Techstars Alabama EnergyTech announces first start-up class

September 08, 2020

Words by Jerry Underwood

More stories in Innovation

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator announced its first class of startups today – 10 firms from seven states launching an intensive, 13-week endeavor beginning this week.

Three of the companies already call Birmingham home.

As a group, these startups specialize in technology and business models to enhance the future of energy, including a digital marketplace for the electric wholesale industry, battery storage and microgrid solutions, and smart home software. Read a story about the accelator.

“Birmingham’s startup community is on the rise, and Techstars is a major step in its evolution as one of our country’s brightest entrepreneurial hubs,” said Nate Schmidt, managing director of Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator.

Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator announced its first class of startups -- 10 firms from seven states launching an intensive, 13-week endeavor. (Image: Alabama NewsCenter/Michael Tomberlin)

“One unique aspect of our accelerator is the focus on energy and cleantech. In the near future, when Alabama is viewed as a global leader for startups in these industries, this accelerator class will be viewed as the start of that movement,” he added.

INAUGURAL CLASS

The Techstarts startups are:

Project Canary (Denver): Continuous air quality monitoring company
Sync Energy (New York City): Artificial intelligence to aid forecasting and loss prevention
Ashipa Electric (Birmingham): Microgrid integration and optimization
Virimodo (New York City): Carbon offsets for multi-family dwellings
doit (Birmingham): Cloud-based electrical system mapping
Resilient Power Systems (Atlanta): Building block to reduce infrastructure upgrade costs
EnergyHawk (Boston): Mapping solutions for C&I lead generation
TruSpin (Birmingham): Nanomaterials manufacturing
ShipShape AI (Austin, Texas): Smart home solutions management
Elektrik (Salt Lake City): E-commerce platform for electric wholesalers

Over the next 90 days, startups will receive seed investment, mentorship through Techstars’ worldwide network of business leaders as well as Alabama’s business community, and business coaching through the program’s educational components.

The program will culminate in Demo Day, a public pitch event.

“We welcome these companies to our growing technology ecosystem and are excited for them to see firsthand the benefits of doing business in Alabama,” said Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.

“At its core, the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator is an economic development initiative, and this work will help solidify our state’s future in the 21^st century economy.”

The Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator is supported by Alabama Power, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), the Alabama Department of Commerce, Altec, PowerSouth and The University of Alabama.

These supporters will have a key role in the accelerator process, with the common goal of growing the number of startup companies based in Alabama.

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