Posted by: Lauren O’Neil (Startup Developer Ecosystem Lead), Matt Ridenour (Head of US Startup Ecosystem)
We are excited to announce the latest cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator: Black Founders program. The program marks his fourth year serving Black founders in the United States and Canada.
The 12 companies selected for this year’s cohort reflect trends in the broader application pool. Start-ups are focused on improving health outcomes, protecting the environment, reducing consumer energy consumption, and removing barriers to financial resources and homeownership (just to name a few). Additionally, these companies are leveraging new AI technologies to streamline and simplify the customer, consumer, and professional experience at every level.
“This year’s cohort represents the huge opportunity Google has to invest in the future of technology entrepreneurship and how we support the broader ecosystem that drives innovation in key industries. It’s truly impressive to see how this cohort is tackling some of the world’s toughest problems.” Enabling the creator economy for games, music, and content, from energy to healthcare to finance. ”
– Jeanine Banks, Developer X Vice President and General Manager, Head of Developer Relations.
Hear from several founders who will be participating in this 10-week program starting September 26th.
Tell us your startup story:
Seyi Adesola, Co-Founder and CEO of AfroHealth: “Losing my mother from a preventable disease sparked my exploration into health care and led me to become a professional health care worker while providing personalized health coaching to my church community, family, and friends. AfroHealth was founded as an extension of this vision as an online platform that provides culturally responsive online health coaching to Black people.”
Nana Wilberforce, Founder and CEO of Aceptus: “In the United States alone, one-third of households are struggling with their monthly utility bills, and 20% are on the verge of losing access, a hardship that disproportionately impacts minorities. We were founded to help households and businesses manage their energy costs through AI solutions that simplify management.”
Nicole Clay, co-founder and CMO of Hue: “My co-founder and I came together as three women of varying skin tones who were struggling to express their beauty and find products that fit our unique skin. , an e-commerce technology company that matches shoppers with real people who share your skin tone, skin type, and preferences.”
What are the main technical challenges you want to address during the program?
Seii: “During the program, our top priority is perfecting the integration of artificial intelligence with our platform. We are leveraging the full potential of Google’s ML and TensorFlow frameworks to We want to improve health outcomes for African communities.”
Nana: “We are most excited about the accelerator for practical cloud and AI expertise that will allow us to refine our algorithms and infrastructure and scale our sustainability impact.”
Nicole: “During the program, we are looking at applying AI/ML to create and optimize video content and leveraging AI to ease the process for everyday end users to create their own video reviews.”
Learn more about all 12 participating startups below.
Afro Health (Dallas, Texas) is a digital health and wellness platform that leverages AI to provide personalized healthcare coaching to Black and Brown communities.
Aceptus (Glenwood, Maryland) is an AI-powered energy management platform that provides real-time insights and control to optimize usage and energy costs, reduce waste, and strengthen grid resiliency.
CareCopilot (New York, NY) is a curated marketplace of key services families need when caring for their senior loved ones.
eBanqo (Alpharetta, Georgia) is a customer engagement AI platform that enables businesses of all sizes to provide instant and seamless service to their customers across all channels, 24/7.
Expedia (Hamilton, Ontario) is Canada’s first Black-led, Black-owned and BIPOC-affiliated digital bank, serving 6 million underserved BIPOC Canadians. (For more information about Expedier, visit the Google Canada blog.)
Hue (San Francisco, California) is an AI-powered video platform that enables brands to generate and display short-form video reviews on e-commerce.
IndyGeneUS (Washington DC) is a precision medicine company that uses next-generation sequencing technology to identify unique genetic variants in diseases that affect underrepresented populations.
Kwema (St. Louis, Missouri) is a smart badge reel for healthcare workers that allows clinicians to discreetly seek help when faced with patient violence.
My Home Pathway (New York, NY) is a technology platform that helps first-time homebuyers get approved faster by analyzing data and providing personalized recommendations.
Page Dip (Boulder, Colorado) is a no-code content publishing app that allows users to create beautiful, efficient, powerfully effective, and empirically measurable documents that are more effective for teams and their customers.
Plannly Health (Scottsdale, Arizona) is a patent-pending risk management company dedicated to reducing the risk of human error in hospitals by providing digital health solutions that address stress, burnout, and significant life events and changes for healthcare professionals. It’s software.
For more information, visit g.co/blackfoundersaccelerator.
