From major conferences to pitch meetings, the COVID-19 crisis has spurred throughout the startup world.
The University City Science Center's new Launch Lane accelerator program, however, is moving forward as planned – virtually.
The Science Center announced the seven startups picked to participate in the inaugural cohort of Launch Lane, which have access to weekly virtual programming, up to $50,000 investment by the Science Center based on a achieving milestones, $50,000 in Amazon Web Services credits, a year of space at ic@3401 and connections with the wider Science Center community.
“Startups will play a significant role in the city, region, and country’s economic growth as we emerge from this unprecedented time,” Science Center Vice President of Science and Technology Dr. John Younger said in a statement. “This Launch Lane cohort represents sprouts in tomorrow’s economy, with the Science Center’s role to stimulate and nurture their growth.”
The Science Center plans to invest a total of $300,000 in the companies, which started the accelerator program at the beginning of March. Planning for Launch Lane began last fall, including building partnerships with other startup-focused organizations in the region and crafting an application process influenced by the success the Science Center's had with its Digital Health Accelerator.
During the application process, the pool of 206 initiation applicants was narrowed to 47 through a blind process. The final seven were picked by a team of 31 people, with 77% of those judges from underrepresented demographics.
Here are the startups picked to participate in the accelerator, with descriptions provided:
- Arke Aeronautics partners with local first responders to develop a public safety platform that gives them secure access to accurate response information the moment a 911 call is dispatched.
- envoyatHome lowers the cost of care for seniors living alone by analyzing movement information generated from a loved one’s home and reporting actionable insights to remote family caregivers that promote peace of mind and improve quality of care.
- Kliit Health is a digital health company with a mission to provide young multicultural women with access to on-demand sexual and reproductive health resources by connecting them with clinicians and women’s health experts through their smartphones.
- The OrVac manufactures a portable handheld aspirator for oral liquid evacuation, created to assist people with swallowing disorders, and oral conditions to self-suction without outside assistance.
- Pera Labs, predicting male fertility, one sperm at a time.
- Pippy Sips has created "Maia," a thermos-sized system capable of 24 hours of storing, cooling and monitoring breastmilk, so that moms who use breast pumps don't have to worry about accessing a refrigerator when they're at work or otherwise away from home
- Tozuda designs and manufactures head impact indicators for concussion awareness.
Read more at Philadelphia Business Journal
