Curious to know about technology accelerators in New York State which are supporting geospatial startups? Look no further than Brooklyn-based URBAN-X built by MINI and Urban Us and operating since 2016 offering customer development, product development, and fundraising support to get selected startups off the ground into production and operation. Geospatial is not the only type of startup URBAN–X supports (its actually much more) with an existing resume of 37 firms in its portfolio covering technology solutions in the areas of real estate, transportation, energy, infrastructure, public health, and government among others. The URBAN-X startup focuses on the urban tech environment developing hardware and software solutions which address key needs of city systems, as well as businesses and individuals. The accelerator’s current cohort consists of seven startups which each received $100,000 and five months of immersive mentorship. This cohort was selected from over 500 applications this past November.
Every six months Urban-X selects up to 10 startups and invest $100,000 per company. The 20-week accelerator program also includes six on-site “experts-in-residence”.
Illustrative of the geospatial startups which have come through the accelerator is Citiesense.
Citiesense creates data-driven maps and dashboards that layers information about new permits, recent sales and property changes in urban areas, guiding real estate investors and other local stakeholders to support more informed business decisions. Using interactive mapping and data visualization techniques, the company continues to focus on helping business districts better understand market demand and dynamics. Citiesense uses Carto software to support their mapping applications and leverages data available in the NYC Open Data Portal. Examples of their mapping apps are at the Downtown Brooklyn website and the Long Island City Partnership. Citiesense is also referenced in a 816 New York article “3 map-based tech tools perfect for neighborhoods and housing authorities”.
I quickly developed an account on the Citiesense website and immediately started mapping various features around 347 East 105th Street. Out-of-the-box the application provides access to dozens of variables and features. This image shows recent 311 Reports, the NYC Street Tree Inventory, and the Commercial Overlay Districts layer.
Starting a tech company is never easy” notes Citiesense CEO Starling Childs. “I think this is particularly true of ‘Urban Tech’ startups. Joining URBAN-X was like adding the perfect final cofounder to our team right when we needed to begin testing our idea in the market. The people behind URBAN-X know the challenges urban tech companies face when thinking about solutions that consider some level of government and private sector collaboration. They understand the value of things like open data; how it supports public private sector collaboration and accelerates innovation in cities.”
Other URBAN-X supported startups in the location and navigation space include Revmax, Rentlogic, WearWorks and Swiftera.
Revmax: Revmax develops fleet management and routing software for ride-hail vehicles. Its technology maximizes vehicle utilization by proactively forecasting rider demand based on historical data and future events. Revmax ensures that vehicles are in the optimal location to find rides quickly — increasing fleet revenue while reducing pollution and congestion. According to CEO Jonathan Weekley and chief operating officer Briggs Fraser, cabs and Uber cars are empty some 50 percent of the time — highly inefficient for drivers trying to make the most of their time on the road. But the real target market for Revmax, Weekley says, is auto manufacturers such as GM and Ford, who are looking to get into ride-hailing. “They see declining car ownership, and they need to figure out a way to keep building cars and use that fleet more efficiently,” he said. Those manufacturers will have extra incentive to optimize routes, since they, not the drivers, will own the cars that are out on the road.
Rentlogic: Rentlogic is a standards organization that measures and letter-grade rates the quality of multi-family residential buildings. Rentlogic ratings recognize building owners that invest time and energy in to operating great buildings, and helps connect them with residents trying to navigate a difficult marketplace. Data underneath the application is harvested from the city’s 311 system. Every week, roughly 4,000 complaints are initiated by renters about their landlords via calls to the #311 system. These complaints can include mold, heat and hot water issues, infestations, structural problems and more – all of which are used in the application. It is Rentlogic’s aim to bring transparency and standardization to the residential real estate market.
WearWorks: WearWorks is a New York-based haptics design company using sensory feedback systems to communicate information entirely via touch. Using vibration-based language, their product augments the senses of blind and visually impaired users through a non-visual interface, helping them to easily and effectively navigate to any destination. Btw – WearWorks technology was worn/used by Simon Wheatcroft, a blind runner, in the 2017 New York City Marathon.
Swiftera: Swiftera’s business plan is to support citizens, businesses and municipalities in mobility, leisure and urban planning decisions. By providing access to fresh and actionable geospatial data at a competitive cost, the company leverages its novel urban-imagery technology to help customers analyze the past, explore the present and be the first to see the future. While still in development, Swiftera anticipates delivering unprecedented urban imagery: available all-the-time, in real time. For more information visit their website or contact them at info@swiftera.co.
Summary:
URBAN-X provides an excellent opportunity for startups – including those in the geospatial space – to get started in a way which would otherwise be financially and logistically very difficult. URBAN-X is itemized in a 2017 Dreamit article as one of the leading voices in the New York City “nascent urban tech movement”. In the broader statewide context, the Empire State Development corporation supports several regional certified business incubators. The New York State geospatial community is fortunate to have both the access and ability to work with companies such as URBAN-X.
Contact:
Micah Kotch
Managing Director
URBAN-X
Micah.Kotch@urban-x.com
Mobile: +1.646.645.0459
www.urban-x.com