Startups compete for Pressure Chamber’s golden suitcase

Four emerging Wisconsin companies took the stage Tuesday at The Sylvee in Madison, competing for a chance to take their pitches from Wisconsin to Silicon Valley.

CellTrack, CuroNow, FUDI Protein and Service ID were selected as finalists for the 13th annual Pressure Chamber, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s startup pitch competition held in conjunction with Forward Fest.

CellTrack emerged as the 2026 winner, earning the competition’s signature “golden suitcase” and a reserved spot in the Chamber’s meetings with Silicon Valley investment firms this fall. The company states its innovation “enables non-invasive PET imaging of therapeutic cell biodistribution with 100× greater sensitivity than existing methods, cutting development time and cost in half.”

The company was founded by CEO Victor Santoro Fernandes, Ph.D., and Chief Scientific Advisor Reinier Hernandez, Ph.D. Fernandes earned his doctorate in medical physics from UW-Madison and has more than a decade of experience in quantitative medical imaging. He was also an inaugural entrepreneurial postdoctoral fellow at UW-Madison. Hernandez, the inventor of CellTrack’s core technology, is a radiochemist and assistant professor of medical physics and radiology at UW-Madison whose research focuses on developing radiopharmaceuticals for cancer therapy and diagnostics.

The winner was selected through a combination of judges’ scores and audience voting.

Pressure Chamber has become a fixture of Madison’s startup ecosystem since its launch more than a decade ago. Collectively, companies that have participated in the competition have raised nearly $1 billion, according to the Chamber.

“For more than a dozen years, Pressure Chamber has been a showcase of what’s next for our region’s economy,” Chamber President Zach Brandon said ahead of the event. “This year’s finalists exemplify the strength and versatility of that economy.”

This year’s finalists represented a range of growing industries.

CellTrack

CellTrack is developing technology designed to improve scientists’ ability to track cell therapies inside the body. The company’s non-invasive, detailed imaging of cell therapies could cut development time and costs in half while helping researchers advance treatments for solid tumors and other diseases.

CuroNow

CuroNow is tackling a different health care challenge: communication among home care agencies, caregivers and families. Its care coordination platform is designed to keep all three groups working from the same information between home visits to ensure the patient receives the best care possible.

FUDI Protein

FUDI Protein produces RuBisCO, a naturally occurring protein found in plant leaves, for use as a food ingredient. FUDI is positioning the technology as a potential answer to growing global demand for sustainable protein sources.

Service ID

Service ID uses artificial intelligence to help water utilities make decisions about aging infrastructure. The platform helps utilities understand their assets, prioritize repairs and identify potential funding sources. After initially focusing on lead service line inventory compliance, Service ID is expanding its technology to address other water infrastructure needs.