Slovakia, the small country in the middle of Europe, might have been overlooked by investors in the tech industry in the past – but we might be surprised what startups were and are being born there.
In 2014, Slovakia made headlines mainly thanks to AeroMobil, a flying car that perfectly makes use of existing infrastructure created for automobiles and planes. As a car it fits into any standard parking space, uses regular gasoline, and can be used in road traffic just like any other car. As a plane it can use any airport in the world, but can also take off and land using any grass strip or paved surface just a few hundred meters long (VIDEO). There are more cool projects in Slovakia.
1. Sli.do is an award-winning Q&A platform for live and hybrid events that makes it super-easy for anyone in the audience to ask their question. Approved questions can be displayed live via presentations, and event participants can up vote the questions they like the most. Live polls allow speakers to find out in real time what their audience thinks, along with many features that make events and conferences more fun.
2. Pexeso is the newest project by Rastislav Turek, a well-known figure in the Slovak startup scene, who now lives in the US. Pexeso helps users to find, track and monetise videos or music on the internet. Pexeso can find an audio track even if it was slowed down/sped up, or a filter was used. After the video is matched, the creator is able to do many things, including: monitor the video and get comprehensive insights about the community, take down the video, or place ads at top of the video and generate extra revenue.
3. Youstice helps customers that are finding it difficult to make a claim against a company that they purchased goods from; it provides a simple application that enables customers and retailers to communicate directly and agree on a fair solution. There are literally millions of complaints from customers worldwide that remain unresolved or unanswered, and with a new incoming EU regulation that calls for online retailers to introduce an option of neutral third party decisions, Youstice will focus on retailers. Their first investors include DanubiaTel Group and the US angel investor Esther Dyson (Update – July 2023: The startup seems to be no longer in business under this website, and we therefore deactivated the original link).
4. JustInSign is one of first international sign language applications that will teach you how to express your mind only with your hands. Want to introduce yourself to a deaf person? Try the “Basic questions and answers” section. Looking for directions? Try the “Directions” lesson. Got something else in mind? JustInSign has 131 lessons for you to choose from. JustInSign will teach you to communicate with the hearing impaired around the world. Show others whatever is on your mind and understand what they are showing you. The “market” is huge, as 1 in every 20 people in the world lives with disabling hearing loss. That accounts for 360 million people in the world, out of which 32 million are children (Update – July 2023: The startup seems to be no longer in business under this website, and we therefore deactivated the original link).
5. Liberty Headphones make high quality headphones that can rest on your wrist. The founders of the project just kicked off a two month crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and plan to raise €150K. With a modern and unique design, inside LIBERTY there are two modern neodymium speakers with sensitivity of 115dB, which provide high-quality, clear and spatial sound. The li-lon battery has a capacity of 1500mAh, which means about 16 hours of listening, and can be charged by a micro USB. The gadget can communicate with the Android system using Bluetooth 4.1, reaching up to 15 metres.
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