TechCrunch Announces Finalists for CES Hardware Battlefield

TechCrunch today announced 15 finalists for the second Hardware Battlefield, at International CES 2015 in Las Vegas. Hopeful founders began submitting their secret hardware companies last fall for the opportunity to launch at consumer electronics’ biggest event.

Modeled after TechCrunch’s popular Startup Battlefield, the Hardware Battlefield gathers emerging hardware companies to demo on a worldwide stage. Competitors have mere minutes to pitch the judge’s panel all for a shot at a $50,000 prize, brand new Hardware Battlefield trophy and exposure at CES and online to a global audience.

The Hardware Battlefield stage is open to all and there is no need for a conference badge to enter, attend the Battlefield events, or simply look on to see who grabs TechCrunch’s honors as the best hardware product. At-home viewers can watch the event live on TechCrunch.com. The winner will be announced at the TechCrunch stage during a closing ceremony at 3:00p.m. local time on Thursday afternoon, January 8. This year for the first time ever, Hardware Battlefield competitors will also be exhibiting in Eureka Park, CES’s dedicated startup area.

"Hardware is what CES is all about and these hardware startups are some of the most exciting products I've ever seen," says John Biggs, East Coast editor of TechCrunch. "We're proud to bring these diverse companies from around the world to our Battlefield stage."

The list of Hardware Battlefield finalists for 2015 includes:

• Branto Inc.
• Current Labs
• Fogo Digital
• LookSee Labs Inc.
• LyteShot
• NapTime
• Peeple
• Robotbase
• Sentri
• Sereneti Kitchen
• SkySpecs
• Sutro
• Switchmate Inc.
• Voltera

Featured judges at this competition include:

• Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson SMS Audio
• Yves Behar, founder & CEO, fuseproect
• James Park, CEO Fitbit
• Karolina Boladz, Founder & COO Zortrax
• Brady Forrest, Highway 1
• Min- Liang Tan, CEO Razer
• Jenny Lawton, CEO, MakerBot
• Susan Paley, Beats Electronics

Competition entry is free, and eligible competitors must have met the following criteria:

• Must launch product or crowdfunding campaign before January 7, 2015
• Must be a single proprietor or small company
• Cannot be a feature update to an existing product

About TechCrunch

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