A new local accelerator is recruiting startups who can support the region’s transition to electric vehicles.
Innovation Studio and AAA Northeast have teamed up to launch Driving 2043, a free program to support startups with solutions to aid in the adoption of electric vehicles, ranging from software and infrastructure to recycling and supply-chain challenges.
“The Driving 2043 Accelerator Program is our first collaboration with a local organization supporting entrepreneurship across the Northeast. What and how we drive will look very different in 20 years. Our members will have many more choices and decisions to make,” Randy Delgado, senior vice president of strategy and innovation at AAA Northeast, said in a statement. “Ultimately, we believe collaborations like this allow us to serve our members by helping them navigate the complexity of the automotive market.”
The organizations said this accelerator is open to startups at the pre-seed, seed and Series A stage that can assist consumers in locating, purchasing, financing, charging, and maintaining electric vehicles.
AAA Northeast is working with the Roxbury-based nonprofit Innovation Studio on this new project. Innovation Studio supports early-stage founders through its programming, events and workspaces. It has locations in Roxbury, District Hall in the Seaport and Biz Bodega in Providence, Rhode Island. Innovation Studio also has collaborations with WPI Seaport and the Echelon Seaport condominiums to activate innovation spaces within their buildings.
“The objective of the free corporate innovation program is to link startup or scaleup founders who want to validate their business model, through an agile and dynamic process, with corporations looking for entrepreneurs who can offer solutions to their challenges and opportunities,” said Walther Morales Rios, Innovation Studio’s director of entrepreneurship, who will lead this program.
Applications for the Driving 2043 program will be accepted until Dec. 7. Up to 50 participants will be selected to attend two virtual workshop sessions led by Boston investors on building a successful pitch. Virtual training will begin on Jan. 17, 2023.
Of those 50 companies, 25 will be selected to move into round two. In these workshops, companies will meet with automotive leaders who will provide industry insights in customer discovery and validating the electric vehicle startup’s business model.
Finally, 10 companies will be chosen to travel to AAA Northeast’s headquarters in Providence for workshops, 1-2-1 expert advisory sessions and mentorship from AAA Northeast executive and corporate leaders. The program will conclude with a pitch night open to the public and attended by local investors led by AAA Northeast’s Corporate Venture Fund and Innovation Studio.
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