10 Companies Complete CU Denver’s Smart Futures Lab 2024 Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denver, CO [October 10, 2024] –
The 10 companies that are completing CU Denver’s Smart Futures Lab incubator and accelerator programs will present their groundbreaking solutions, each designed to address pressing challenges faced by municipalities and local government at their graduation on Friday, Oct. 18.
Among the solutions the companies have or are developing is an AI system to detect sewer leaks, an app that helps people with cognitive disabilities navigate indoor spaces, an advanced sensor system designed to detect wildfires and chemical spills earlier, and a compact, mobile air quality monitor.
Early Successes
Boulder and Jefferson counties have already deployed the early wildfire detection system designed by N5 Sensors, Inc., a Smart Futures Lab participant. The system provides real-time data that helps firefighters and emergency teams mobilize faster, potentially preventing small blazes from escalating into devastating wildfires.
Mariela Alfonzo, founder of State of Place, another Smart Futures Lab participant, has won two U.S. Department of Transportation Small Business Innovation Research grants since joining Smart Futures. The DOT is looking at the use of AI in advancing the creation of “Complete Streets” that safely and conveniently accommodate all modes of transportation, especially the most vulnerable users of the street.
Alfonzo’s AI based predictive analytics software optimizes and communicates the value of human built environment investments, everything from green space and park benches to roadways and buildings.
Smart Futures Lab Program
The Smart Futures Lab program was created in partnership with Colorado Smart Cities Alliance and Innosphere Ventures, and made possible thanks to a $2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to support startups and entrepreneurs in the civic innovation space led by the New Majority.
Participants complete the no-cost, six-month incubator program with the goal of developing and growing their tech companies. Program members have access to physical coworking and prototyping space at the lab, which features a private 5G network for research and development of Internet of Things technologies. As part of the program, participants engage with a custom education curriculum and extensive partnership networks, among other benefits. Additionally, each company was matched with a mentor from the Smart Futures Lab Mentor Network. The network is comprised of more than 30 industry leaders with varying expertise ranging from product development to business operations and more. Smart Futures Lab also provided individualized support to each company via weekly meetings with a program manager and a dedicated marketing manager.
Companies presenting at Smart Futures Lab Graduation:
Addazu | Denver, CO
Founder: Kelly Pickering
Addazu steps into the workforce and entry-level housing sector, leveraging its unique position as a design, engineering, and sales firm with a groundbreaking panelized modular housing system. addazu.com
N5Sensors | University of Maryland, MD
Founder: Debra Deininger
N5Sensors’ mission is to keep people safe from environmental hazards through a cloud-connected ecosystem of smarter sensors and by leveraging the endless possibilities of shared data and AI. n5sensors.com
InfraSmart Solutions | University of Colorado Denver, CO
Founders: Farnoush Banaei Kashani and Brian Zavareh
InfraSmart leverages AI to automate the detection process in sewer pipelines and transforming the raw video it produces into actional insights with high accuracy and speed.
Pin Point | University of Colorado Denver, CO
Founders: Caroline Clevenger and Bing Han
Pinpoint is an app that helps individuals with cognitive disabilities to navigate indoor spaces easily. No expensive or bulky equipment is necessary.
Civic Trust | Boulder, CO
Founder: Matt Harder
Civic Trust provides process design, technology, and strategic communications support that allows your city to execute successful participatory budgeting initiatives. They help cities build, grow, and lead civic engagement through participatory budgeting. civictrust.us
Tiami Networks | Elk Grove, CA
Founder: Amitav Mukherjee
Tiami Networks extracts radar sensing information from ambient 5G network signals to track people, vehicles, and objects. tiaminetworks.com
GO See the City | Orlando, FL
Founder: Aneshai Smith
GO See the City is a tech startup dedicated to combating food waste and hunger in municipalities across the nation and beyond. Through their platform and app, they connect eateries of all types, including restaurants, stadiums, festivals, and food trucks with surplus food to customers at a discount, or to nonprofits. GOSeeTheCity.com
Ecosystem Informatics Inc | Ontario, Canada
Founder: Shirook Ali
Ecosystem Informatics Inc offers a comprehensive air quality monitoring (AQM) system via a combined hardware and software solution. It is deployed in sectors where accuracy, precision, timeliness, and reliability are non-negotiable. ecosinfo.ca
Taro AI | San Francisco, CA
Founder: Cynthia Wu
Taro AI helps communities automate monitoring and issue detection for trees and urban infrastructure. They leverage existing imagery, machine learning, computer vision, and engage residents to map and monitor risks in a built environment. taroai.com
State of Place | Boston, MA
Founder: Dr. Mariela Alfonzo
State of Place helps developers create more just, thriving communities more effectively, cost-efficiently, and inclusively by harnessing the power of AI to produce data-driven, evidence-based approaches that help governments identify optimal environment investments. stateofplace.co
Media is invited to attend the Graduation Ceremony, which takes place Friday, October 18th from 10 am – 2 pm at the Tivoli Student Union, Room 440, 900 Auraria Parkway, Denver, Colorado. To register for the free event, click here.
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About the University of Colorado Denver
The University of Colorado Denver is the state’s premier public urban research university and equity-serving institution. Globally connected and locally invested, CU Denver partners with future-focused learners and communities to design accessible, relevant, transformative educational experiences for every stage of life and career. Across seven schools and colleges in the heart of downtown Denver, our leading faculty inspires and works alongside students to solve complex challenges through boundary-breaking innovation and impactful research and creative work. As part of the state’s largest university system, CU Denver is a major contributor to the Colorado economy, with 2,000 employees and annual economic impact of $800 million.
About Colorado Smart Cities Alliance
The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance is the first state-wide alliance of its kind in the nation, bringing together public, private, federal research, and academic sector leaders committed to advancing smarter communities. The organization aims to enhance quality of life in Colorado by fostering sustainability, equity, resilience, and humanism in urban environments. Through partnership development, education, and capacity-building, the Alliance has facilitated some of the most innovative government technology projects in the state.
Contact
Chelsea Barrett
Colorado Smart Cities Alliance
chelsea@coloradosmart.city
