Vett Inc. enables companies to live their ethics and engage with their customers. Its VettNews Cx product improves the corrections management and reader feedback process for publishers, empowering the crowd to improve accuracy of content and deepening the trust relationship with the audience.
NYC Media Lab Combine cohort: 2019-2020
Focus Area(s): Journalism, Corrections Management
Toii makes travel more fun and easy with AR and Geo-location Games.
NYC Media Lab Combine cohort: 2016-2017
Focus Area(s): Gaming, Augmented Reality (AR)
Upgrading biogas emissions by modular pulsed electrochemcial CO2 reduction
This team aims to transition a novel CO2 electrolyzer technology from lab-to-market by demonstrating the operation of a prototype system to upgrade biogas generated by anaerobic digesters of dairy farms and landfills. The technological value proposition and core innovative claim derive from recent advances in pulse-modulated electrolysis to control and optimize the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to value-added products. This advance, coupled with inputs from an artificial neural network optimization algorithm enables robust and extended electrolyzer operation and dynamic response to changes in the input gas composition. The electrolyzer technology at the heart of the proposed project can be integrated as a retrofit to existing anaerobic digesters (ADs) as well as direct integration with new systems to upgrade biogas to renewable natural gas (RNG).
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Focus Area(s): Renewable Energy, Carbon Conversion
To Generate Low Emissions Sorbent Material for Carbon Capture
This team is an NYC-based company with a revolutionary new way to measure, reduce, and capture greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) from the built environment. Thalo has developed high dynamic range, low power, modular, direct mineralization carbon capture systems that are already being deployed across the city. These capture devices include revolutionary measurement, verification, and reporting systems to enable best-in-class verifiability for highly scalable, carbon-negative capture.
Focus Area(s): Water, Building Materials, Carbon Capture and Conversion
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Dust on solar panels can reduce energy output by up to 25% in desert regions and up to 100% during dust storm events. Our patent-pending, waterless self-cleaning technology removes dust from solar panels and regains up to 95% of lost energy. The R&D 100 and DOE Solar Prize awards winning technology is based on proprietary electrodes that generate electric fields to sweep away dust from solar panels.
PowerbridgeNY Cohort 2017-2018
Focus Area(s): Solar Energy
Sunthetics accelerates sustainable innovation in the chemical industry through machine-learning enabled modeling software that enables process chemists to develop viable processes 3x faster.
PowerbridgeNY cohort: 2018-2019
Focus Area(s): Sustainable Innovation, Machine Learning, Chemical Industry
StarWind is a dual wind spiral turbine that converts wind to useful electrical power.
PowerBridge NY Cohort: 2018-2019
Focus Area(s): Renewable Energy, Sustainable Innovation, Clean Energy
Spruce is the most secure and convenient way for developers to share data. Its software packages information like bank account balances, medical records, and proprietary data into portable containers that are globally verifiable.
Columbia | IBM LAUNCH Accelerator cohort: 2019-2020
Focus Area(s): User Privacy, Identity Wallet
Integrating CO2 Mineralization and Mining for the Recovery of Construction Materials and Energy-Relevant Elements from Waste
Academic Institution: Clarkson University
Project Lead(s): Simona Liguori, Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clarkson University; Valentina Prigiobbe, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Padua
Summary: This team will create an integrated process for mining energy-relevant elements (EREs) and CO2 mineralization for carbon storage. Once extracted from mine tailings, elements will be separated through nanofiltration to recover EREs and calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). EREs can then be re-used in renewable energy systems while Ca and Mg will undergo reactions with CO2 to form carbonates that can be re-used in the construction of buildings and infrastructure.
Focus Area(s): Construction, Mining, Carbon Mineralization, Energy-Relevant Elements
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
sHYp's revolutionary technology introduces the first electrolyzer to use seawater to produce hydrogen. No desalination, no purification, no toxic waste — improvements over existing electrolysis technology to produce the pure water required by existing electrolyzers and no toxic waste.
PowerbridgeNY cohort: 2018-2019
Focus Area(s): Renewable Energy, Energy Transition, Clean Energy
Corrosion-Resistant Reinforced Reactive Magnesia Cement
Project Lead(s): Shiho Kawashima, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Columbia University
Summary: This team will develop novel Ready-Mix concrete formulations which will be capable of capturing 20% by weight CO2. They will concurrently develop intensive methods of supplying continuous CO2 during curing. These solutions will be economically deployable at large-scale construction sites and provide long-term CO2 sequestration.Focus Area(s): Construction, Carbon Sequestration
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
Sharper Sense is developing wearable neuromodulation technology that can enhance perceptual acuity and reduce the probability of tactile, visual, and auditory misperception.
Columbia BioMedX Cohort: 2018-2019
Focus Area(s): Neuromodulation, Healthy Aging, Medical Devices
Waste-derived “Goldilocks” cement microstructures for co-enhancement of CO2 mineralization and composite strength
This project aims to sequester CO2 via mineralization in the built environment which will benefit New York State’s environmental and carbontech market development goals. The proposed “Goldilocks” cements project will identify the physical-chemical properties of waste-derived cement microstructures towards enhancing post-cure CO2 mineralization capacity while maintaining or enhancing concrete strength and durability. We will focus on varied fractions of WTE bottom and fly ash (combined ash). The co-PIs have found that WTE fly ash can be stabilized in cement-based systems, but that increasing cement replacement with WTE ash beyond 20% has led to decreases in compressive strength.
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Focus Area(s): Carbon Mineralization, Carbon Sequestration
Logistics analysis by tracking freight rail movement
Powerbridge NY Cohort 2016-2017
Focus Area(s): AI/ML
Our aim is to leverage our unique single-cell proteogenomic dataset and advanced machine learning and regulatory gene network-based predictive algorithms to identify novel targets and lead compounds for combination with radiation to mitigate acquired radioresistance. The work proposed herein will serve as a proof of concept for our comprehensive hypothesis-to-drug discovery platform and identify novel targets for clinical translation in the near-term.
Columbia TRx Cohort: 2020-2021
Focus Area(s): Immuno-Oncology, Radioresistance
Produce Pics provides automated quality and freshness estimation of produce.
Columbia | IBM Launch Accelerator cohort: 2018-2019
Focus Area(s): Food Industry, Farm to Fork, Quality Assurance, Traceability
Direct Air Capture and Conversion of CO2 using Moisture-Activated,
Oxidatively Stable Porous Mixed-Metal HydroxidesThe goal of this project is to demonstrate, for the first time, direct air capture (and conversion) under ambient conditions using high-performing solid sorbents that are purely inorganic in composition. The project will seek to demonstrate the synthesis, characterization, and temperature swing adsorption performance of highly porous mixed metal hydroxides on which carbonate species are stabilized through solvation by hydration layers that are formed under conditions typically encountered
during DAC applications.Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Focus Area(s): Direct Air Capture (DAC), Carbon Conversion
Cornell Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion (C5): New Chemical Pathways for Energy-Efficient Capture of CO2 from Air
Academic Institution: Cornell University
Project Lead(s): Phillip Milner, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University
Summary: This team will identify new DAC technologies which overcome some of the key limitations of traditional DAC technologies. They will explore and test the potential of four approaches which use novel materials or processes to improve the rate and volume of CO2 capture and release, and to reduce the energy and costs associated with operating DAC systems.
Focus Area(s): Direct Air Capture (DAC), Carbon Capture and Conversion
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
The objective of this project is to develop an integrated process for the capture and conversion of CO2 produced from cement manufacturing by leveraging novel absorbents and electrode materials to produce syngas (CO/H2). To accomplish this objective, this team will pursue two parallel research activities: 1) CO2 capture via the design of new porous liquid absorbent materials and 2) the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to syngas. Following the successful completion of these efforts, they will combine and optimize these systems into an integrated CO2 capture and conversion process.
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Focus Area(s): Carbon Capture and Conversion, Syngas Production
OncoShell is a functional test that evaluates patient-specific drug response rapidly at a low cost to guide chemotherapeutic treatment to reduce the number of patients with progression.
Columbia BioMedX Cohort: 2017-2018
Key Focus Area(s): Cancer, Chemotherapy
CARBO-CHLORA: To Carbonate Chloroellestadite in Treated WTE Ashes for Low Carbon Concrete Blocks
This team plans to combine the mineralization of waste-to-energy (WTE) ashes and the CO2 curing of precast concrete by partially substituting cement in precast concrete with WTE ashes. The non- carbonate calcium contents in WTE ash, which is abundant based on their preliminary characterization of ~120 different WTE ashes from various states including New York State can act as low-cost calcium sources for mineralization during CO2 curing, and carbonate formation inside pores can improve the strength of the precast concrete. This technology will avoid the space and cost for landfilling of WTE ash and reduce the usage of cement while sequestrating CO2 into carbonate minerals.
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Focus Area(s): Waste-to-Energy (WTE), Waste Management, Carbon Sequestration
Next Peak provides cyber advisory and operational services based on deep business and national security experience, thought leadership, and a network of front-line defenders.
Cyber NYC Cohort: 2019-2020
Area(s) of Focus: Cybersecurity, Data Transparency
The NYU Music Experience Design Lab (MusEDLab) researches and designs new technologies and experiences for music making, creative learning and engagement together with students, educators, non-profit, and industry partners.
NYC Media Lab Combine cohort: 2017
Focus Area(s): Music Experience, Learning, Engagement
Point source carbon capture from municipal waste and biomass combustion
This team’s technology is based on multi-scale reversible pressure and temperature swing absorption using abundant, cost-effective, and low-impact granular metal carbonate (GMC) sorbent to capture > 95% of CO2 in the flue gas from post-combustion point-source emitters. It is applicable across a range of point source emitters that combine water vapor and CO2 in their flue gas. These include waste-to-energy turbines, boilers, wood waste burners, cement, and steel production facilities.
Focus Area(s): Water, Carbon Capture and Conversion
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Active Learning Algorithms for Autonomous Operation of CO2 Electrolyzers at Optimal Conditions
Academic Institution: NYU
Project Lead(s): Miguel Modestino, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, NYU
This team will develop and demonstrate a machine learning algorithm which can overcome challenges associated with CO2 conversion using electrolyzers. Electrolyzers are a low-carbon alternative to traditional methods of chemical production from CO2, but they are complex to operate. This algorithm will control and operate electrolyzers autonomously, optimizing conditions like temperature and pressure while adjusting to different CO2 feedstocks and changes in the device performance over time.
Focus Area(s): Sustainable Innovation, Machine Learning, Policy
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
Cost-Effective, Carbon-Negative Acrylonitrile: Leveraging Novel Catalysts to Minimize Feedstock Use
This team is a venture- and Breakthrough Energy-backed startup in Houston, TX commercializing a chemical process to sequester CO2 into acrylonitrile (AN), the sole feedstock for polymers and composites such as acrylamide (AMD) and carbon fiber (CF), respectively. The AMD and CF markets are supply-constrained and actively seeking decarbonized, drop-in alternatives to today’s volatile, petrochemical-derived AN supply. Mars’ carbon-negative AN is a drop-in replacement that can be supplied to these markets from local sites with reduced price volatility. At full scale, Mars envisions its carbon negative AN replacing fossil-derived AN effectively converting this market into a viable carbon sink.
Focus Area(s): Carbon Sequestration, Manufacturing
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Development of Efficient Dual Functional Materials for CO2 Capture and Conversion
Academic Institution: University of Rochester
Project Lead(s): Marc Porosoff, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester
Summary: This team will tune the energy efficiency of dual functional materials (DFMs) by integrating CO2 capture and conversion with microthermometry. A key operating principle of DFMs is the exotherm of CO2 hydrogenation provides sufficient heat to drive endothermic CO2 desorption. The problem with this approach is that the temperature profile of the DFM is poorly characterized, wasting energy on heating the system’s surroundings. We will improve DFMs by understanding how to efficiently use the heat from exothermic CO2 hydrogenation to drive endothermic CO2 desorption, thereby lowering the energy requirements of converting CO2 into value-added products, e.g. aviation fuel.
Focus Area(s): Carbon Capture and Conversion, Dual Functional Materials (DFMs)
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
LyfeProof is the evolution of a corporate wellness company created by celebrity fitness trainer and former MMA fighter, Brendan Weafer. His goal with LyfeProof is to change the way we age by combining experts with an innovative artificial-intelligence program to make living longer and healthier an attainable goal for seniors. This offering is the culmination of a lifetime of passion for movement and fitness and a professional career in wellness instruction, training, and coaching.
NYC Media Lab Combine Cohort: 2019-2020
Area(s) of Focus: AI/ML, Artificial Intelligence, Wellness
Local Civics enables students and educators to build their civic engagement and community leadership skills through game-based learning.
Launch Cohort: 2020-2021
Area(s) of Focus: Education Platform, Civic Tech
Letryx is a web-based tool for attorneys and investment professionals that accelerates M&A deal execution by automating the analysis of contracts and disclosures, focused initially on the energy sector.
Columbia | IBM Launch Accelerator Cohort: 2020-2021
Focus Area(s): Legal Tech, Contract Analytics
Lean Flow is a predictive analytics and dynamic scheduling platform for the construction industry that ensures projects are delivered on time and under budget.
Launch Cohort: 2020-2021
Area(s) of Focus: Construction, Analytics
To incorporate CO2-to-Building Materials into Kits of Ready-to-Install Interiors, further reducing Embodied Carbon in Building Retrofits
This team delivers kits from its library of ready-to-install apartment interior products for tenant improvements, retrofits, and conversions. They take the pain and complexity out of interior builds by (1) pulling from their library of interior modules to design faster and (2) leveraging local manufacturing partners to deliver plug-in kits. Manufactured locally, Kit Switch’s first product line, the Kit-Kitchen, is installed on-site in < 1 day, with improved turnaround, predictability, and sustainability.
Focus Area(s): Manufacturing, Sustainable Innovation
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Integrated CO2 Capture and Conversion to Value-added Chemicals
Project Lead(s): Jingguang Chen, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University
Summary: This team will integrate the processes of CO2 capture and CO2 conversion in order to improve the energy-efficiency and CO2 impact of CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals. Their electrochemical materials will simultaneously capture CO2 and convert it to formic acid, which may eventually enable the carbon-neutral or net-negative production of chemicals.
Focus Area(s): Carbon Capture and Conversion, Chemical Industry
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
To produce an electrochemically-driven CO2 capture device using nickel hydroxide batteries and a flow-through membrane
This team is developing a Ni(OH)2 based electrochemical DAC device using a flow-through membrane. The flow-through design unlocks the ability to use traditional battery technologies with known supply chains while also eliminating energy inefficiencies associated with a traditional membrane design. The research will focus on characterizing the flow-through membranes and modeling their performance.
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Focus Area(s): Direct Air Capture (DAC), High Energy Efficiency
To harvest reusable carbonation seeds by aqueous carbonation of brucite into magnesium carbonates
The primary objective of the project is to create diverse magnesium carbonate forms as carbonation seeds via aqueous carbonation and explore their seeding efficacy in varying binder systems like hydrated magnesium carbonates (HMC), magnesium silicate hydrates (MSH), and magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC). The significance of the project stems from using novel seed materials in magnesium carbonate production, which includes carbon mineralization, utilization, and storage, marking a promising transition from waste to resources. This initiative builds on creating low-carbon magnesium-based cement from waste such as desalination brine.
Funding Cycle: 2023-204
Focus Area(s): Seeding Efficacy, Carbon Mineralization, Carbon Sequestration
IM Technologies is developing high-temperature methods for material treatment, which includes metal extraction, nanoparticle production, waste treatment, and water cleaning.
PowerbridgeNY cohort: 2018-2019
Focus Area(s): Chemical Industry, Materials Processing, Eco-friendly
IM Technologies develop a high temperature method for material treatment and are using it for metal extraction from different sources and nanoparticle production.
PowerBridgeNY Cohort: 2019-2020
Key Focus Area(s): Rare Earth Elements Extraction, Nanoparticle Production, Water Purification, Waste to Energy conversion
Green and Low-Cost Membrane Adsorbents for Direct Air Capture
Academic Institution: University of Buffalo
Project Lead(s): Haiqing Lin, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Buffalo
Summary: This team will develop a novel CO2 capture material which will lower the cost of DAC by maximizing the rate and volume of CO2 capture. This material will rely on structurally similar components, enabling its production process to be simple, low-cost, and scalable.
Focus Area(s): Carbon Capture and Conversion, Direct Air Capture (DAC)
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
Conversion of CO2 to methanol in wastewater treatment facilities
Hago Energetics Benefit Corporation will build a field prototype of a system that converts CO2 to methanol in a dairy farm in New York. Unlike traditional methanol production from natural gas, this innovative process will produce net-negative CO2 emissions while also reducing the emissions produced from animal waste or biogas flaring at dairy facilities. A trailer-sized unit will capture the biogas produced by the farm, and will produce a saleable methanol.
Focus Area(s): Carbon Capture and Conversion, Renewable Energy
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
HacWare is an AI powered API that helps developers understand phishing risks and deploys hyper-custom training to change risky user behavior once and for all.
Cyber NYC (I2F) Cohort: 2019-2020
Focus Area(s): Machine Learning, SaaS, Cybersecurity
Grouphug Solar makes ridiculously good looking solar panels that are easy to use. Because renewable energy shouldn't be so complicated. Their first product, the window solar charger, empowers anyone to take their first step into solar without needing a rooftop.
NYC Media Lab Combine Cohort: 2019-2020
Focus Area(s): Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Sustainability
GreenPortfolio is the personal finance platform that helps millennials manage their money the climate-friendly way. Their AI-enabled SaaS product scores a person's investments and card transactions so they know where they stand - as a backer of fossil fuels or as an investor in a clean energy future.
Columbia | IBM Launch Accelerator Cohort: 2020-2021
Key Focus Area(s): Data Transparency, FinTech, SaaS
Greenore provides disruptive solutions of reducing and reusing both solid wastes and carbon emissions for industrial sectors. In particular, Greenore converts iron and steel making by-product, slag, into valuable chemical products (calcium/magnesium carbonate, iron oxide, silica, alumina and rare earth concentrate) while consuming CO2 as a reactant.
PowerBridgeNY Cohort: 2015 - 2016
Area(s) of Focus: Carbontech, Carbon Conversion
Geopipe is creating the authoritative whole-Earth digital twin, built by AI
NYC Media Lab Combine cohort: 2016-2017
Focus Area(s): AI/ML, 3D Simulation, Gaming
Fovea is a new system that uses eye-tracking for interactive content delivery.
NYC Media Lab Combine Cohort: 2019-2020
Launch Cohort: 2020-2021
Area(s) of Focus: Computer Vision, Machine Learning
FeatherDocs is an enterprise SaaS company that uses natural language processing to add structure and security to complex document workflows.
Cyber NYC Cohort: 2019-2020
Key Focus Area(s): Cybersecurity, SaaS
Fathom is a single API that allows you to interweave your connections across all your communication platforms to automate your outreach workflow for sales, marketing, fundraising, and more.
Columbia | IBM LAUNCH Accelerator Cohort: 2020-2021
Focus Area(s): Data Wallet, CRM, Web3, Consumer Data, Data Portability
eWitness uses blockchain to establish provenance of images and videos taken from a smart phone camera. eWitness can be used to gather evidence of crime, human rights violation, domestic violence, corruption, traffic violations and more. An eWitness user is protected behind a pseudo-identity which is hidden even from the eWitness backend, until the user is ready to reveal themselves or to quietly pass the evidence on to their case-worker, trusted friend or sponsor. The purpose of eWitness is to create images and videos that can be trusted. The technology behind eWitness, provides the proof of location and time the media was taken and the proof that the media was not altered to misinform or deform the fact in any manner.
NYC Media Lab Combine cohort: 2018-2019
Focus Area(s): Blockchain, Privacy, Crime
Endotope Biosciences is a cutting-edge biotech start-up focused on developing the next-generation paradigm for precision immunotherapy a broad spectrum of autoimmune conditions such as Type 1 diabetes.
Translational Therapeutics Accelerator Cohort: 2018 - 2019
Area(s) of Focus: Immunotherapy, Pathogenesis
To develop a 100% bio-based thermal insulation foam that incorporates biochar as a carbon sequestering additive
This team innovates biochar-enhanced insulation materials that sequester carbon and reduce fossil fuel dependency. Their objective targets the built environment as a leading generator (40%) of global CO2 emissions. Of those total emissions, building operations account for 27% annually, while building materials and construction (embodied carbon) are responsible for an additional 13% annually. They are developing a 100% bio-based 1-to-1 replacement product for foam insulation. Their proprietary chemistry incorporates biochar into the most commonly used foams as a scalable and viable carbon- negative material enhancement.
Focus Area(s): Carbon Sequestration, Building Materials
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Dype is a decentralized marketplace to buy and sell Streetwear and exclusive sneakers on the secondary market. Our mission is to revolutionize the way we authenticate limited edition products. We are the first to crowdsource authentication within the Streetwear industry, in a fully transparent and efficient manner. By leveraging Blockchain technology, we will not only be able to create a fully automated escrow service, but also create a self-sustainable community of buyers, sellers, and verifiers.
Launch Cohort: 2018-2019
Area(s) of Focus: Blockchain, Crypto, E-Commerce
Dartboard is a software platform for forecasting anything from sales results, to new trends, to whether or not your company softball team will make the playoffs. Forecasting is notoriously a blend of art and science. It's hard to capture decades of someone's experiences in a machine learning or AI model, but it's easy for them to answer a question if it is put simply. By tracking those answers over time and understanding the context behind them, we help you unlock better, more accurate forecasts.
NYC Media Combine Lab: 2015-2016
Area(s) of Focus: Analytics, Retail, Consumer Goods
Membrane-free Electrolyzers & Systems for Conversion of Carbon Dioxide from Waste-to-Energy Plants into Sustainable Aviation Fuel
The primary objectives of this project are to (i) develop impurity-tolerant membrane-free electrolyzers for the production of syngas from bicarbonate electrolysis and (ii) use systems-level analysis to understand the economic viability of incorporating these electrolyzers into a carbontech pathway in which carbon dioxide (CO2) obtained from the flue gas of waste-to-energy plants is converted into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Focus Area(s): Waste-to-Energy (WTE), Carbon Capture and Conversion, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
Concertio is the pioneer in the AI-powered performance optimization market. Their patented products boost performance by applying low-level accelerations and by tailoring the many system and application settings to work in concert with the currently running workloads, all automatically, continuously and in real-time.
PowerBridgeNY Cohort: 2015 - 2016
Area(s) of Focus: AI/ML
Energy Critical Metal Recovery Integrated with Carbon Capture and Durable Storage for Sustainable Steel and Aluminum Manufacturing in NY State
Carbon to Stone has developed a technology that reduces the CO2 emissions associated with steel and metals manufacturing by 8-10% while also producing critical metals which are necessary for the buildout of clean energy technologies. They will combine an energy- and material-efficient resource recovery technology which can process 10 kg of solid waste per day with an integrated CO2 capture and mineralization technology. They will pilot this approach in New York State while also investigating its scale-up potential.
Focus Area(s): Carbon Capture and Conversion, Clean Energy, Manufacturing
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
CarboCycle developed a Columbia-patented technology that converts organic waste into lipids and oils for use in consumer goods like soaps and detergents. The process greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions by closing the carbon loop, localizing the production and distribution of the materials used in cleaning products, and limiting the need for palm oil plantations (a driving force behind deforestation).
PowerBridgeNY Cohort: 2016-2017
Area(s) of Focus: Carbontech, Carbon Conversion, Environmental Remediation
Transforming CO2 emissions into building materials
Carbix will pilot an industrial-scale reactor which rapidly transforms CO2 into building materials. Carbix’s prototype technology has successfully produced batch samples for concrete mixes, paints, and coatings. This pilot will be co-located with an industrial facility in New York State, recovering water along with 20% of the CO2 from that facility's flue gas. It will mineralize that CO2 to form carbonates, which are key inputs to cement and other construction materials. The success of this pilot could enable the decarbonization of energy- and emissions-intensive manufacturing industries such as steel and cement production in New York State.
Focus Area(s): Sustainable Innovation, Construction
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
Candid is a smart online dating app, powered by a Wingbot (your personal wingman), enabling gamified conversations which will allow people to come across as unhinged and embrace their uniqueness. Candid uses cutting-edge NLP and Knowledge Graph to optimize the user experience through gamification of conversations, personalization and protection from unwanted profiles.
NYC Media Lab Combine Cohort: 2019-2020
Area(s) of Focus: Media/Entertainment, Natural Language Processing, Dating
Canairy is a platform using machine learning analysis of coughs to manage and monitor changes in improvement of chronic respiratory illnesses like COPD.
NYC Media Lab Combine Cohort: 2018-2019
Area{s} of Focus: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, AI/ML, Health Tech
BrainCeek is a work simulation program where anyone with any type of background can try out different jobs. Learn more about different jobs, know what it feels like to do the work, and gain the experience needed to apply for and excel at your next internship / job!
Cyber NYC Cohort: 2019-2020
Key Focus Area(s): Cybersecurity, Education Platform
Concept Design and Assessment of Solar-thermal/electric Hybrid Low-temperature Direct Air Carbon Capture
This team seeks to address this gap by advancing the carbontech market through a novel integration of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology powered by solar energy. Their core technology revolves around a hybrid DAC system, utilizing both 100% solar power and a solar-thermal/electric configuration. With solar thermal's superior efficiency (70-80%) in converting solar energy to heat compared to solar PV's efficiency (around 20%), this project will develop and evaluate a conceptual design for a hybrid DAC system. This system will leverage commercially viable low-temperature and low- pressure DAC absorbent technologies.
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Focus Area(s): Direct Air Capture (DAC), Solar Energy
Fiber optic sensor for wind turbine blade damage monitoring.
Powerbridge NY Cohort 2017-2018
Focus Area(s): Wind Energy, Sensor
Bitrights offers a seamless digital content licensing experience by combining the speed of web and mobile app communications with the security of the blockchain. We are a platform that allows content creators (i.e., artists, journalists, photographers, etc.) and enterprises to establish and license their work using permanent and verifiable records of rights ownership via Ethereum blockchain technology.
NYC Media Lab Combine Cohort: 2017-2018
Launch Cohort: 2018-2019
Area(s) of Focus: Blockchain, Media/Entertainment
Making CCS efficient: novel adsorbent regeneration by targeted photo-desorption
Project Lead(s): Arvind Narayanaswamy, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University
Summary: This team will improve the energy efficiency of CCS across a range of potential CCS applications, including cement production and ethanol production. Prof. Narayanaswamy will identify and test novel materials which reduce the amount of heat energy required to release CO2 from the substance to which it binds in the CCS process.
Focus Area(s): High Energy Efficiency, Carbon Capture and Conversion
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
This team creates oxalic acid (OA) from carbon dioxide using renewable energy and water to enable circular economies and sequestration. Arrow Carbon designed a new process to make OA from CO2, moving away from petrochemical oxidation production with nitric acid utilized today. The process only requires electrical energy, enabling carbon negative production with renewable energy sources.
Focus Area(s): Manufacturing, Carbon Capture and Conversion, Sustainable Innovation
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
Ardent Cell Technologies is developing Thermograft - a minimally invasive therapeutic procedure that transforms fat tissue for healthy weight loss and diabetes treatment.
Columbia BiomedX Cohort: 2012-2013
Area(s) of Focus: Regenerative Medicine, Cell Thermography
Moisture-Swing Direct Air Capture of CO2 by Oxides
This team has developed a reusable material to capture CO2 directly from the air in a dry condition and release CO2 when wet. Arbon’s core technology on moisture swing adsorption only uses water in the process. Their sorbent has exhibited remarkable stability and does not degrade after 10,000 cycles. It has a high energy efficiency without consuming heat during regeneration, which is considered the most significant bottleneck for the high energy cost of traditional direct air capture technologies.
Focus Area(s): Air Capture, Water, High Energy Efficiency
Funding Cycle: 2022-2023
Aptatek BioSciences is developing game-changing home monitoring tools for chronic disease patients and medication management. The Aptatek system combines its proprietary aptamer assay approach with a handheld, smartphone-based test platform. The company has already received Breakthrough Device designation by the FDA, for its first product - a phenylketonuria (PKU) monitoring test.
Columbia BiomedX Cohort: 2012-2013
Key Focus Area(s): Diagnostics, Medical Devices
Allied Microbiota provides biological methods to clean-up environmental contaminants. They pioneer new treatments to remediate soil, air & water, using microbes best suited to solve contamination and wastewater problems fast, cost-effectively and sustainably.
PowerBridgeNY Cohort: 2013-2014
Area(s) of Focus: Clean Energy, Environmental Remediation, Microbes
Alinea is an investing community for crypto, stocks and playlists fractional investing. Built by GenZ for GenZ.
Launch Cohort: 2019-2020
Area(s) of Focus: Finance, FinTech, Impact Investing, Financial Services, Personal Finance
To prototype an intermittent, swarm-automated off-grid power-to-methanol facility
This team has developed a standalone, ultra-modular system capturing CO2 from environmental air and converting it into carbon-neutral e-fuels. Each system, when deployed, will capture 3 tons of CO2 per year and replace 400 gallons of fossil gasoline or 2 tons of fossil methanol. Their goal is to be capturing millions of tons per year, and replacing millions of fossil gallons/tons, by the end of this decade, selling fuel at fossil price parity. They want to build a digital and physical prototype of thousands of Aircela systems working together, modeled at the subcomponent scale, and powered intermittently.
Focus Area(s): Direct Air Capture (DAC), Fossil Fuels
Funding Cycle: 2023-2024
AGEless Biomedical's technology employs direct and permanent chemical modification of biomaterials to prevent glycation and glycation-related structural degeneration of bio-implantable materials and devices.
Columbia BioMedX Cohort: 2021-2021
Focus Area(s): Medical Devices, Autoimmune Diseases
Aduri develops tech-enabled products and services that support making mental-wellbeing a foundational pillar of the modern human experience. Our first product, Cushion, is your personal meditation trainer, that uses gentle pulses and feedback to help you relax, focus and stay consistent.
NYC Media Lab Combine cohort: 2018-2019
Focus Area(s): Tech-enabled Products, Meditation
Acculis makes building design information transparent and visible to all the important parties involved in the construction of a building.
NYC Media Combine Lab Cohort: 2016-2017
Area(s) of Focus: Construction