Arch Grants, the St. Louis nonprofit that annually awards $75,000 equity-free grants to startups, said Friday it is providing more than $2 million in funding to 23 startups in its 2022 cohort.
Of the 23 companies, 10 are based in St. Louis. The other 13 have brought their companies to St. Louis from a number of U.S. states, including California, Illinois and New York. As part of the Arch Grants award, each company will commit to operating their business from St. Louis for at least one year.
“We could not be more excited to introduce the 2022 Arch Grants Cohort to the St. Louis community,” said Gabe Angieri, executive director of Arch Grants. “The 23 companies we've funded this year are led by an incredibly talented, diverse, and impressive group of founders who will only add to our fast-growing startup ecosystem. Arch Grants is building a movement focused not just on economic growth but on creating a pipeline for future leaders in our region.”
Through this year’s cohort, Arch Grants is providing $2.03 million in nondilutive funding to startups. Each company receives a $75,000 grant, and those located outside Missouri and at least 150 miles from St. Louis are given $25,000 for relocation. This marks the first year that Arch Grants has awarded $75,000 to its startup after raising its grant amount from $50,000 per company. In addition to the funding, Arch Grants’ companies get access to pro-bono services locally to help them operate their businesses.
The companies in Arch Grants' 2022 cohort are:
- Balancetopia (St. Louis): Led by co-founders Najjuwah Walden and Andrew Jones, Balancetopia is using artificial intelligence to create nutritious ”heat-and-eat” meals designed for women experiencing pregnancy, menstruation and menopause.
- BestFit (Atlanta): BestFit, led by co-founder and CEO Asha Owens, has created a digital platform focused on helping college students access social services.
- Carma (New York): The startup has created a marketplace app for car repair. Its co-founders are CEO Muhammad Alasgarli and Chief Technology Officer Brandt Lawson.
- Dataplant (Santa Barbara, California): Led by co-founders Samuel Cummings and Mithelesh Kumar, Dataplant provides businesses with a customer analytics platform.
- DenScore (Des Moines, Iowa): DenScore is a digital health startup focused on helping individuals manage their oral health care. Its founders are CEO Kyle Gernhofer and Chief Data Officer Charlie Hubbard.
- Disco! (St. Louis): Led by founder Brittany Dwyer, this local firm has created an online marketplace designed to simplify the process of planning and booking events.
- The Fattened Caf (St. Louis): Founders Charlene Lopez Young and Darren Young operate a Filipino barbecue restaurant and also sell packaged food products.
- Flora (Chicago): Flora, led by founder Aabesh De, has created a mobile app aimed to help individuals take care of their plants.
- Grab My Bag (Atlanta): Grab My Bag offers a luggage delivery service for travelers. It is led by founder and CEO Emory Reignz.
- HabiTerre (Champaign, Illinois): The startup provides products that help agriculture producers manage and optimize operations. Its co-founders are Kaiyu Guan, Gary Schnitkey and Jian Peng.
- HIVE (Chicago): HIVE has developed a sensor that allows doctors to monitor patients’ IV infusions remotely. Its founders include CEO Joe Beggs and Chief Operating Officer Glen Kleinschmidt.
- JAKAPA (Cape Girardeau, Missouri): The startup has developed what it describes as an “assessment and self-development platform” that helps individuals with soft skills. Its founders include CEO Gavin Pringle and Chief Innovation Officer Lisa Riegel.
- MARSfarm (St. Louis): MARSfarm, led by co-founders Peter Webb and Drew Thomas, is focused on helping students learn about agriculture through the creation of a platform that llows teachers to “remotely monitor and simulate farms inside their classrooms.”
- MOODEAUX (Atlanta): Led by founder and CEO Brianna Arps, MOODEAUX sells “clean luxury” fragrances.
- Noveil (Irvine, California): The startup's product is video dating platform it says uses machines learning to match its users. Its founders include CEO Michael Allotey and Chief Financial Officer Kendrick Barefield.
- Nutrible (Irvine, California): Founded by Kwamane Liddell, Nutrible has developed an app it says is built to deliver “diagnosis-based food” to patients after they return home from medical facilities.
- Peppermint (St. Louis): Led by CEO Scott Bernstein, Peppermint is developing a walker it says is better suited for patient mobility.
- Pivto Digital Learning (St. Louis): The local startup, led by founder and CEO Kelley Robson, has created a digital learning platform for the health care industry.
- Queritel Corp. (Kissimmee, Florida): The startup's technology provides automation and data analytics for retailers. Its founders are CEO Shani Bennett and Chief Operating Officer Kevonne Martin.
- uFab (St. Louis): Led by Tyler Richards and Matt Gall, uFab is creating a circuit board printing device it says will enable users to make circuit boards “quickly and cheaply from home.”
- Upgrade Energy (St. Louis): Led by founder Matthew Barnard, Upgrade Energy manufactures and sells drone batteries.
- Wayfarer (St. Louis): The startup says its developed a knowledge sharing platform that gives users like libraries and schools “the ability to elevate and gamify their underutilized resources so that knowledge seekers can find exactly what they are looking for in a way that is fun, fast, and tailored to their needs.” Its founders include CEO Chris Daming and Chief Operating Officer Jorik Ittmann.
- WingXpand (St. Louis): The startup is developing a drone it says includes expandable wings that can fit into a backpack and fly longer than existing drones on the market. Its co-founders are CEO James Barbieri and Chief Customer Officer Michelle Madaras.
Arch Grants will celebrate its newest cohort of startups Friday with its annual gala. At the event, Arch Grants will give its 2022 Entrepreneur Award to local technology entrepreneur Jim Eberlin.
Arch Grants has given more than $14 million in grants to over 200 startups since 2012. Its portfolio companies have raised $636 million in follow-on capital and created 2,791-plus jobs locally, according to the organization.
