ImpactAlpha, May 2 — Urban-X, a partnership between smart-city venture firm Urban Us and BMW-Mini, graduated its fifth class of smart-city startups in its Brooklyn offices.
The startups’ pitches included products and services targeting safe and efficient construction, smart garbage trucks, electric car ride-sharing and financing, and e-commerce platforms for second-hand goods.
The teams were distributed geographically, Urban-X’s Micah Kotch told ImpactAlpha. “It makes it more challenging to provide them with the resources that they need for product development.”
Among this year’s cohort:
- Buildstream, an internet of things and artificial intelligence effort to make construction safer and more efficient;
- Toggle, a construction-robotics company focused on increasing productivity and reducing costs for construction projects;
- GreenQ, based in Ohio, which installs sensors on garbage trucks to optimize waste collection;
- Thrilling, an e-commerce platform for vintage and second-hand stores;
- Treau, out of San Francisco, builds energy efficient home heaters and air conditioners;
- Borrow, an electric-car lease provider;
- Circuit, formerly Free Ride, an all-electric ride-sharing app.
Each startup will receives $100,000, and business coaching. “We were able to work with some of Urban-X’s branding experts to go through a whole rebranding process,” said Alexander Esposito, co-founder of Circuit.
