New York, NY (Jan 18, 2022) — IKONA has been selected to The Elite 200, the acclaimed list of semifinalists in The GSV Cup — the world’s largest pitch competition for EdTech startups run by female-led, multi-stage venture capital firm GSV Ventures.

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Companies selected to The Elite 200 represent the top pre-seed and seed stage startups in digital learning across the “Pre-K to Gray” space. IKONA will now compete for up to $1M in cash and prizes in San Diego this April at the ASU+GSV Summit, the annual education technology event hosted by Arizona State University and GSV Ventures.

IKONA was selected from a global applicant pool of 750+ companies, the largest application pool for the GSV Cup yet. More than 175 judges from leading venture capital firms and strategic partners in digital learning like Accel, General Atlantic, Reach Capital, and Owl Ventures, among others, used rigorous criteria to determine the 200 most promising companies.

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"The future of education in healthcare has far more to do with unlocking learning potential than it does fixing the many challenges faced by patients, families and care teams— especially those in kidney care," said Tim Fitzpatrick, CEO at IKONA. "I am grateful to GSV for providing a forum to discuss the innovations happening at the intersections of EdTech and healthcare. Those who have built early stage companies know the importance of having the right partners and champions early on. This is one of those moments."

“We’re at a critical and exciting time for the future of society,” said Deborah Quazzo, managing partner of GSV Ventures. “The pandemic has made it increasingly clear that Ed is on The Edge — on the edge of innovation, transformation, globalization. We’ve always imagined a new era in which ALL people have equal access to the future, and this year’s Elite 200 companies are emblematic of that vision. We’re proud to name the 200 semifinalists in the GSV Cup competition and look forward to having them pitch live at the ASU+GSV Summit.”

The Elite 200 companies serve learners from Pre-K to Gray, with companies well-distributed across the following categories: Early Childhood, K-12, Higher Education, Adult Consumer Learning, and Adult Enterprise Learning. The 2022 Elite 200 continue to break barriers, comprised of an increasingly diverse and global group:

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• 58% of companies have female founders

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• 51% of companies have founders that identify as people of color

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• 44% of companies are based outside the United States

The GSV Cup is powered by Google Cloud, HubSpot for Startups, HolonIQ, and GSV Ventures.

See IKONA and the rest of the companies selected to the GSV Cup Elite 200 at https://www.asugsvsummit.com/gsv-cup-elite-200

ABOUT IKONA

IKONA Health delivers, measures and supports personalized learning pathways for people with kidney disease. For patients and families who struggle to find answers to their health related questions between infrequent doctor's visits, IKONA is the go-to education support system that enhances health literacy and confidence. For providers who lack the time and resources to develop personalized education plans for every patient at all stages of their care journeys, IKONA is the go-to education platform that saves time and improves their understanding of a patient's needs, questions and personal goals. IKONA is backed by top research and investment firms including the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Startup Health and ODX.

ABOUT GSV VENTURES

GSV Ventures is a female-led, multi-stage venture capital firm focused on the $7+ trillion education sector. The fund is currently investing out of GSV Ventures Fund III and backs innovative entrepreneurs around the world in the "Pre-K to Gray" Arc of Learning. GSV manages over $675 million in global EdTech investments. Portfolio holdings include Andela, Class Technologies, ClassDojo, Coursera, Course Hero, Degreed, Guild, MasterClass, Outlier, Photomath, Quizizz, Lead School, Brightchamps, and ClassPlus, among others.