BOSTON & SANTA CLARA, Calif.– Team Grush of Dr. Anubha Sacheti, who was named 20 Outstanding Women in 2015 by INDIA New England News, was voted the winner and awarded a $1 million prize on season 1 finale of the tech reality TV challenge America’s Greatest Makers.
“As a dentist, I have been committed to preventing tooth decay, a common chronic disease among children. As a mother, I wanted to help end the ‘battle in the bathroom’ over brushing. This dream is now a reality, as soon as Grush will be available in America,” said Dr. Sacheti, a Boston-based mom and pediatric dentist.
The winning team also includes San Francisco-based entrepreneur Ethan Schur and inventor Yongjing Wang.
All three members of Team Grush are parents and invented the interactive digital toothbrush based on their experiences of trying to get their kids to brush. The invention transforms teeth brushing into a series of fun and virtual games, entertaining and motivating children while allowing adults to digitally track brushing habits. Grush beat 23 other teams with inventions in areas as diverse as healthcare, sports and fashion – all built on Intel technology.
America’s Greatest Makers is produced by MGM Television with Emmy®-winning producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice) serving as executive producer. MGM is the international distributor and the show is broadcast on TBS.
Intel and Burnett, president of MGM Television and Digital Group, confirmed a second season of America’s Greatest Makers would air in the United States in 2017. Interested designers, engineers, inventors and makers can apply now through midnight on Aug. 19, 2016 by visiting AmericasGreatestMakers.com. The website will feature updated content all year, including information about season 1 teams and contributed content from the maker community.
Intel CEO and show judge, Brian Krzanich, said: “America’s Greatest Makers has provided makers with a national stage on which to build their ideas, and it’s been great to see what they can do with Intel technology.”
The challenge received submissions from creative thinkers looking to solve real-world problems. Early auditions whittled the field down to 24 teams from across the country, and were representative of the startup community, students and hobbyist makers. The 24 teams pitched their ideas on national TV over the course of two weeks in front of a panel of permanent and guest judges.
The teams were then reduced to 15, who over the next five weeks battled for a place in the finals, a $100,000 development grant and technology mentoring to help bring their prototype to market on the Intel® Curie™ platform. The final five teams, ASEAH, Grush, HandsON, NWTN and PowerBobber, competed in a one-hour finale, which resulted in Team Grush being crowned America’s Greatest Makers and taking home the $1 million prize.
