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The fall 2021 cohort of Energia Ventures, a three-month accelerator program for businesses in the energy, cleantech, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, launched on Sept. 22 through virtual means.

Energia’s world-class programming combines hands-on education with industry mentorship to build up companies for investment and growth, all delivered in a virtual environment. Energia Ventures is part of UNB’s J Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management & Entrepreneurship (JHSC).

“We are pleased to be launching our sixth cohort of Energia Ventures, and our third in a 12-month period,” says Joe Allen, director of accelerator programs for the JHSC. “Once again, the call for applications was absolutely overwhelming, both from the number of applicants, and the quality of the ventures looking to participate in our program. It was a really tough challenge narrowing the field to five selected companies.”

“It’s great to be hosting our third cohort in the last year,” said Dr. Dhirendra Shukla, chair of the JHSC. “We are really starting to build an international presence, supported by the volume and quality of the applicant we’ve received. The reputation of Energia, UNB, and Atlantic Canada grows with every cohort we host, and we are so pleased to act as ambassadors for the region.”

The fall 2021 Energia Ventures program will conclude in December with a virtual demo day for investors, stakeholders, and community leaders.

The new cohort consists of:

• AllRead (Barcelona, Spain) - AllRead Software relies on unique deep learning-based recognition models providing highly robust reading in unconstrained environments “in the wild” where traditional Optimal Character Recognition tend to fail.

• Gaia Refinery (Saint John, N.B.) - Provides carbon removal through direct air capture and simultaneously produces high purity methane for the space industry.

• Prakshep (Bengaluru, India) - Prakshep helps agribusiness utilize neural networks to automate efforts at scale. The live autonomous farm surveillance platform is designed to enhance agricultural productivity that uses satellite imagery and machine learning for farm data.

• Privacy Optimization (Warsaw, Poland) - Privacy Optimization Sp. z o.o. helps organizations navigate the complex landscape of privacy regulations by providing privacy audit, privacy consulting, and complex privacy processes optimization.

• WeavAir (Toronto, Ont.) - WeavAir offers proactive end-to-end software and hardware solutions for air distribution systems that prevent the spread of air contamination and infection, while saving energy and reducing operational and maintenance costs.

For more information, contact Joe Allen.

Photo: Dr. Dhirendra Shukla, Chair of TME