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By Nikki Cabus

Florida Atlantic’s Tech Runway announced its 13th cohort companies

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FAU Tech Runway® recently accepted 13 companies to participate in the 13th cohort of its Venture Program.

The Venture Program provides the most promising startups and talented entrepreneurs in South Florida with an opportunity to join a year-long program that offers resources from FAU’s Innovation and Business Development pipeline, entrepreneurial instruction, structured team-based mentoring, networking, marketing and capital-raising assistance, co-working space, events, intern support and other vital programs.

Companies accepted into the Venture Program must have strategic alignment with FAU’s research focus areas, including drone technologies; educational technologies; environmental science; marine science; ocean engineering; neuroscience; healthy aging; big data analytics; artificial intelligence; machine learning; cyber security; sensing; and smart systems.

The 13 companies in Venture Class 13 are:

  • Alumni Direct, LLC removes the noise from other networking platforms by bringing members into one centralized location. Alumni Direct makes it easy to network and connect in communities dedicated to a university, sport, Greek organization or business.
  • BiDR TV LLC represents a groundbreaking venture in the realm of e-commerce, seamlessly merging online and traditional retail experiences to redefine the consumer shopping journey with a laser focus on enhancing user satisfaction, safety and engagement.
  • BookMark’d is an AI college assistance platform that helps college students on campus find affordable college materials, academic advising for navigating course selection, and access to receive 24/7 AI tutoring for their exact course code.
  • ByeUni LLC is a website and app that is a cross between LinkedIn and crowdfunding. It allows college students and college-bound students to post and communicate with followers and to collect money/donations from them.
  • Digiagee is a digital agency via a smartphone that enables users to reach the right people with the right message in five minutes. It is custom ad alchemy and is AI/ML powered.
  • GrowFrom Inc. is the world’s first free platform for personal growth and development. On GrowFrom users can store goals and get useful tools to help stay focused on them throughout the week.
  • Hello Sunshine LLC: Take on Trades is building the new generation of trade workers through a new method of engaging trade companies with the young people who will comprise its future workforce.
  • Neurodiverse Educational Testing (N.E.T.) offers advanced AI-driven assessments for neurodiversity, facilitating early diagnosis and tailored support for children. N.E.T. enhances 504 education plans, empowering families and educators to address the unique needs of neurodiverse students.
  • Property Vue Media, LLC provides site documentation and management solutions using digital twin technology for the construction and utility sectors.
  • SDB_Automate provides software services that revolutionize ocean depth determination and navigation using satellite images and AI technology to enhance safety in navigation, support sustainable fishing practices, and improve water tourism.
  • Shorts IQ, Inc. is a short videos machine that customizes storytelling templates from performing videos based on brand and necessities.
  • Stone Pine Marketing and Productions LLC is a marketing agency with an in-house video production team. It tailors services specifically for the needs of nonprofits and offers discounted, affordable rates for these organizations.
  • Vektor Freight LLC is a logistics company that provides airline-like speed at the cost of ground transport. Through its network of relay points, combined with AI, it achieves “continuous flow trucking” that cuts truckload delivery times up to 50 percent.

Venture Class 13 participants join a robust community of fellow entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, instructors and top-level support professionals.

FAU Tech Runway® is a public-private partnership formed to incubate and accelerate early-stage technology-based companies, under the purview of FAU’s Division of Research . Applications for the next cycle of the Venture Program are now currently being accepted.

For more information on FAU Tech Runway®, visit techrunway.fau.edu.

By Nikki Cabus

Meet the 7 new startups welcomed into the 3rd 35 Mules cohort at FPL

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Seven new startups were just welcomed into the 3rd cohort of FPL’s 35 Mules innovation hub program.

35 Mules is the first in-house innovation hub backed by a global energy leader, Florida Power & Light, that provides startups of any age with cross-industry subject-matter expertise, advanced technology solutions, business services, world-class facilities and access to Fortune 500 corporate and technology leaders.

The 35 Mules program is an innovation hub designed to help startups grow and scale their businesses. The startups will work on their respective ventures at the NextEra Energy facilities in Juno Beach, gain access to subject-matter expertise and advanced technology solutions, and make valuable connections in the Florida business community.

The program is approximately 15 months long. agnostic to industry, and welcomes companies from around the world. What’s most special about the program is the non-dilutive cash grant of $100,000 to each startup company that makes it into the program.

Meet The Startups:

• AeonCharge – Enables EV drivers to access any charging station in North America through their preferred interface.

• Cambio – Software that helps commercial real estate companies and their corporate tenants decarbonize their buildings by ingesting simple building data normally manually collected by building engineers to measure the carbon footprint of each building and provide data-driven retrofit recommendations.

• Chemergy, Inc. – Builds solutions to solve our environmental and energy challenges by converting organic and plastic waste into green hydrogen.

• Cypienta – An AI solution that correlates seemingly disparate events and uncovers coordinated attacks that would otherwise go unnoticed and impact our infrastructure.

• Fire Neural Network – Uses cutting edge AI to save lives, protect property, and help fight against climate change. FNN quickly and accurately locates lightning-initiated wildfires and powerline damages.

• Noteworthy AI – Provides fleet vehicle-mounted smart cameras and AI that help utilities evaluate the condition of the electric distribution grid at-scale while reducing O&M costs.

• Ocellott – An electronics engineering company that creates innovative solutions to electrify the current and the next generation of aircraft, the eVTOL “electric takeoff and landing” in a safe manner.

“At NextEra Energy, Inc. we are passionate about fostering a culture of innovation and growth. Our innovation hub, 35 Mules, serves as a creative melting pot, where new ideas mix with the expertise of our dedicated employees,” Deborah Caplan, EVP, Human Resources and Corporate Services, wrote in a recent social media post.

“The energy and drive each cohort of startups brings is truly invigorating. Their unique perspectives, groundbreaking solutions and innovative methodologies provide an invaluable opportunity for both sides to learn and grow. We’re honored to be part of their journey, and I’m incredibly excited about the transformational impact we can achieve together! Welcome to 35 Mules!”

To learn more about 35 Mules, visit https://www.35mules.com

Florida Atlantic’s Tech Runway announced its 13th cohort companies
Meet the 7 new startups welcomed into the 3rd 35 Mules cohort at FPL