Published On: 12.11.20 | 

By: Alabama News Center Staff

Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator hosts successful 2020 Demo Day

An intensive, 13-week program in Birmingham culminated in the 10 companies in the inaugural class of Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator making their pitches to potential investors on Demo Day, Dec. 8. (contributed)

Ten cutting-edge startup companies from around the world shined a bright light on the energy tech landscape during the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator Demo Day.

Following an intensive, 13-week program, the inaugural class of entrepreneurs shared their 3-minute pitch presentations with potential investors and more than 1,000 viewers via a public live streaming event on YouTube Dec. 8.

“We could not have asked for a more momentous inaugural class,” said Nate Schmidt, managing director of Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator. “During a global pandemic where future plans and everyday life have been greatly thrown off course, our Techstars Alabama class exceeded expectations and took a major step in the state’s evolution as one of our country’s brightest entrepreneurial hubs.”

The 10 companies – including a digital marketplace for the electric wholesale industry, battery storage and microgrid solutions and smart home software – specialize in technology and business models to enhance the future of energy. During the course of the Techstars program, the startups received seed investment, mentorship through Techstars’ worldwide network of business leaders – including Alabama’s business community – and business coaching through the program’s educational components.

“This year, we were one of the few TechStars programs that was able to operate in person at our downtown Birmingham offices,” explained Brooke Gillis, Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator program manager. “Thanks to the generous time and resources from our local and global network partners, mentors and staff, we were able to safely operate our accelerator – with plenty of masks, plexiglass and regular COVID testing – in a 13-week Techstars bubble.”

Out of the 10 companies, seven have committed to maintaining a presence in Alabama – a major win for the state’s economic development efforts and future in the 21st century economy.

The Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator is supported by Alabama Power, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), the Alabama Department of CommerceAltecPowerSouth and the University of Alabama. They play a key role in the accelerator process, with the common goal of growing the number of startup companies based in Alabama.

The Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator class comprised the following companies:

  • Project Canary: Continuous air-quality monitoring and environmental data analytics platform to help solve climate change, from Denver, Colorado.
  • Sync Energy: Simplifies access to artificial intelligence for energy analytics, forecasting and loss prevention, from New York City.
  • Ashipa Electric: Microgrid solutions provider and developer, from Birmingham.
  • Virimodo: Carbon and energy monitoring platform to help building owners go green, from New York City.
  • Con.doit: Platform for electrical systems analysis and failure prediction, from Birmingham.
  • Resilient Power Systems: Building block to reduce grid infrastructure upgrade costs related to electric vehicles and clean energy, from Atlanta.
  • EnergyHawk: A SaaS mapping platform that uses satellite imagery and predictive analytics to generate energy assessment profiles for commercial and industrial facilities, from Boston.
  • TruSpin: Large-scale producer of a rare material used to affordably increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, from Birmingham.
  • ShipShape AI: A predictive maintenance platform that integrates smart home devices and connects service providers, from Austin, Texas.
  • Elektrik: Online marketplace for the electrical equipment industry, from Salt Lake City.

For more information, visit the Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator program page at www.techstars.com.