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August 12, 2015 | Tom Ballard

autoXLR8R to hold three-city “Demo Day Road Show”

autoXLR8RBy Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, Pershing Yoakley & Associates, P.C.

It’s another multi-city “Demo Day Road Show” for the start-ups participating in the third edition of the autoXLR8R.

The 10 companies will finish their tour at Tech 2020 in Oak Ridge on Friday, August 28, following stops in Birmingham, AL on August 26 and Greenville, SC on August 27.

“We had planned on just one event this year, but the automotive associations in Alabama and South Carolina really wanted us to do something in their states,” according to Shawn Carson, Director of Venture Development at Tech 2020.

Details of the stops in each city are as follows:

  • Birmingham – 9 a.m. CDT on August 26 at the offices of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, 500 Beacon Parkway West;
  • Greenville – 8 a.m. EDT on August 27 at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, 5 Research Drive; and
  • Oak Ridge – 2:30 p.m. EDT on August 28 at Tech 2020, 1020 Commerce Park Drive.

Carson says the Oak Ridge stop will include pitches from each participating company and a networking reception.

For Carson and Jack Sisk, autoXLR8R Program Director, it’s been a whirlwind of activities since the start-up accelerator’s latest cohort of 10 companies launched on July 7. There are 10 companies in the group including one each from Italy and Mexico.

Carson told us that about 80 percent of the program this year has been conducted remotely using online tools and distance learning technology. The teams came together on several occasions for face-to-face interaction.

“We have been very pleased with the combination of onsite and distance learning approaches,” Carson said. “Our international participants have not allowed the time zone differences to affect their participation.”

The teams are:

  • CASCI, a start-up in Aguascalientes, Mexico, that is developing a new automatic guided vehicle to deliver material in manufacturing operations. (Entrepreneur: Ricardo Valenzuela)
  • CBA of Knoxville that is developing a data analytics tool to be used to monitor production processes in automotive manufacturing. (Entrepreneur: Josh McMillan)
  • Drive & Live, an Italian start-up that is developing an app to monitor drivers for drowsiness and other impaired driving conditions. (Entrepreneur: Emanuel Fierimonte)
  • IVRTrain of Cookeville that is focused on producing immersive virtual simulations to develop physical training for the operation of vehicles in manufacturing plants. (Entrepreneur: Ravi Venkataraman)
  • OptoLogistics, also from Knoxville, that is developing software to optimize logistics in the automotive manufacturing industry. (Entrepreneur: Mustafa Varzaneh)
  • The PT Solution of Chattanooga that is a personal transportation service designed for metro areas and campuses. (Entrepreneur: Jim Brewer)
  • Sleep on Trucking from Fayette, AL, that is developing a device that levels and stabilizes the sleeping quarters of a semi-tractor to make it easier for a driver to sleep. (Entrepreneur: Daniel White)
  • The Smart Seat from Louisville, KY, that has an application designed to remind drivers of the presence small children and pets about to be left in an automobile. (Entrepreneur: Donald Suiters)
  • SRM of Murfreesboro that is developing hub motor technology. (Entrepreneur: Jim Brewer)
  • Twitch Technologies of Guyton, GA that is developing a device and method utilizing a new alphanumeric keyboard and novel system for manually inputting alphanumeric information into data processing equipment. (Entrepreneur: Dennis Page)

Between now and August 28, we will be posting profiles on a number of the autoXLR8R participants.


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