INNOVATION GRANT · MEDTECH · FOUNDER RECOGNITION
Meet Sonura and the 2026 Innovation Grant Finalists
GO Vertical ICM’s service-based Innovation Grant recognizes founders translating important healthcare and wellness problems into credible development and commercialization pathways.
Winner
Sonura Care and its neonatal auditory-protection platform.
Clinical Focus
Supporting a safer, more connected NICU experience.
Founder Support
Structured services—not a cash award.
Cohort
Six additional ventures recognized as runners-up.
Meet our winner: Sonura
Sonura is developing the Sonura Beanie, a wearable device designed to reduce premature infants’ exposure to disruptive high-frequency noise in the neonatal intensive care unit while preserving an essential part of their environment: connection with their families.
The beanie allows parents to share recorded voices, stories, songs, and heartbeats with their child, including when they cannot be physically present. Its purpose brings together sound protection and a deeply human need—the ability to stay connected during a difficult beginning.
Through the grant, Sonura will receive a 24-month Creation Accelerator Program (CAP) engagement, with GO Vertical ICM support services valued at $40,000. The engagement will support the manufacturing, quality, compliance, supplier, and commercialization work needed for its next stage.
We look forward to working alongside Sophie, Gabby, and their team as they move this innovation toward broader hospital use.
Celebrating our six runners-up
We are also proud to recognize:
- Ashley Hieu Traylor, MS, CPM – Hieu Freshland
- Malcolm Greig-Steinmetz —Prévion
- Mario Sierra, CCRC — HarmonIQ Biosciences
- Katarzyna Borycka — OASIS Diagnostics SA
- Victoria Williamson — Audicin
- Mary Beth Cicero — 3Daughters
Each brings a distinct perspective to a healthcare or wellness challenge. Together, they remind us how much opportunity remains to develop products that respond to needs people experience every day.
To our runners-up: thank you for sharing your ideas, your progress, and your ambitions with us. We are proud to introduce your work to our community.
Building the company behind the innovation
At GO Vertical ICM, our work focuses on what comes after a promising idea: the decisions, evidence, and execution required to build a commercially viable company.
For innovation-driven founders, product development connects directly to regulatory readiness, manufacturing, intellectual property, market adoption, and funding. These decisions need to support one another from the beginning.
The Innovation Grant reflects that commitment. It creates an opportunity to put practical expertise behind a team’s next stage of development and help translate ambition into a clear path forward.
Congratulations to Sonura and all six runners-up. Thank you to every applicant, evaluator, and team member who contributed to this year’s program.
Developing a complex or regulated product? Connect with GO Vertical ICM to discuss the product strategy, regulatory readiness, manufacturing, commercialization, and investor preparation needed for your next stage.
From Recognition to Execution
The award is service-based rather than a cash prize. It helps selected founders strengthen the technical, quality, manufacturing, commercialization, and investor-readiness work required for the next stage.
Explore the winner’s progress: Read the Sonura Care case study or learn about the Innovation Grant.
