It has been nearly a year since Launch Chapel Hill teamed up with KPMG to form the Launch Powered by KPMG Accelerator. Described as an “AI-enabled, next-generation accelerator model,” the program is open to innovators with or without UNC connections and is designed to support founders with “cutting-edge industry insights and enterprise connections.
Launch Powered by KPMG ran two cohorts in its first year. Startups from the first joined us at Grep-a-Palooza to pitch to the crowd, and the second cohort held its “Demo Day” at the Innovate Carolina Junction last October.
On Monday evening, back at the Junction, the program kicked off its third-ever cohort. The event started with an hour of networking time revolving around new cohort founders, program alumni, mentors, Launch and KPMG representatives, and other supporters from around the ecosystem. Then, following a few introductory words from Launch Chapel Hill Director Emil Runge (pictured above, delivering remarks), founders from each of 13 startups comprising the new cohort gave introductory presentations.
Here’s a look at those startups.
Inaedis, Inc. (Princeton, NJ)
Inaedis, Inc. spun out of Princeton University with a proprietary “Rapid Room-Temperature Dehydration” (RTAD) technology that turns liquid medication into powder for temperature control and safe distribution.
Resilience AI (Various locations)
Resilience AI boldly pitches that it’s “solving for natural disasters.” It aims to do this through a multi-faceted climate tech platform that provides clients with specific natural disaster threat assessment and actionable preparedness recommendations.
Swarm (Chapel Hill, NC)
Swarm is solving for the issue that while AI can now help companies ship products faster, user feedback hasn’t caught up. Swarm provides troves of AI users who can test product and flow, answer questions honestly, and reveal problematic patterns in short time.
NeoVerse / Neopay (Chapel Hill, NC)
The newest branch of NeoMana Labs (and by extension NeoPay), NeoVerse is a crypto-based network allowing for tamper-proof, real-time, and non-custodial transfers—built in lieu of a database for NeoPay and with an aim to save on regulations. (See GrepBeat’s coverage of NeoPay here.)
Artificially Digital (Durham, NC)
Artificially Digital provides adaptive AI solutions that help businesses “unlock the full value” of their data. The startup’s AI learns from new data, avoids bias, and optimizes analysis and recommendations in a cost-effective manner. (See GrepBeat’s past coverage here.)
Utilyst (Raleigh, NC)
Utilyst presents AI solutions for utility environments. Specifically, the startup uses predictive modeling and spatial intelligence to seamlessly equip water and energy utilities with intelligence that predicts failures and ensures compliance.
Papaya (Chicago, IL)
Papaya aims to address not only the aggravation that comes with website privacy pop-ups, but also some of the illegal practices they can represent. The startup deploys AI agents to help clients continually test their sites for privacy and accessibility violations. The fruit is also delicious.
Swik AI (Chapel Hill, NC)
Swik AI is addressing the simple fact that all too often it takes all too long for a small business to obtain a loan. The startup’s solutions involve standardizing revenue verification (often fragmented) and compiling structured signals to stabilize and speed up the process.
NavAlytix (NC / NY)
NavAlytix helps enterprise clients determine where and how to deploy AI to increase efficiency and drive revenue. The startup’s operational, ROI-driven approach can accomplish what a lengthy consulting project conceptualizes in a matter of days or weeks.
Beakpoint (Winston-Salem, NC)
Beakpoint builds AI and ML models to help companies gain comprehensive insight into their cloud costs. The startup identifies the customers, features, and more driving those costs and packages findings into clarity and savings recommendations.
Applied Research transformation (Durham, NC)
Applied Research transformation (ARtx) delivers tech solutions to 3D concrete printing and other heavy civil infrastructure projects. The team works with government agencies and private corporations to reduce costs and improve the efficiency and sustainability of these projects.
Pellucid (Cary, NC)
Pellucid bills itself as “the first buyer-side marketplace and agentic workflow platform for the cloud, AI, and marketplace era.” The startup helps developers define approved tools and spending limits, helping to align efficient procurement with clear spending visibility.
All in all, Monday’s kick-off event showcased more of the impressive variety that has quickly become typical of the Launch/KPMG accelerator. The startups are tackling a wide, disparate range of issues and are doing so from across North Carolina and beyond (with one founder even beaming in from India at roughly 3:30 AM her time to present to the group).
The cohort will run for a little over a month, with a Demo Day set for April 14th. In the meantime, expect to see some additional GrepBeat coverage of the companies above as we keep a close eye on the group.
