take top prizes in Buffalo contest

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Two startup companies founded by Waterloo Engineering graduates were among the big winners in a recent competition in Buffalo.

Suncayr collected $500,000 in the fourth annual 43North event, while Qidni Labs finished third and was awarded $550,000. 

Founded by Waterloo nanotechnology engineering students, Suncayr has developed a body sticker to warn users when their sunscreen is no longer effective.

Suncayr spot

Derek Jouppi of Suncayr displays one of its stickers.

It was one of five companies in the competition to receive $500,000, as well as rent-free space in the 43North incubator in Buffalo, help from mentors and tax-free benefits under New York’s “Start-Up NY” program.

Now alumni, co-founders Derek Jouppi (BASc '15, Nano), Chad Sweeting (BASc ’15, Nano) and Andrew Martinko (BASc '15, Nano, MBET '16) came up with the idea for Suncayr during a brainstorming session while they were still students.  

Suncayr was an international runner up in the 2014 James Dyson Awards competition, the first Canadian company to be honoured in the final round.

Instead of a sticker, Suncayr’s original concept included a marker that people would use to draw a design on their skin before applying sunscreen. The marked skin would then change colour when the sunscreen was no longer blocking harmful UV rays.

Qidni Labs was founded by Morteza Ahmadi, who earned a doctorate in systems design engineering at Waterloo in 2013.

Now operating out of a San Franciso-based startup incubator, Qidni is developing artificial kidneys that are small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and can be used by millions of people with kidney failure.

About 43North

43North is a $5-million startup competition, awarding cash prizes to some of the best entrepreneurs and startups from around the world. 43North operates through the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative and grants from Empire State Development and the New York Power Authority. Additional support comes from several other sponsors.