This special section marks the launch of the annual Startups to Watch list, a collection of startups New Mexico Inno will keep an eye on in the next 12 months.
The list of 10 honorees includes businesses in various sectors — sustainable energy, health care and mobile communications, to name a few. Our Startups to Watch are trying to use data to identify the “social determinants of health” and deploy space-mining technology.
Like New Mexico’s broader startup ecosystem, one industry or vertical isn’t responsible for the majority of the startups we are watching. Generally, each company has raised funding and is in the process of developing or commercializing technology.
Startups to Watch honorees were selected by New Mexico Inno reporter Collin Krabbe, who, when considering each honoree, looked at how the businesses performed in 2021, as well as what they have planned in 2022.
In the coming days, you will have a chance to read about each startup online and see the work they are doing to grow their businesses in New Mexico and beyond. All 10 companies were also highlighted in the Feb. 4 print edition of Albuquerque Business First.
Next up, Build with Robots.
Build with Robots
While some Startups to Watch are low profile, others have already gained national attention.
That’s the case with Build With Robots, which has experienced rapid expansion as its disinfecting robot, Breezy One, gains recognition. The company also recently closed a $5 million funding round, which it announced in early January, placing it squarely on this year’s list of Startups to Watch.
Moving forward, Build With Robots will expand the sale of its Breezy One robot, chief strategy officer Matthew Ennis told Albuquerque Business First. The company is focusing on three main types of clients: arenas, schools and airports.
Breezy One autonomously sprays disinfectant to clean large spaces in a short amount of time. The company rents the robots to clients in addition to selling them outright. Founded in 2015, the company also offers PaintingBots. The disinfecting robots joined the company’s ranks when the Covid-19 pandemic began driving up the need for sanitization services.
A portion of Build With Robots’ investors are from New Mexico, and they include the Arrowhead Innovation Fund at New Mexico State University as well as private equity firm Abo Empire, according to the company.
The Breezy One robot can be found at airports in Houston, Texas, Ennis said, as well as the Albuquerque International Sunport. St. Mary’s Catholic School in Albuquerque also deployed the robot, allowing maintenance workers to focus on other tasks. It can also be found in a school district in Texas.
Build With Robots currently employs about 22 people. But with $360,000 worth of Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) incentives from the state government, Build With Robots plans to create 64 jobs by 2024, the New Mexico Economic Development Department announced in March 2021.
LEDA incentives are used to help finance capital improvements for expanding or relocating companies in New Mexico.
