A McCall-based nurse practitioner has earned a spot at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco after her emergency medication device won Boise‘s regional qualifier Thursday night.
Chantell Williams, founder and CEO of Critical Medical Devices, beat out competitors at the event hosted by Trailhead and Pegasus Tech Ventures at Jack’s Urban Meeting Place in downtown Boise. She will compete in November for a $1 million investment prize against startups from around the world.
Williams drew on decades of frontline emergency and flight nursing experience to develop the Anchor IV Pump, a protocol-embedded infusion system designed to standardize medication delivery during high-stress resuscitations and time-critical interventions. The device targets medication errors and delays that can have life-threatening consequences, which are a known failure point in acute care.
The pump reduces cognitive load for clinicians working in emergency departments, EMS units, intensive care units, anesthesia settings and military field medicine, according to the company.
The win extends an unlikely streak for Idaho’s medical technology sector. For the third consecutive year, a medtech company claimed the top prize at Boise’s regional qualifier.
In 2024, Ashley Crafton of Galena Innovations won with a cervical cup designed to prevent preterm birth and miscarriage, later placing in the top 10 at the Grand Finale. In 2025, Donald Young of Rattler Medical took the title with Life Hold, a temperature-controlled blood transport container developed for emergency and military field applications.
As the regional winner, Williams will receive a $2,500 travel stipend from presenting sponsor Alturas Capital and accommodations for herself and a guest courtesy of Delta Air Lines.
Trailhead, a Boise-based nonprofit supporting Idaho entrepreneurs, organized the event alongside Pegasus Tech Ventures, the global organizer of the Startup World Cup. The competition draws from more than 100 regional qualifiers held across the globe.
“Trailhead believes entrepreneurship is for everyone,” the organization said in a statement.
Additional sponsors for the 2026 qualifier included JP Morgan Chase, Espiritu Studio, Dorsey & Whitney and Perkins Coie LLP.
The Startup World Cup Grand Finale is scheduled for November in San Francisco. More information about Critical Medical Devices is available at criticalmedicaldevices.com, and information about the competition can be found at startupworldcup.io.
This story was written using artificial intelligence with human oversight.
