INSIGHTS / News

A startup that engineers advanced materials for sound and noise management has won Best Elevator Pitch at SETsquared Bristol’s annual Tech-Xpo Showcase. 

Tech-Xpo presents some of the newest and most exciting technology startups from SETsquared Bristol, showcasing a diverse range of startups from health tech to green tech. The annual unites the startup community with the tech ecosystem from Bristol and beyond.

Gianluca Memoli, CEO of Metasonixx, delivered part of his winning pitch in song to demonstrate how the company’s patented technology has re-engineered everyday materials into innovative products that can manage noise and ventilation in the built environment.

To win the award, Gianluca pitched to an audience of over 100 investors and business movers and shakers, competing against seven other innovative technology companies across a broad range of sectors, from machine learning and AI to health and wellbeing. 

Metasonixx’s flagship product, SonoBlind® is a transparent and super-thin modular panel that is sold as desk separators or booths to open offices worldwide, including firms such as Chevron and the Italian Motorways. 

The company is a spinout from the University of Bristol and Sussex. The academic collaborations underpinning its patents include a device that allows acoustic messages to be delivered to a single moving person in a crowd. 

Founders Gianluca Memoli and Bruce Drinkwater joined SETsquared Bristol’s incubation programme in 2020 for coaching and support with business planning and fundraising.

Gianluca Memoli, CEO of Metasonixx, said: “At the last minute, I decided to sing part of my pitch and I won! It’s incredible to get this award and a great celebration of all the work we have done. We want to change the place where people spend most of the time, which is the office, and I’m talking about the hybrid office, as well as noise at home. In the days when my kids were around, I’d mount one of my panels to make sure I could have a zoom call with others.”

Rick Chapman, Entrepreneur in Residence at SETsquared Bristol, said: “It’s been a pleasure to support all of the founders to deliver pitches at this year’s Tech-Xpo. The line-up featured startups from our early and later stage programmes, and the standard was exceptionally high throughout. All of the companies should be very proud, and indeed Metasonixx, whose standout pitch captured the audience with a novel delivery – well done Gianluca!”

Last year’s Tech-Xpo winner was SoleSense, whose shoe insole sensors are designed to aid stroke rehabilitation. Both SoleSense and Metasonixx are set to follow in the footsteps of previous awardees’ successes. 

The 2022 winner, Inclued.ai, has since secured funding from Innovate UK’s Unlocking Potential: Build Award for its inclusive marketing AI tool. Ferryx, who won in 2021, closed their first investment round shortly afterwards to tackle common gut problems, and 2020 winner, KETS Quantum Security, has since raised £3.1 million pre-series A investment. 

Tech-Xpo 2024 was sponsored by VWV, Future Finance and Burges Salmon, demonstrating their commitment to supporting regional tech innovation.

Nathan Guest, Corporate Partner and Head of VWV’s Technology sector, said: “Tech-Xpo 2024 was another fantastic showcase for SETsquared Bristol and its companies, and also a celebration of the incubator’s many achievements over the last 20 years – we were delighted to be the lead sponsor for the 14th consecutive year. Having worked so closely with the SETsquared Bristol team over most of those 20 years, our specialist tech and life science sector lawyers remain as committed as ever to supporting their fantastic startups.

There are some real gems within the SETsquared venture-base and I am very confident that the next 12 months will see many more positive investment and other commercial deal announcements.”