At our program launch event this week we celebrated our arrival in Brooklyn with friends, family, media, mentors, and partners, including New York City’s Chief Digital Officer Sree Sreenivasan and Chief Technology Officer, Miguel Gamino, who joined us for a panel conversation with the audience.
“From public services in transportation and public health to housing and healthy food, we’re at a point in time where we have the tools to reimagine how the government and city residents can work together,” said Miguel. We couldn’t agree more. This latest batch of startups that we’re working with is exploring those themes and more, including energy efficiency, mobility and logistics, urban health, and our waste infrastructure.
Of course, the highlight of the event was the unveiling of the new startups themselves: 8 new companies that we’re absolutely delighted to be working with for the next few months in our new Brooklyn location at A/D/O.
- O2-O2 is working to enable those in polluted megacities from Beijing to London to take back the streets, and to commute and exercise without fear of pollution. O2-O2 has a unique mask technology solution which uses clean, filtered air to protect its customer, and in so doing, provide unparalleled comfort, performance and fashion.
- buildsense.io offers machine learning software that analyzes data from a building’s existing HVAC automation system to determine room occupancy in real-time — with no need to install new sensors. The platform then adjusts ventilation systems to fit the needs of people inside, saving buildings 10-20% on their total energy bill and increasing happiness, health and productivity for occupants.
- Citiesense creates data-driven maps and dashboards with layers of information to track property changes in urban areas, guiding real estate investors and other local stakeholders to smarter development decisions. Founded in New York, the company aims to help real estate industry professionals form a clearer understanding of local market demand and neighborhood dynamics.
- Contextere is an Industrial IoT software company enabling the connected workforce. Its team is developing an intelligent personal agent that delivers actionable insights at the point of service, to make every worker more skilled, reduce human error and save lives. Using human-centric machine learning and intelligent context generation, contextere is transforming the future of work.
- Revmax develops fleet management and routing software for ride-hail vehicles. Its technology maximizes vehicle utilization by proactively forecasting rider demand based on historical data and future events. Revmax ensures that vehicles are in the optimal location to find rides quickly — increasing fleet revenue while reducing pollution and congestion.
- Sencity is reimagining connected urban street furniture, starting with one of our most pressing concerns: waste. Its TetraBIN product is an interactive receptacle that brings delightful surprise and reward to the simple act of trash disposal, leveraging interaction into an effective behavior shift. Providing new outlets for information, entertainment, and experience, Sencity is changing the way we think about responsibility, and imbuing the urban environment with moments of joy.
- Upcycles develops unique human-electric cargo tricycles for moving goods around urban environments, up to and including the last mile. Their growing zero-emissions fleet is used by delivery services across New York. While delivery technology edges towards automation, Upcycles represents a socially responsible, transitional step that is reliable and efficient.
- WearWorks is a haptics design company using sensory feedback systems to communicate information entirely via touch. Using vibration-based language, their product augments the senses of blind and visually impaired users through a non-visual interface, helping them to easily and effectively navigate the world around them.
URBAN-X cohort 2 started earlier this month and will wrap up with a demo day showcase on May 4th, during Smart Cities NYC, who we’re excited to be partnering with. Interested in attending or learning more? Join our mailing list or reach out to us directly. We’d love to hear from you.