See the 2022 winners of Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Tech 50 Awards

While much attention this week focused on the midterm election results, on Wednesday night, Pittsburgh’s tech community got a lighthearted reprieve in the form of another slate of winners: Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Tech 50 Awards.

The annual event — see 2021’s winners here — is a gathering of who’s who in local companies, nonprofits and technologists to highlight the impact they’ve had over the past year.

“The excitement and energy of the event is simply amazing,” PTC President and CEO Audrey Russo said in a statement. “It is truly the biggest night in Pittsburgh’s tech ecosystem each and every year.”

Below, see who took home awards at the 2022 event.

“Every year, the list of finalists and winners continues to impress me,” Russo said. “Nowhere else can you find companies large and small across multiple industry clusters solving the world’s toughest problems with technology.”

AI/ML/Robotics — Near Earth Autonomy

Near Earth Autonomy is an autonomous flight startup that designs technology enabling aircrafts to autonomously fly and land with or without the assistance of a GPS.

• Finalists: Astrobotic, Locomation, Maven, RoadBotics, VISIMO

Consumer/Integrative Tech — PittMoss

PittMoss is a recycled materials manufacturing company that produces growing media, a substance where roots can grow, through organic and recycled paper products.

• Finalists: Creatotech, GNC, NuMoola, Truefit

Cybersecurity — Ethical Intruder

Ethical Intruder is a cybersecurity and compliance organization which focuses on helping organizations understand how cyber risks could impact their stability and long-term ability to sustain a business.

• Finalists: Certes Networks, Timesys

Life Sciences — Tobii Dynavox

Tobii Dynavox is an assistive technology company that creates communication and speech generating apps for people with disabilities.

• Finalists: Behaivior, CytoAgents, KaliVir Immunotherapeutics, Inc., Smith+Nephew

Manufacturing: The Kurt J. Lesker III Award for Excellence — Eaton

Eaton is a power management company that seeks to protect the environment by providing energy efficient technologies that can help consumers manage their energy more efficiently.

• Finalists: Butler Technologies, Inc., Kurt J. Lesker Company

MedTech/Health IT — Free Market Health

Free Market Health is a healthcare technology company that aims to make navigating the specialty pharmacy ecosystem easier with its marketplace platform.

• Finalists: ConnectiveRx, Prodigo Solutions, Rimsys

Nonprofit/Education/Community — Commonwealth Charter Academy

Commonwealth Charter Academy is a public cyber charter school that uses its online relationship management platform to offer students an individualized approach to their education experience.

• Finalists: ARM (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing) Institute, Tech Elevator

Solutions Provider, Innovative Tech — CNX Resources Corporation

CNX Resources Corporation is a natural gas company that develops transmission, storage, gathering systems and water infrastructure to support energy development.

• Finalists: Aspinity, Lucas Systems Inc., Mayvue, Optimus Technologies, Rewyndr, RoadRunner Recycling, Smith Micro Software, Inc., Teledyne, FLIR, Defense Technologies

Solutions Provider, Services — CivicScience

CivicScience is an opinion analytics company that provides users with access to studies and market trends to help users make the best decisions for their businesses.

• Finalists: Aspirant, Data Ideology, Excellerent Technology Solutions, Inc., Expedient, PGT Trucking, Inc.

Startup — iM Critical

iM Critical is a digital infrastructure startup that creates data centers to allow its customers to create large-scale infrastructure for their companies.

• Finalists: Bloomfield Robotics, Confirmed, HIKE2, Outcome Logix, Piper Creative

CEO of the Year — Teresa Whalen, CEO, CytoAgents

Whalen is a hospital board trustee, life sciences investor and clinical pharmacist. CytoAgents is a life sciences startup focused on the development of its signature drug candidate, GP1681, which treats conditions, diseases and disorders associated with Cytokine Release Syndrome. The company raised a $6 million seed round in August 2021, and has successfully completed Phase I clinical trials.

• Finalists: Ellie Gordon, CEO and founder, Behaivior; David Radin, CEO, Confirmed; Orne Bey, founder and CEO, Excellerent; Helena Chaye, CEO, KaliVir; Kurt J. Lesker, IV, president and CEO, Kurt J. Lesker Company; Brian Scott, president and CEO, PittMoss; James Gianoutsos, founder and CEO, Rimsys

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.