GUDEA SELECTED AS FINALIST FOR SXSW PITCH 2026

GUDEA to showcase a patent-protected breakthrough in narrative forecasting in the World Innovation category

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- GUDEA, the developer of a patent-protected Internet Storm Tracker whose analysis helped expose a coordinated attack around Taylor Swift's latest album as reported by Rolling Stone, was selected as a finalist in the World Innovation category for the 18th annual SXSW Pitch.

SXSW Pitch is the marquee event of South by Southwest^® (SXSW^®) Conference & Festivals (March 12 - 18, 2026), where leading startups from around the world showcase some of the most impressive technology innovations to a panel of hand-picked judges and a live audience. Out of the 589 companies that applied to present at SXSW Pitch 2026, GUDEA was selected among the 45 finalists, spanning nine separate categories.

The two-day event will be held the first weekend of SXSW Conference & Festivals, Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14, at JW Marriott in Austin. The event will then culminate with the 2026 SXSW Pitch Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening, March 14, where winning startups from each category and a Best in Show winner will be announced and honored in rooms F-H on the third floor of the Marriott.

SXSW Pitch will feature finalists across the following nine categories: Enterprise and Future of Work; Entertainment, Media, Sports & Creator Content; Healthcare, AssistiveTech & BioTech; Innovative World Tech; Intelligent Systems, Robotics & Multisensory Technology; Smart Cities, Transportation, Manufacturing & Logistics; Smart Data, Security & FinTech; Student Startups; Sustainability, AgTech & Food.

GUDEA will present among four other companies in the World Innovation category on March 13^th.

"We are deeply honored to be named a SXSW Pitch finalist. This recognition affirms our team's work to make the internet's information flows visible and actionable using our patent-backed forecasting, so organizations can predict where stories will move hours or days ahead and act with confidence," said Keith Presley, CEO and co-founder of GUDEA.

"A lot of people ask us how GUDEA got started," Presley continued. "Adapting strategies that helped disrupt online terrorist networks is not a typical origin story, but it explains our approach: we took battlefield-proven intelligence methods and reimagined them to help brands, investigators, and public-interest organizations anticipate, expose, and responsibly shape the digital conversation. We look forward to sharing the science and real-world cases at SXSW."

"SXSW Pitch has been supporting and elevating the global startup community since its inception in 2009. Over the last 18 years, SXSW Pitch has sought to provide the necessary resources and exposure to help start-ups succeed and thrive as they navigate the early-stage venture ecosystem," said SXSW Pitch Event Producer Chris Valentine. "The 45 companies selected as 2026 finalists constitute the next wave of innovation across the globe. We look forward to seeing these startups take the stage in March to present their new technologies to our panel of expert judges."

For more information about SXSW Pitch and to view the complete list of finalists, visit: https://www.sxsw.com/pitch.

About GUDEA
GUDEA is a cloud-native AI platform that maps information flow across public and private channels and uses patented deep learning, graph analysis, and forecasting to predict and preempt narrative surges for enterprises, public-interest organizations, and security teams. Backed by Techstars and 20 issued U.S. patents, GUDEA enables rapid investigations that preserve ephemeral evidence and surface coordinated amplification, helps clients avoid reputational and financial harm, and provides actionable guidance on how to promote positive message placement. Like a meteorologist forecasting weather, GUDEA predicts where a narrative will move next so teams can act with confidence before the storm arrives.

About SXSW
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is known worldwide for conferences and festivals that celebrate the convergence of technology, film and television, music, education, comedy and culture. The annual event serves global professionals through sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and networking that consistently generates unexpected discoveries when diverse communities come together. SXSW 2026 runs March 12-18 in downtown Austin, preceded by SXSW EDU March 9-12. Learn more at sxsw.com. 

SXSW's expansion into the Asia Pacific region, with SXSW Sydney starting in 2023 and Europe with SXSW London in 2025, provides new possibilities at this iconic experience. These events, each with their own distinct flavor, make South By an indispensable three-stop tour for the global creative community.

SXSW 2026 Driven by Rivian.

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SOURCE GUDEA