CO.LAB wraps Energy Innovation Accelerator with intimate “Night with the Founders” reception in Chattanooga
Four energy start-ups. A room full of the right people. One night to make connections that could keep them in Tennessee.
CO.LAB‘s 2026 Energy Innovation Accelerator is nearing the end of its six-week run, and on Tuesday, May 26, the Chattanooga-based innovation hub celebrated the milestone with a “Night with the Founders” reception hosted at Chambliss Law.
The event was, by design, a small one. The invite described it as “a curated gathering of a select group of leaders designed for meaningful conversation and connection,” and the room reflected that — roughly 40 attendees made up of officials, angel investors, and ecosystem builders.
Think Mina Sartipi, interim vice chancellor for research at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Lindsey Cox, CEO of LaunchTN; and Jay Shaffer of Venture South, to scratch the surface.
Barry Grove, CO.LAB’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), opened the reception by welcoming guests to what he described as a true networking space built for real connection, not business card swapping.
Keynote
The keynote came from David Wade, CEO of EPB. Given the cohort’s energy focus and CO.LAB’s reputation for pairing start-ups with industry partners, the choice made sense.
Wade’s message centered on his own journey in energy. He explained that those in the industry are trained to prioritize safety above all else. After all, you’re often working with live voltage. But that instinct can become a barrier to innovation. Instead, leaders have to be willing to fall and get back up.
EPB’s decision to lean into fiber when others weren’t is what ultimately led to the company being tapped for history-making quantum initiatives. Wade credited his predecessor for inspiring him to never settle for the status quo, a sentiment he shares with the founders in the room, who are always pushing boundaries.
Pitches
Bryan Barringer, CO.LAB’s program director, then facilitated the pitch portion of the evening. Rather than just standard stand-and-deliver pitches, each started with a sit-down, conversational interview between Barringer and the founder.
The rationale: investing isn’t just about the business model. It’s about getting a read on the person behind it. Guests heard about backstories, past careers and candid first impressions of Chattanooga. All founders, for the record, had great things to say about the city and this program.
CubeNexus
Steven Brandt, co-founder and CEO of CubeNexus, kicked off the pitches. This real-time decision intelligence platform organizes complex spatial data into a 4D map of space and time — spanning from underground infrastructure to the sky. Brandt’s inspiration behind the company grew from his time in the military, where he saw firsthand the need for this kind of spatial data software.
He came into the room with $200,000 in active traction. They raised $650,000 a year ago and are currently working on a $4 million round. Brandt made a direct ask to the room: Tennessee isn’t yet on their map for active traction, but he wants to change that.
Rassket
Sankung Fatty built Rassket, which he describes as the end of manual energy forecasting, out of San Francisco. A proud Gambian, Fatty has spent his career focused on expanding access to reliable energy — a mission shaped in part by the reality that some remote villages in Gambia still lack power and basic resources. His business partner, who described himself as an “Army brat” and diplomat, shares a similar worldview.
As of this week, the company entered conversations with Silicon Ranch, has 42 active users and recorded a strong month of signed revenue.
OwnWatt
OwnWatt founder Yingchen “YC” Zhang built a gamified mobile platform designed to help everyday people understand and reduce their energy use. The app uses data and predictive modeling to help users cut costs and lower their carbon footprint. Mentors in the accelerator took to calling him a “humble expert” — noting that Zhang nearly got through six weeks before anyone realized he had a long list of published academic citations to his name.
His goal is to make energy conservation feel less like homework and more like a game. The platform can sell to individual consumers and to utilities, which have long struggled with customer engagement. Zhang is raising a $2 million seed round, with plans to scale pilots and, eventually, make OwnWatt’s penguin mascot as recognizable as the Duolingo owl.
Voltair Labs
Co-founder Avi Gotskind was supposed to take the mic for Voltair Labs, but as Barringer explained, he went so hard this past week that he ended up in the ER. Barringer said that all is well, and that this level of dedication says a lot about him and his startup. Barringer stepped in to pitch on his behalf.
Voltair Labs uses drones for routine power line inspections, putting critical, actionable data directly in the hands of utility companies and field technicians. But, this isn’t your standard drone. Barringer has watched the third model iteration come to life over the past few weeks, and it’s designed for tough weather and long distances. The company came to Chattanooga fresh off completing the well-known Y Combinator.
Closing
Rather than a typical Q&A portion after each pitch, the reception concluded with open conversation. CO.LAB intentionally sent guests straight to the founders to ask their questions one-on-one — a format meant to spark the kind of local connections that could eventually bring these companies further into the Tennessee ecosystem.
For more information on these founders and startups, email Bryan Barringer.
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