Introducing STANLEY+Techstars Class of 2021!
Jan 27, 2021
By Laila Partridge, Managing Director of the STANLEY + Techstars Accelerator
We are excited to introduce the ten companies joining the 2021 class of the STANLEY + Techstars Accelerator – the first class focused on AI in advanced manufacturing! We’ve selected a diverse group of companies uniquely positioned to work with Stanley Black & Decker to make a meaningful impact on Industry 4.0.
After successfully accelerating additive manufacturing and sustainable packaging startups in prior years, this year’s class is focused on solutions for artificial intelligence (AI) in advanced manufacturing. We’ll work with two robotics companies, four software companies and four companies developing solutions by way of digital and hardware components. Our startups originate from a number of locations across the states - Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Washington - and across the globe from Canada, to Germany, and to India.
This year’s class kicks off today, January 25th, and will culminate with a demo day and investor days in late April. We are eager to utilize a virtual format for this year’s program to both keep our founders and accelerator community safe and to broaden our mentor pool to include individuals from across the globe. We believe this extended mentor pool will more than make up for losing some of the social elements of running our program in person. Instead of presenting an alphabetic list of this year’s class, we have categorized our startups into three groups -- each representing important focus areas for Stanley Black & Decker.
Presenting the STANLEY+Techstars Class of 2021:
Intelligent Factory as a Service.
These are scalable, agile, intelligent, and service-oriented solutions to factory automation challenges and opportunities.
Eduro.ai
Eduro's platform helps build and deploy automated workflows in manufacturing without any code. Companies can deploy applications in asset, inventory and order management and even leverage Eduro’s fully managed services like the procurement marketplace.
MODICA Microindustries
A software platform providing AI-assisted and fully-automated engineering decision support for factory-building and industrial automation tasks, in conjunction with a multi-scale modular hardware platform to improve deployability, density, and interconnectability of digital manufacturing devices, robots, automated equipment, and workspaces - wherever they are on Earth and eventually in space.
Slytek
The Slytrackr software/hardware systems have been developed to be adaptable to all ages of machinery, in a standard platform to increase ease of use. The company currently provides Machine Monitoring Solutions, Tool Monitoring and Adaptive Control, as well as customized Process Monitoring Systems.
Digitization.
This represents digitization across the life cycle of products and services (design, supply chain, manufacturing, distribution) and includes platforms for sensing (IIOT), analytics and overall data and knowledge management in smart factories.
EMS Forest
EMS Forest is at the intersection of PCB design quality and supply-chain processes. The Company connects OEMs, CMs, and downstream suppliers to optimize product realization cycles. Its AI-powered engine exceeds standards/requirements for high-reliability electronics by preventing manufacturability and supply-chain issues before production, eliminating time-to-market delays, design spins, and product recalls.
I-flow
An intelligent no-coding data management platform to connect, transform, store and share data across shop floor and top floor with just a few clicks.
ProductionAR
ProductionAR brings industrial digital information into the real world using a patented computer vision technology to provide information to users from cloud databases by simply "looking" at the object. The company’s special markers can be detected using commodity mobile devices from far away across the warehouse, simultaneously in multiple locations, or using live video -- like QR-codes on steroids!
Sensai
For manufacturing companies that require thousands of customized machine learning models, but lack the data and talent to create them, Sensai Analytic’s low-code platform enables their domain experts, rather than experts in machine learning, to deploy AI solutions.
Human-Machine Synergy, Safety, Sustainability.
These are factory automation solutions that advance human-machine collaboration, enhance safety, and optimize manufacturing including promoting circularity.
Hiloslab
HILOS delivers zero-waste, on-demand product. By unifying design, development, and manufacturing within purpose-built digital molds, HILOS is pioneering personalized product, made locally and sustainably. To see what they’ve already done in footwear, check out:
Malamute
Malamute builds an AI edge device that, when inserted into a worker’s hearing protection, allows for the passthrough of human voice in loud environments, enhancing face-to-face communication and acoustic spatialization.
Peer Robotics
Peer Robotics develops collaborative mobile robots, capable of learning from humans in real-time. Thereby, providing flexible and adaptable solutions for manufacturing and warehousing sectors.
We look forward to seeing what these ten companies will accomplish in the coming months!