Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

From Little Rock, AR:

The Forge Institute has announced the launch of the “Embers Xcelerator: Grid-Connected Cyber,” a pre-accelerator program focused on growing innovations for grid-connected resilience.

The organization also launched the Forge Institute Mentorship Program, both designed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship across the diverse array of grid-connected entities and utilities. These programs are funded through an award from the University of Arkansas Little Rock, which received $5 million in federal funding to enhance cybersecurity capabilities across the region.

Applications are now open and close on Friday, August 30. Participants in the program will benefit from a comprehensive 12-week curriculum that was built by seasoned entrepreneurs and includes a purposeful and deliberate focus on business development and strategy. The virtual program includes interactive lectures, workshops, guest speaker sessions, and group activities, providing the tools necessary to validate business ideas and gain market traction.

Each entrepreneur will have access to the Forge Institute Mentorship Program, a key component of its comprehensive strategy to develop high-growth ventures. Each mentor goes through a rigorous application and vetting process, followed by a half-day of training. Mentors bring real-world experience to help guide startups through the complexities of business growth. The program ensures participants gain practical, hands-on experience, crucial for navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship.

From Research Triangle Park, NC:

CareYaya Health Technologies, a leading innovator in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered elder care solutions, has been awarded a significant grant from Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute on Aging to develop YayaGuide, a groundbreaking AI application for training caregivers of people with dementia.

The grant, awarded through the prestigious a2 Collective | a2PilotAwards.ai program, will fund the development of YayaGuide – described as the “Duolingo of dementia care training.” This cutting-edge app uses AI and micro-learning techniques to deliver personalized, engaging training modules directly to caregivers’ smartphones.

The app builds on CareYaya’s success in mobilizing more than 10,000 college students nationwide as caregivers for seniors with dementia. YayaGuide aims to rapidly upskill this workforce while also supporting family caregivers.

From Pikeville, KY:

The 2024 SOAR Summit, presented by Appalachian Wireless and the Appalachian Regional Commission, will take place on October 16-18 in Pikeville. The 2023 event drew 1,270 attendees from 16 states.

The organization, one of the state’s six innovation hubs, offers services in 29 counties in Eastern Kentucky. Those offerings include its “Complete Guide for Entrepreneurship in Eastern Kentucky,” technical assistance services, including market research and pitch preparation, fundraising bootcamps and other support programs, and events like the IGNITE Innovation Workshop Series and the Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition.

From Tampa, FL:

Detect-ION was founded in 2021 to develop sensors and systems that detect trace chemical signatures in ambient air for strategic intelligence collection and early warning systems. Now, the deep tech start-up has partnered with Moffitt Cancer Center for an ambitious venture to revolutionize lung cancer early detection through next-generation breath diagnostics. The pilot project introduces rapid, non-invasive, ultra-low-cost, point-of-care (PoC) breath diagnostics, offering a transformative approach to early lung cancer diagnosis.

“Traditional lung cancer screening using low-dose CT scans has very low uptake and is only available to population with a high risk of lung cancer based on age and smoking history.  Despite the availability of lung cancer screening and next-generation therapies, the 5-year survival rate is a dismal 25% and over 120,000 persons die from this disease annually in the U.S.,” said Dr. Ashish Chaudhary, the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Principal Investigator of the pilot study. “By utilizing trace-level chemical signatures to identify volatile organic compound (VOC) biomarkers at parts per trillion concentrations in exhaled breath, Detect-ION is developing a low-cost, patient-friendly, in-home test for diagnosing lung cancer. While it’s a complex sensing technology, think of it as quick and easy as blowing up a small balloon.”

For Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma:

Builders + Backers, an Arlington, VA-based organization, has announced a new statewide initiative to foster the start of new business ideas in Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The organization is inviting residents from these states to submit their ideas for a chance to participate in its Idea Accelerator program this fall.

The open call for the Idea Accelerator Fall Cohort began last week. Selected participants will receive up to $5,000 in funding and mentorship from the Builders + Backers Venture Studio to help transform their concepts into viable businesses. The virtual program will run from November 7, 2024, to January 30, 2025. Anyone interested can learn more here.

This first-ever statewide opportunity is made possible in partnership with Heartland Forward and through the generous support of Ford Foundation, Morgridge Family Foundation, Edward Jones, and the Walton Family Foundation. Additionally, in collaboration with Innovation Portal in Mobile, the City of Montgomery, and George Kaiser Family Foundation in Tulsa, residents of those two cities will have dedicated spots for local cohorts in the program.

From Lafayette, LA:

This summer, Opportunity Machine (OM), in an effort to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry innovation, offered seven computer science students from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL) hands-on experience working with three Lafayette-based technology start-ups.

Underwritten by the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, Opportunity Machine’s “Emerging Tech Internship Program” was designed to provide real-world experience to seniors and recent graduates from UL’s School of Computing and Informatics while offering local start-ups the technical talent needed to launch and expand their tech products.

The students worked directly with start-up leaders to tackle a variety of projects, including developing custom artificial intelligence chatbots, creating mobile applications from web platforms, and conducting advanced data analytics to support business intelligence, according to a statement from OM.

From Durham, NC:

GrepBeat reports that serial entrepreneur Nick Jordan has opened a new Durham-based venture studio that aims to help startups “unbox” their full potential. After four years spent building out the space and compiling resources, Unboxed Venture Studio will put Jordan’s and other ecosystem leaders’ time, resources, expertise, and capital to use supporting budding start-ups in the area.

The article notes that the serial entrepreneur has spent nearly 20 years in the Triangle area ecosystem and noticed a trend that failing companies might not always have had the right execution, advisors, product market fit, etc. Jordan also noticed that capital is the only thing some companies focus on to scale — but shouldn’t be. With this new venture studio, he hopes to combine all the assets a company needs while also creating a community built to support said companies.

The venture studio will be based out of the existing Smashing Boxes and Durham Bottling Company offices, which are owned by Jordan and which will ultimately be rebranded as DBCo for the co-working operation. The building also houses Durham eatery Krill and will later open a bar. But it is the building’s location, near downtown Durham and in close proximity to other local businesses, that Jordan sees as especially important for bringing local community ties to the ecosystem’s newest companies.

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