EpiSense Wins Big at Kings' Capitalize Tech Competition
On April 9th, while most fans were watching the scoreboard, another kind of victory was unfolding courtside: EpiSense, a Davis-based medtech startup, clinched the top prize—$10,000 in cash—at the Sacramento Kings' 10th annual Capitalize: Technology Startup Competition.
That win? It wasn’t just buzzer-beating luck. It was earned through weeks of rallying support in a fan vote driven entirely by social media—a modern twist on market validation.
“We are deeply humbled to join the ranks of Capitalize winners,” said co-founders Jaya Athuluru and Simran Lallian. “The journey has been incredible, and the competition fierce.”
EpiSense is on a mission that’s both personal and powerful: helping people with epilepsy predict seizures before they happen. Their solution? A wearable headband, plus the hardware, software, and app ecosystem to back it up. Think of it like a weather forecast—but for your brain.
“We are empowering epileptics with seizure prediction,” said Athuluru. And that empowerment could be life-saving. Seizures that strike without warning often lead to serious falls or injuries.
This isn’t their first podium moment. EpiSense also walked away with $25,000 at last year’s Big Bang! Business Competition at UC Davis. But the road ahead isn’t short. To bring their product to market, they’ll need FDA Class II clearance—a regulatory mountain that could cost $5 to $10 million to climb.
Still, Capitalize is doing what it was designed to do: shine a spotlight on the next wave of innovators in the region.
“This year’s winner represents the next generation of entrepreneurs—college students from UC Davis—using cutting-edge tech to change lives,” said John Rinehart, Kings’ President of Business Operations. “We’re excited to see what’s next for all the finalists.”
And speaking of finalists, here’s how the rest of the competition played out:
2nd Place ($5,000): Splash Technologies – Also from Davis, they’re taking the guesswork (and manual labor) out of pool maintenance with automated chemical monitoring and an app-first approach.
3rd Place ($2,500): Whole Story Meals Inc. – Based in Lincoln, this startup is creating nutrient-dense powdered meals tailored for people who rely on feeding tubes.
Finalist: LogRx – From Sacramento, LogRx is ditching the clipboard for controlled substance reporting in fire and EMS, offering a digital solution that’s already winning traction (they nabbed $10,000 at last year’s Pitch Elk Grove).
