Three startup companies with ties to northern Alabama are getting the chance to jumpstart their businesses this summer through The Company Lab’s annual GIGTANK business accelerator program in Chattanooga, TN.
The GIGTANK program essentially tries to fit all the growth a company would go through in the first two years of business — and all the work done to achieve that growth — into a two-month timeframe. That’s supported through gigabit-speed Internet and other business resources that these startups would typically lack. The program will connect them with industry experts and corporate partners, and will give them the chance to pitch their ideas in front of real investors and the media.
The three startups from northern Alabama are:
- BDI Labs of Huntsville
The goal of BDI Labs is to “Believe, Design and Innovate,” and it’s doing so by focusing on the so-called Internet of Things, the growing network of Internet-enabled devices that aren’t computers, tablets and smartphones but can interact with those electronics or other smart devices (mobile web adoption is now actually growing a full eight times faster than it was throughout the 1990s and early 2000s). Currently, the company’s leading product is the MediaBit, a HDMI-enabled device that tracks TV viewing in order to collect statistics on consumer viewing habits. - The Ark Labs of Florence
This company is also using the Internet of Things, in this case with a platform that works to make residential water use more effective. The platform combines both smart devices and artificial intelligence. - Branch Technology of Huntsville
This tech company works with a combination of 3D printing, regular construction materials and large-scale robotics. It’s hoping to challenge conventions in the construction industry by making it possible to customize and 3D print prefabricated wall panels.
Most of the 14 total teams arrived in Chattanooga in late May and will stay until the end of July.
