The founders of a handful of startup businesses from around the world are coming to Chattanooga next week to start the most ambitious accelerator program ever conducted by The Company Lab.
Co.Lab is partnering with the venture capital and business development firm Gener8tor to launch a 12-week business accelerator program next week for businesses seeking to grow new products and services in the sustainable mobility field.
Five startup companies were picked for the Co.Lab's next accelerator program from a pool of 145 applicants from 25 nations around the globe. For the first time in the decade and a half of accelerator programs offered by The Company Lab, the startup businesses in the latest accelerator will be getting seed capital along with coaching, advice and customer contacts.
"This cohort is not only the first of its kind in Chattanooga, but in the country as well," The Company Lab CEO Tasia Malakasis said in an announcement of the new businesses. "Bringing in such a wide range of mobility startups, all that play to the strengths of Chattanooga, position this city to be a leading network for sustainable transportation, data, energy and movement."
The selected businesses for the winter 2024 accelerator program include:
— MarsCharge, headquartered in Mountain Valley, California, delivers ultrafast electric vehicle chargers designed to reduce the costs and enhance the resiliency of the electric grid.
— Fluix, an Orlando, Florida company that seeks to optimize energy efficiency of data centers and cut energy costs by 40%.
— Coulomb AI, a San Francisco battery observability platform designed to elevate battery safety, reliability and sustainability.
— Xtelligent, a Los Angeles company, is developing an adaptive traffic control system technology designed to achieve more than a 20% improvement in network travel time and up to 50% improvement in road network reliability.
— Terminus, an urban data mining company, is working to help local governments take proactive action to make their cities smarter, safer and more efficient.
The 12-week program will provide each team with a $20,000 initial investment, followed by the potential for up to $100,000 post-program financing if they grow at least some of their business in Chattanooga.
The founders of each of the participants will come to Chattanooga for at least the next six weeks to participate in the accelerator program with local mentors from a variety of Chattanooga businesses and organizations working on mobility, smart cities, carbon-free energy and quantum technology networks, according to Co.Lab.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Tasia Malakasis speaks during the "Will This Float?" competition at the Waterhouse Pavilion near Miller Park in downtown Chattanooga in 2022.(READ MORE: The Company Lab. plots a new future)
Malakasis, who was hired to head The Company Lab in 2022, has helped lead an initiative to develop the accelerator focused on Chattanooga's key attributes as a logistics hub, a freight brokerage capital and a city with both high-speed internet and a pioneering new quantum network from EPB.
"There are accelerator programs across the country, but this is targeted for businesses that stand to benefit the distinctive strengths of Chattanooga," Malakasis said. "We're excited that we had such an international response, which I think speaks to the strengths and attractiveness of Chattanooga for businesses in these industries."
Similar to other programs Co.Lab has sponsored in the past on everything from health technology to 3D printing, the accelerator program provides entrepreneurs with connections and access to talent, training and mentorship during the program and will include a pitch event at the end of the 12-week program. As a catalyst for Chattanooga's growing startup culture, Co.Lab has added funding for all of the participating businesses for the first time through the newly created Co.Lab Founders Fund.
"With our new sustainable mobility program, Co.Lab and Chattanooga will once again be front and center supporting startups who are building the innovative companies of tomorrow," Co.Lab founder and chair Charlie Brock said in an announcement of the new initiative last year. "Our accelerator participants will have access to multiple technology platforms along with capital, mentorship, talent and pilot customers."
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / A UTC smart corridor sign hangs on a pole along M.L. King Boulevard in 2023.Malakasis said the program should not only help the startup businesses grow, but also help existing businesses solve some of their challenges and create new business opportunities.
The sustainable mobility accelerator will capitalize on the pioneering research being done at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga at the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress on ways to use technology to move traffic and people more efficiently and safely. The center has developed the smart corridor along ML King Boulevard, where it is studying traffic and pedestrian patterns to design better traffic lights, crosswalks and urban design features.
Mina Sartipi, founding director of the UTC smart city research program, said the center "is uniquely positioned to partner with Co.Lab in the sustainable mobility sector" and serve as a test bed for new business ideas.
The new initiative is also being supported by many of Chattanooga's logistics and data businesses, including FreightWaves, U.S. Xpress, EPB and TVA.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga grows as "freight alley")
Eric Fuller, the former CEO of U.S. Xpress who left the trucking giant last summer when the business was sold to Knight-Swift Transportation, is serving as an executive in residence at The Company Lab and will help the startup companies grow their business.
Malakasis said EPB's new quantum network, the first commercial fiber network capable of quantum data transmissions, also offers unique advantages for sustainable mobility startups.
"These founders are coming from all over the world, but we are trying to showcase the advantages of the business and research facilities here as the best place for these companies to grow their business."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.
Contributed Photo / Charlie Brock, Tasia Malakasis and Kirk Burton are pictured in 2023 at Co.Lab.