Two Kansas City tech startups selected for newly rebranded T-Mobile Accelerator
May 19, 2020 | Startland News Staff
Innovative drone technology and smart apartment management solutions helped two Kansas City startups earn spots among the freshly launched T-Mobile Accelerator’s six-company cohort.
Blake Miller, Homebase
Aware Vehicles, led by PJ Piper, and Homebase, founded by Blake Miller, were announced Tuesday as members of the 2020 program, formerly the Sprint Accelerator.
The 90-day accelerator began earlier this month and culminates July 30 with a demo day. All programming is currently virtual because of COVID-19, but in-person sections of the accelerator could come at later dates depending on re-opening developments.
T-Mobile’s program runs concurrently with the DFA CoLAB Accelerator, which focuses on agtech and dairy product innovation. Click here for more on the DFA accelerator’s 2020 cohort.
The six companies selected for the T-Mobile Accelerator are expected to work directly with company leaders and other industry experts and mentors to develop and commercialize the startups’ disruptive emerging products, applications and solutions.
“We are committed to using our broad and deep nationwide 5G network to accelerate innovation and spur the development of new, transformative applications,” said Neville Ray, president of technology at T-Mobile. “Mentoring, collaborating with, and providing resources to these six promising companies is an important part of that mission.”
The 2020 cohort includes:
- Aware Vehicles (Kansas City, Missouri) — Developing autonomous mobile UAV platforms, cognitive remote sensing and advanced imaging, artificial intelligence for situational awareness, and solutions for asset inspection, precision agriculture, emergency response, defense, and communications.
- Homebase (Kansas City, Missouri) — Automated apartment management solution for improved resident engagement and increased revenue for owners.
- ORBI Prime (Santa Clara, California) — Live streaming NFL games from the players’ perspective. ORBI’s 360° 8K 60fps helmets for American Football plus real-time video processing AI offer unprecedented console game-like action captured from the players’ perspective for mesmerizing engagement of fans of all ages.
- Seerslab (Palo Alto, California) — Media technology company focusing on Vision AI and mobile AR — offering the ARGear platform for developers.
- Unmanned Life (London) — The world’s leading multi-award winning 5G AI for Autonomy company that has pioneered the ground-breaking concept of “Autonomy-as-a-Service,” deploying commercial-grade Autonomous intelligent connected and integrated teams of different types of drones and robots working together collaboratively for Industry 4.0 and Smart Cities.
- Zoi Meet (Rotterdam, Netherlands) — An award-winning (B2B) SaaS solution that uses Artificial Intelligence to turn Enterprise Communication into conversational insights to help business professionals save time while increasing productivity.
PJ Piper, Aware Vehicles
Homegrown Aware Vehicles was the only Kansas City member of the 2019 IgniteX Accelerator, and Hombase is a former participant in KCMO’s Innovation Partnership Program and one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2019.
Sprint opened the award-winning Sprint Accelerator in 2014 in Kansas City as a hub for corporate innovation and entrepreneurial engagement. The accelerator space is used to deliver year-round programming, including mentor engagement, STEM programs, entrepreneurial community collaboration, and community coworking space.
Since its inception, the accelerator has worked with 52 startups, which have collectively raised more than $45 million with two successful exits since participating in the program. Seventy-seven percent of the alumni companies are still in business today.
Rebranding to the “T-Mobile Accelerator” follows the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint earlier this year.
“#5GforAll is like an operating system for the wireless future – a platform for innovation on which creators can build a diverse ecosystem of 5G products and services.” We couldn’t agree more – eager to see what our 2020 cohort creates! https://t.co/TZWK73R2i1
— T-Mobile Accelerator (@TMobileAccel) May 19, 2020
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Questioning 1:1 initiatives: Tech devices don’t equal innovation, disillusioned parents argue
[Editor’s note: The following is part of a limited Startland series, exploring parent advocates’ objections to 1:1 technology initiatives, which typically put a tablet device in the hands of each student and are popularly used as classroom innovation models across Kansas City and the nation.] A $20 million investment in tech-forward learning environments for the…
New Recruit self-service event staffing platform puts KC’s PopBookings in the big game
While the Kansas City Chiefs might have narrowly missed their shot at the 2019 Super Bowl, the city was well represented as a source for event staffing at the game, revealed Erika Klotz, noting the power of Recruit, a new product from KC-based PopBookings. A client used the self-service platform to book 288 shifts for…
KCultivator Q&A: Nia Richardson an architect of startup support ‘born, made and raised on Prospect’
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Experience the world, engage with community, and execute ideas to get ahead — not only in life, but in building a legacy that stands the test of time, said Nia Richardson. A product of Kansas City Public…
IoT panel to startups: Demystify emerging tech and take risks, but prepare to fail fast
Entrepreneurs often get lost in the hype of emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, failing to effectively integrate new tech into their startups, said Don Sharp. “Whether it’s the latest, greatest thing or not — it’s no different than any other tool,” said Sharp, CEO of St. Louis-based Coolfire Solutions and panelist at RUMBLE’s…