Six early-stage startups provide solutions
to challenges in real estate development, mobility, and energy
management
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 6,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- URBAN-X, the leading urban
technology startup platform by MINI, today announced its thirteenth
cohort of early-stage startups dedicated to advancing climate
technology solutions. Run in collaboration with leading venture
capital firm JVP, this new cohort represents a number of startups
from across the country. Selected from a pool of over 160
applicants, the six startups are working on solutions in real
estate development, mobility, and energy & carbon management to
create more interconnected cities that improve quality of life for
all.
The launch of this cohort coincides with the end of a
record-breaking summer, where extreme heat waves, wildfires, and
floods have underscored the urgent need to reshape our climate
trajectory. Recognizing the significance of this challenge, URBAN-X
is committed to fostering more sustainable, livable, and resilient
cities by nurturing startups that offer impactful solutions.
"It's clear, now more than ever, that the work climate tech
founders and startups are doing is critical to the continued
prosperity of cities in the midst of a climate crisis," said
Mike Peyton, President of MINI
Business Innovations LLC, and Vice President of MINI of the
Americas. "MINI is committed to driving positive change in
urban environments, and we see no better way forward than through
the work of the emerging startups URBAN-X is supporting."
These six startups join a growing list of over 100 companies
that have graduated from the URBAN-X program. More than 87 percent
of startups raise their next round during or right after the
program. Over the course of the four-month program, the startups
will benefit from hands-on mentorship in areas such as customer
engagement, product development, talent acquisition, and brand
strategy. Each team will also have access to URBAN-X's expansive
network of world-class design, engineering, and branding experts
from MINI, as well as office space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
"We are excited by the companies in Cohort 13 because they build
on work we've supported in the past in new and innovative ways,"
said Johan Schwind, Managing
Director of URBAN-X. "These solutions will drive us towards a
better, more resilient future, and we are dedicated to helping
scale them just as climate innovations are needed most in cities in
the U.S. and across the globe."
The complete list of URBAN-X Cohort 13 companies
includes:
- Algoma: Partnering with real estate developers to automate the
repeatable delivery of zero-carbon buildings by leveraging AI
- HubOn: Offering the cheapest and most eco-friendly transport
for goods by partnering with retail shops serving as drop-off and
pickup locations
- Blip Energy: Unlocking energy equity by building a new category
of smart, affordable energy storage to add millions of homes to the
smart grid
- Upward: Collecting, storing, and analyzing building energy data
to drive operational success and automate compliance
- Enspi: Bringing efficiency, sustainability, and profitability
to modern energy management with a proprietary platform
- Vy-Carb: Performing real-time, autonomous removal, storage, and
verification of CO2 in water with a fully-measured carbon
management system
To celebrate climate innovation, URBAN-X will host a discussion
about the future of mobility on September
18th as part of Climate Week NYC. For more details and to RSVP, please
visit the event site.
About URBAN-X
URBAN-X is the platform for
founders reimagining city life. Built by MINI in 2016, URBAN-X
partners with startups to build bold technology solutions for a
sustainable planet. Breaking from traditional startup program
molds, URBAN-X provides Pre-Seed and Seed-Stage entrepreneurs with
individualized and tailored support that accelerates growth and
builds successful businesses for the next generation of climate-
and city-focused innovators. Core to its platform, URBAN-X offers
world-class engineering and design resources, industry-leading
investment capital from our venture partner JVP, a global network
of investors, policymakers, corporate strategies and end-customers,
and premier educational content for a global network of founders.
Find URBAN-X on Twitter & Instagram at @urbanxtech and on
Facebook at facebook.com/urbanxtech.
About MINI in the US
MINI is an independent brand of
the BMW Group. In the United
States, MINI USA operates
as a business unit of BMW of North
America, LLC, located in Woodcliff
Lake, New Jersey and includes the marketing and sales
organizations for the MINI brand. The MINI USA sales organization is represented by a
network of 104 MINI passenger car dealers located throughout the
US. MINI USA began selling
vehicles in the U.S. in 2002 with the introduction of the MINI
Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtops. Since then, the MINI Brand in
the U.S. has grown to encompass a model range of five unique
vehicles.
Journalist note: Media information about MINI and its
products is available to journalists on-line at
www.miniusanews.com.
About JVP
JVP, is an internationally renowned venture
capital fund based in Israel.
Established in 1993 by Dr. Erel
Margalit, JVP has raised to date $1.6
billion across 10 funds, and has been listed numerous times
by Preqin, and other rankings, as one of the top-ten consistently
performing VC firms worldwide. JVP has built over 160 companies,
leveraging a broad network of partners and market expertise to help
companies become global market leaders. Among the pioneering firms
of the Israeli venture capital industry, JVP has been instrumental
in building some of the largest companies out of Israel, facilitating 12 Initial Public
Offerings on NASDAQ including CyberArk Software ($3.6 billion mkt. cap.), QLIK Technologies (then
$2.5 billion mkt. cap.) and Cogent
Communications ($2.3 billion mkt.
cap.). https://www.jvpvc.com/
Media Contacts
Ella
Snyder
BerlinRosen
URBANX@berlinrosen.com
Andrew Cutler
Head of Corporate Communications, MINI USA
201.307.3784
Andrew.Cutler@miniusa.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/urban-x-by-mini-in-partnership-with-jvp-launches-new-cohort-of-urban-innovators-building-critical-climate-technologies-301919169.html
SOURCE URBAN-X; MINI USA