SXSW EDU® Announces the 2023 Launch Competition Winners

Tilli Wins the Launch Startup Competition Grand Prize and Impact Award

Koalluh Wins the Launch Community Choice Award

AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The SXSW EDU Conference & Festival® has announced that Tilli, from Sri Lanka, is the 2023 Launch Competition Winner and the Impact Award winner, Koalluh from Atlanta, Georgia, is the winner of the Community Choice Award. In its twelfth year, the competition shines a light on early-stage startups that are working to create solutions for the education sector. This is the first year that the competition has multiple award offerings. This year's competition received the largest number of submissions from as far away as Sri Lanka, Finland, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and Scotland. Launch is presented by the Walton Family Foundation.

"Social emotional learning can change lives and we need more investors and more educators talking about it and I see this as a win for the entire SEL community," said Kavindya Thennakoon, Co-founder of Tilli. "On behalf of Tilli, thank you to the judges and SXSW, this has been incredible. Congratulations to all of the finalists."

Tilli is an AI-powered, play-based, social emotional learning tool that builds the five foundational social emotional learning competencies for children 5-10 years old. The Community Choice winner, Koalluh, is building the most engaging children's reading platform by letting kids create stories with AI, with the aim of building reading engagement and proficiency for 34M+ reluctant-readers.

The winners were announced from a strong pool of finalists including:

• EduOpenings // St. Louis, Missouri
• Kide Science // Helsinki, Finland
• Promineo Tech // Peoria, Arizona
• Robotical // Edinburgh, Scotland
• Tilli // Sri Lanka
• Koalluh // Atlanta, Georgia
• Equmenopolis, Inc. // Tokyo, Japan

Since the Launch competition's inception, many of the startups have gone on to receive millions of dollars in funding and greatly impact learning across the country, including: Our Worlds Inc, Kahoot!, Clever, The Whether by Better Weekdays, BloomBoard, Elsa, and Quottly.

"The Launch startup competition is a reflection of the vibrancy of new products and solutions addressing the needs of learners," said Greg Rosenbaum, Senior Director of SXSW EDU. "For over a decade, Launch has served as a platform for early stage startups that have gone on to make a deep and lasting impact, and this year's winners have great potential to do the same."

To learn more about these competitions, along with the winners and finalists, visit sxswedu.com/competitions.

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About SXSW EDU: 
The SXSWEDU® Conference & Festival is a reflection of the world's most critical social issues as seen through the lens of education. This year's event will bring together the learner, the practitioner, the entrepreneur, and the visionary to share their groundbreaking stories, tackle complex issues, and build reimagined paths forward. As a community of diverse people who are united around a like-minded vision for the future, SXSW EDU serves as a place for attendees to renew their purpose in practice from both a personal and professional perspective. It is a place to reinforce the core principles of teaching and learning as well as an opportunity to express your creativity and passion for education. SXSW EDU is a component of the South by Southwest® family of conferences and festivals that has grown from 800 to over 8,000 registrants in the last decade. Join the passionate and innovative community at SXSW EDU, March 6-9, 2023.

Contact: 
Liz Stein SXSW EDU Press & Publicity
[email protected]

SOURCE South by Southwest