A Scottsdale-based artificial intelligence startup is joining a national cohort of companies as part of Google for Startups Black Founders Fund.
Sensagrate announced on June 25 that it's among 10 companies selected by Google to join the fund, which provides each participant with $150,000 in nondilutive cash credits and $100,000 in Google Cloud credits to grow their businesses.
"To be recognized with other leading startups in our cohort and in the Google Startups family is amazing,” Darryl Keeton, founder and president of Sensagrate, said in a statement. “We thrive for to be a leader and initiatives helps us grow and connect with other world leaders.”
Sensagrate, founded in 2018, created a computer vision and AI data and analytics platform to enable real-time traffic, pedestrian and cyclist safety on roadways.
In 2022, Sensagrate partnered with Israel-based Innoviz Technologies (Nasdaq: INVZ) to launch a smart intersection corridor pilot on UCLA's campus to gather data on traffic volume and safety metrics using Lidar sensors. The project was intended to find out causes of incidents involving pedestrians.
Sensagrate will use the new infusion of capital from Google to bolster its business development and sales team. The company also plans to leverage Google’s applications to scale its platform.
In addition to capital, Sensagrate will receive ongoing mentorship from Google’s AI and sales experts as well as product support.
Google selected a total of 20 companies for its 2024 Google for Startups Founders Funds for Black and Latino entrepreneurs, according to a company announcement.
This year marks the first cohort comprised solely of AI-focused startups in a mission to advance Google’s commitment to AI inclusion and helping diverse founders access capital, according to the tech giant.
The 2024 Black and Latino Founders Fund recipients are using AI to help solve important business and societal challenges, including wildfire prevention, diverting fast fashion from landfills and streamlining the process for community college students transfer to four year universities, according to Google.
"Through the Google for Startups Founders Funds, we are proud to invest in promising Black and Latino founders who are leveraging AI technology to help address some of today’s most pressing issues,” Maya Kulycky, vice president of Google Research, said in a statement. “We are inspired by the groundbreaking work of these founders and their potential to shape the future of AI."
Since 2020, Google for Startups has deployed $50 million to support more than 600 underrepresented founders.
