The Rehovot-based start-up Kinoko-Tech has won this year’s Asper Prize, a $35,000 award presented by ASPER-HUJI Innovate–The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center and the Asper Foundation. The award highlights start-ups that use innovative technologies to create a positive impact on a global scale.
The annual Asper Prize competition is open to companies whose founders are associated with the Hebrew University (faculty, students and alumni) or those that rely on the university’s intellectual property.
Kinoko-Tech was founded by three alumni of Hebrew University – Dr. Jasmin Ravid, Dr. Darya Feldman and Hadar Shohat. Together they developed a new plant-based protein based on a combination of mushrooms and legumes. This allergen-free protein can easily be cooked or mixed into different food products. Kinoko grows tasty, healthy and nutritious food that provides an ecologically friendly protein source.
Among the other contestants were Daika Wood, which has developed a new wood material while recycling wood waste and maintaining its original properties; Antidote, a virtual HMO that leverages AI technologies to provide health coverage at a fraction of the cost of the existing alternatives; Diptera.ai, which created a long-term solution for diseases spread by mosquitoes using sterile male mosquitoes; and Immunyx Pharma, which has developed a revolutionary platform technology to treat neutrophils, the largest immune cell population.
Hebrew University president Prof. Asher Cohen told the contestants, “The Hebrew University has become, in recent years, a significant catalyst for companies across a wide range of verticals. There is no doubt that the knowledge and tools that students acquire here at the university enable them to build technological endeavors that benefit humankind, especially when it comes to sustainability and the climate crisis.”
Asper Foundation president Gail Asper referred to the competing companies and highlighted the prize’s purpose. “We encourage more companies and start-ups to work toward creating a positive impact on our society and environment through innovative technologies. With the Asper Prize, we’re delighted to recognize the innovators who are striving to create a better future for humanity. We would also like to thank the team at ASPER-HUJI Innovate for their efforts to expand entrepreneurial thinking to every area of study.”
Dr. Amnon Dekel, executive director of ASPER-HUJI Innovate–The Innovation Center of the Hebrew University, congratulated the winners and concluded, “Every start-up we’ve seen today embodies the cutting edge of the intersection between business and social impact. Businesses that can generate revenues while improving the world they inhabit are an important model for a sustainable future. We’re proud of the start-ups that participated in the competition and are looking forward to seeing next year’s contestants.”