The company, which was founded by a team of social entrepreneurs from the University of Pittsburgh, is developing a home health monitoring kit to allow patients to better understand their own health.
Korion Health beat off competition from more than 40,000 entrepreneurs across 113 countries to take home the top prize. The winner was announced at a special ceremony in London hosted by actor, startup founder, and environmentalist Maisie Williams.
The Hult Prize is an annual competition for student entrepreneurs around the world aiming to tackle the planet’s most pressing challenges through social entrepreneurship. Every startup must align with at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and have a “triple bottom line” focus on people, planet, and profit.
First launched in 2010, the prize is normally themed around one global challenge such as food insecurity, childhood education, or sustainable fashion. However, for the competition’s 15th anniversary it was expanded to welcome ideas across all areas of social impact.
The 2024 Hult Prize: rewarding student entrepreneurs
This year’s Hult Prize started back in July 2023 with a series of on-campus competitions at more than 2,000 universities around the world. This year, over 9,400 startup ideas were put forward.
From there, the entrants were whittled down to 400 teams, who pitched their idea to expert panels at in-person global summits in Bangkok, Boston, Dubai, Lisbon, Monterrey, Mumbai, and Nairobi.
The winning teams at each of these summits, plus other startups selected through the Second Chance Round, worked with Hult Prize mentors remotely to transform their ideas into investment-ready social ventures. The 16 semi-finalists then gathered at the Hult Ashridge Campus, a royal manor in Berkhamsted, UK, for three weeks of intensive mentorship.
The Hult Prize Foundation announced the six finalists a week before the Global Finals in London. Alongside Korion Health, they were:
⇨ Bean Around (University College Dublin, Ireland): Bean Around produces “CoffChar,” a type of biochar, from recycled coffee grounds. The process produces clean, renewable energy as a byproduct.
⇨ HerLens (Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia): HerLens leverages artificial intelligence to enhance the accuracy of cervical cancer screenings. The company’s app and device aim to improve early detection via increased screening accuracy and reduced misdiagnosis.
⇨ LothghaApp (Mansoura University, Egypt): LothghaApp provides app-based speech therapy services including access to virtual speech pathologists, learning materials, classes and support groups.
⇨ ProtonCraft (Indian Institute of Technology, India): ProtonCraft has developed proprietary technology focused on decarbonizing oil refineries by turning harmful refinery waste into an alternative energy source: hydrogen.
⇨ Xatoms (University of Toronto and Western University, Canada): Xatoms leverages quantum chemistry and AI to identify materials that purify water faster and cheaper.
After each team pitched their idea to a panel of expert judges at the event in London, Korion Health were chosen as the winners and recipients of the $1M investment.
The 2024 Hult Prize winners: Korion Health
Korion Health’s flagship product is an electronic stethoscope that teaches users how to collect their own heart and lung sounds. Their team of social entrepreneurs can now use their $1 million cash injection to bring their startup idea to market.
“Korion Health is the latest example of a social enterprise that will positively impact the world based on an innovative idea, hard work, and the ability to prove that it is possible to do well by doing good in business,” said Lori van Dam, CEO of the Hult Prize.
“The Hult Prize is honored to support Korion Health while raising awareness for the thousands of businesses that participated in this competition, all of which aim to do their part to help make the world better by solving our shared challenges.”
