QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge Finalists Unleashing the Potential of the World’s Cities
Leading Cities, a global nonprofit driving city resiliency and sustainability, in partnership with QBE North America, revealed eleven of the world’s foremost urban technology startups in its QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge finalist line-up. . The program has quickly become one of the largest of its kind in the world and has demonstrated tremendous impact in its first two years. AcceliCITY alumni have already raised in excess of $130 million, the first champion secured a successful sale of the business and cities have gained access to innovative solutions from around the world.
Now, as populations everywhere strive to adapt to the new normal of COVID-19, it has become even clearer that there is greater need for improvement in the foundations, efficiency, and health of cities globally to create long term sustainability and resilience. This year’s QBE AcceliCITY finalists represent the innovative solutions that are becoming crucial for cities in the face of increasing threats in the ever-changing urban environment of the 21st century.
“Communities around the world are in desperate need of innovative solutions, but antiquated and broken procurement systems often prevent such innovation within government,” said Michael Lake, President and CEO of Leading Cities. “The QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge identifies the best of the best and makes them accessible to local governments.”
This year, these globally sourced, expert-vetted startups were selected from among the hundreds that applied from 37 countries. The entrepreneurs leading these ventures are committed to tackling common urban problems ranging from air quality, digital infrastructure and communications technology, to public transportation, renewable energy, and more. Fifty semi-finalists were previously selected and participated in a business-to-government focused, web-based curriculum. Each of the 50 teams received one-on-one mentorship from global experts. Now, the eleven finalists will participate in the AcceliCITY Boot Camp (October 5-8th) and compete for $100,000 in prize money.
At its core, AcceliCITY lowers the cost of innovation for startups as well as cities and corporations by streamlining the innovation and implementation cycles for Smart City solutions. Leading Cities’ AcceliCITY program connects startup’s smart solutions directly with business users and provides the proper channels and know-how to deploy in cities.
About the Finalists
Bioo (Spain): Renewable electricity capture powered by organic matter found in soil.
Breeze Technologies (Germany): Air quality analytics technology that uses artificial intelligence to improve clean air action plans.
Carbon Upcycling (Canada): Technology to chemically absorb CO2 emissions into exfoliated inorganic solids, creating sustainable products from pollution.
Circuit (USA): A free, all-electric transportation system working to reduce carbon emissions and urban traffic.
Collective Liberty (USA): Eradicating human trafficking by synthesizing data and communications between relevant actors.
Dynamhex (USA): Artificial intelligence and data analytics software used to forecast emissions and track and engage climate projects.
EVA (Portugal): Drone infrastructure for urban areas to make the future of drone applications more operational, secure, and scalable.
Lazarillo (Chile): An intelligent platform enabling those with disabilities to navigate digital and physical services with increased autonomy.
Oxygeni (Poland): An air filtration system used with street lighting infrastructure to improve urban air quality.
WeavAir (Canada): Proactive solutions for air distribution systems that prevent contamination while reducing energy and maintenance costs.
ZaaK (Germany): Combatting erosion by engineering Smart Sand from industrial waste.
