AWS Announces 25 Startups Selected for Inaugural AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders

More than 15 years after AWS changed the game for startups by giving them access to the same technology as the world’s largest enterprises, we continue to level the playing field so that founders can develop their ideas and build lasting businesses regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or race. In April, we announced a 3-year, $30 million commitment to the AWS Impact Accelerator, a series of programs is designed to help high-potential, pre-seed startups led by underrepresented founders succeed. The first of these programs, the AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders, invited applications from U.S.-based startups to an overwhelming response, with applications pouring in from across the country.

Today, we’re excited to announce the startups that will make up this inaugural cohort. A diverse committee of AWS startup experts selected these 25 participants based on the strength of their idea and technical readiness, in addition to a series of interviews. They represent an inspiring, eclectic mix of industries, use cases, business models, and geographies:

Arizona

PeerCapsule – PeerCapsule, based in Phoenix and New York City, is a first-of-its-kind collaboration network for verified healthcare professionals to exchange clinical insight, find research mentors, and network with experts.

California

Oben Health – Oben Health, based in San Francisco, is developing a digital therapeutic to safely and sustainably reverse heart disease without medication or surgery, helping to minimize an epidemic that disproportionately kills Black and brown patients.

CModel – Executives use Vallejo-based CModel’s real-time revenue analysis platform to evaluate their revenue strategy with concise, actionable, and accurate intelligence.

HubbleIQ – Bay Area-based HubbleIQ’s software provides automated remote tech support that is easy, data-driven, and deployable in minutes, so that businesses of any size can operate with more agility and efficiency.

Seed at the Table – Compton-based Seed at The Table is a mission-driven crowdfunding platform committed to connecting diverse entrepreneurs with accredited and non-accredited investors looking to obtain equity in BIPOC-led companies.

SevenStar – Designed to help bridge the trust gap between law enforcement agencies and citizens, Irvine-based SevenStar’s cloud-based app enables critical, real-time information sharing for safer and more accountable operations.

Delaware

Flywallet – Recognizing that 7 out of 10 travelers go into debt for a trip, Flywallet created a gamified savings account designed to make travel more affordable.

Rush Roto – Rush Roto, based in Dover, uses AI to help small businesses create professional product photos without the overhead of typical studio photography.

Florida

Imanyco – West Palm Beach and St. Louis-based Imanyco provides a real time transcription app that helps the deaf and hard of hearing quickly and reliably understand and participate in group conversations.

Georgia

Chezie – Based in Atlanta, Chezie helps companies retain diverse talent with an all-in-one solution for building and managing impactful employee resource groups.

EyeGage – EyeGage, also based in Atlanta, increases the speed and accuracy of drug detection with computer vision analysis of the eye, ensuring greater safety in high-risk environments.

The Goji Shop – Atlanta-based Goji is using conversational AI to build a personalized customer service layer that analyzes products and helps shoppers make smarter purchasing decisions, reinventing online shopping.

Reflekt Me – Reflekt Me, based in Marietta, helps brands reach 100% of their customers with a hyper-personalization platform that matches the characteristics of each online shopper with existing perfect product details page (PDP) images.

Illinois

The Crypto Mom – Based in Chicago, The Crypto Mom balances the male-dominated crypto space by providing a path for women to discuss, purchase, and give crypto.

CulturePilot – CulturePilot, also based in Chicago, offers a single platform that frees museums and exhibition spaces to create Computer Vision-powered tours for visitors without needing to invest in their own custom equipment.

Maryland

CyDeploy – Based in Baltimore, CyDeploy provides an intelligent, automated approach to functional testing of IT and Internet of Things (IoT), helping to prevent the 80% of security breaches that occur due to misconfigured or unpatched systems.

New York

CareCopilot – With an elder care crisis approaching, New York City-based CareCopilot provides an app that guides loved ones through all of the steps necessary to care for aging relatives.

Gyvlink – This Albany-based SaaS platform reduces donation waste, donor churn, staff costs, and warehouse charges by helping organizations rapidly share and match requests for in-kind donations.

Oarbt – Oarbt, based in New York City, is a no-code, AI-powered SaaS design solution that enables businesses to launch and gather actionable insights from interactive 3D stores.

Recut – Recut, based in New York, creates compelling video advertising experiences by splicing existing actor-based video content with AI-generated photorealistic video and audio.

Rhode Island

Solvent – Solvent, based in Providence and New York City, provides affordable personal finance and banking tools for people who have been impacted by systemic issues like financial exclusion, mass incarceration, and the wealth gap.

Tennessee

Nodat – Nodat, based in Nashville, is a geo-targeting mobile marketing platform that closes the local marketing gap by connecting businesses to the right consumer in the right service area.

Texas

ChurchSpace – Coined the “Airbnb for churches,” Houston-based ChurchSpace is the only marketplace designed specifically to help churches turn their unused space into on-demand event, meeting, and commercial kitchen space.

Heroshe – Heroshe, based in Houston, provides an ecommerce and logistics enablement platform that allows social sellers in Africa to grow their cross-border business capabilities.

Moyae – Moyae, based in Austin, provides a software suite that enables ophthalmologists and optometrists to create compliant records, maintain relationships with patients, and manage billing while also improving the speed of feedback between researchers and doctors.

Each of these startups will receive up to $225,000 in cash and AWS Activate credits, an extensive and individually-curated training curriculum, mentoring and technical guidance, introductions to Amazon leaders and teams, networking opportunities with potential investors, and ongoing advisory support. They will also have the opportunity to learn from organizations AWS works closely with such as Black Women Talk Tech (BWTT), digitalundivided, and Visible Hands, as well as hear from successful founders like Dave Salvant, President and Co-founder of Squire, a startup that offers a technology platform for barbershops.

AWS will continue to deliver guidance and resources after the 8-week program ends, and these founders will have access to a virtual community, alumni events, the curriculum (including future content), plus the opportunity to tap into ongoing support from program mentors and experts.

The first AWS Impact Accelerator for Women Founders will begin accepting applications in July, with the AWS Impact Accelerator for LGBTQIA+ Founders and AWS Impact Accelerator for Latino Founders to follow in 2023. Become a member of the AWS Virtual Loft to be notified when applications are open.