We’re proud to share that ICECAP won first place in the Pre-Seed category of Pitch Black at this year’s Start Up Festival Malta ! The win fast-tracks our go-to-market plan for the Aristat Controller Quad, as well as other solutions coming up soon !
Pitch Black is the festival’s flagship, no-slides pitching competition. Founders have just a few minutes to deliver a clear story ; problem, solution, business model…under a spotlight and a countdown. In 2025, the competition featured a semi-final on 22 October and a grand final on 24 October, featuring a strong, diverse field including Lemons in the Room (VR for humanised hospital care), OpenCyber AI (AI-guided cyber training), Pocket IP (IP portfolio management SaaS), Recycllux (EO/AI against marine plastic), and SO-ME App (swipe-first fashion shopping).
Our road to the final
We advanced through the Pre-Seed semi-final into the final, refining our story through the organiser’s pitch coaching and mentor sessions. On stage, we focused on three things:
- The problem: Modern microsystems need deep, precise, compact cooling to hit performance and reliability targets.
- The solution: Our Aristat-driven multi-stage thermoelectric architecture with dynamic power optimisation across stages.
- The business: A clear path from validated prototypes to repeatable production and customer integrations.
What we won
As winners of the Pre-Seed category, we secured €100,000 in venture investment via the Malta Venture Fund…funding we’re channelling into Aristat deployments, manufacturing scale-up, and QA. The prize also includes a comprehensive support package , such as hot-desk access at SOHO Malta, legal support from Guido De Marco Advocates, branding from Steve’s & Co, mentorship from SuperCharger Ventures, and a Residency Malta application fee waiver…bringing the total Pre-Seed package value to well over €125,000.
Well done to all the team !
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