Rising Tide, a Richmond company that offers a last-mile delivery productivity platform that utilizes blockchain and AI, has been selected to the Startup Junkie Foundation’s Fuel Accelerator program in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The no-cost, no-equity accelerator program aims to help seed and growth-stage startups become enterprise ready. Rising Tide is one of nine companies selected to Fuel Accelerator’s fifth-ever AI and machine learning cohort.
The program, which began last week and will run until October, offers venture capital coaching and mentoring from professionals in the Northwest Arkansas community and beyond. Fuel Accelerator said it has matched 70 portfolio companies with key enterprise partners since its launch in 2019.
The accelerator is part of the Startup Junkie Foundation and put on in partnership with Bentonville’s Catapult Consulting. Catapult is led by Tom Douglass, a former director of emerging technology at Walmart. The program and foundation are also backed by the Walton Family Foundation, the charitable foundation started by Walmart founder Sam Walton, and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Walmart is also based in Bentonville.
Rising Tide told us in May it was setting out to raise a seven- or eight-figure round of funding to build out its staff. The Richmond company launched its platform at the beginning of 2024, and execs projected annual recurring revenue of just over $5 million by the end of the year.
Rising Tide is the only Virginia company selected to the program. Others include Phoenix chatbot company Botco, Austin, Texas, virtual home staging company Homekynd and Atlanta supply chain platform Knosc.
