Two Bay Area startups have won accolades at the annual South By Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.
Urban Machine won the pitch competition for the "smart cities, transportation and logistics" category. And Checkerspot won an "innovation award" in the "design" category.
Based in Oakland, Urban Machine has designed a machine that can process reclaimed wood from construction and demolition sites, and then turn that wood into usable lumber for new projects.
Its AI-powered, robotic machine can automatically pull out nails and staples with 90% accuracy, according to its website. It can process lumber sized from 2x4 up to 6x18, as well as heavy timber and Glulam, or glue-laminated timber.
The company, founded by CEO Eric Law and CTO Andrew Gillies in 2021, has raised more than $7 million through a seed round, according to PitchBook. Its investors include GV, Lowercarbon Capital, Catapult Ventures, Klein Venture Partners and Union Labs Ventures.
Alameda-based Checkerspot won an innovation award for its Pollinator Kit, which contains sustainable materials for designers that create resin-based casts from molds.
Instead of using conventional, petroleum-based polyurethane for resin, Checkerspot's resin is developed with an algae-based formula. The kits are also packaged with five-times less plastic than bottles and are shipped flat, according to a press release.
The company was founded in 2016 by CEO Charles Dimmler and Chief Scientific Officer Scott Franklin. It has raised $109 million through a Series C and its investors include Cox Enterprises, Baruch Future Ventures, Reach Capital, Cavallo Ventures, Breakout Ventures, Plug and Play, DIC Group and Refractor Capital.
SXSW began on March 10, the same day Silicon Valley Bank failed and was seized by federal authorities, and runs through March 19.
