Startups led by black founders are on the rise, but they still face significant barriers to success. In April of this year, AWS announced a $30 million commitment to the AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders, a series of programs designed to help high-potential startups overcome these barriers and succeed.

The first of these programs, the AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders, invited applications from U.S.-based startups to an overwhelming response, with applications pouring in from across the country.

AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders

From among countless submissions, AWS has selected 25 participants for their innovative ideas, technical preparedness, and overall excellence. These individuals come from a variety of industries and locations nationwide, each with its own unique use cases and business models.

What sets the AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders apart from other programs is its focus on pre-seed startups, which are often overlooked by investors. This program provides them with the resources they need to take their business to the next level and achieve success.

The selected participants will receive up to $225,000 in funding, access to AWS credits and technical support, and mentorship from AWS experts. They will also have the opportunity to connect with other black founders and entrepreneurs through exclusive events and networking opportunities.

We are excited to be a part of AWS Impact Accelerator, which is a game-changer for black-owned startups. Starting in 2023, LAStartups.com will participate as press and follow the progress of these inspiring entrepreneurs. We will interview each founder throughout the program to better understand how AWS is helping them grow their businesses.

We will share with you their stories, challenges, and successes so that you can be inspired by their journeys. In the meantime, you can learn more about AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders and the other programs in the series on the AWS website.

25 Startups Selected for the AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders

Let’s take a look at the 25 startups that have been selected for the AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders program.

Arizona

PeerCapsule – PeerCapsule helps healthcare professionals connect and collaborate with each other to share clinical insights, find research mentors, and network with experts.

California

Oben Health – Oben Health is a digital therapeutic company based in San Francisco that seeks to help reverse heart disease without medication or surgery. By doing so, they hope to reduce the number of deaths caused by this epidemic, which disproportionately affects Black and brown patients.
CModel – Action-oriented executives turn to Vallejo-based CModel for real-time revenue analysis that helps them fine-tune their strategies and make more informed decisions.
HubbleIQ – Easy-to-use software from HubbleIQ offers automated remote tech support that is data-driven and can be deployed in minutes, so businesses of any size can operate more efficiently.
Seed at the Table – Compton-based Seed at The Table is a crowdfunding platform that connects entrepreneurs with accredited and non-accredited investors who are looking to invest in BIPOC-led companies.
SevenStar – SevenStar’s cloud-based app helps bridge the trust gap between law enforcement agencies and citizens by enabling critical, real-time information sharing for safer and more accountable operations.

Delaware

Flywallet – Flywallet understands that 7 out of 10 travelers go into debt for a trip. To help make travel more affordable, they created a gamified savings account.
Rush Roto – Rush Roto, a Dover-based company, uses AI to help small businesses avoid the high costs of professional product photography often associated with studios.

Florida

Imanyco – Imanyco, a company based in West Palm Beach and St. Louis, provides an app that quickly and accurately transcribes group conversations for those who are deaf or hard of hearing so they can participate fully.

Georgia

Chezie – Chezie is based in Atlanta and offers a comprehensive solution that helps companies retain diverse talent. With Chezie, businesses can build and manage employee resource groups effectively to create lasting impact.
EyeGage – EyeGage, located in Atlanta as well, upped the ante for drug detection by using computer vision analysis of the eye. This method is not only more precise but also quicker, thus resulting in a safer environment overall.
The Goji Shop – Goji, based in Atlanta, is changing online shopping by helping customers make smarter purchasing decisions through a conversational AI that analyzes products.
Reflekt Me – Reflekt Me, based in Marietta, offers a hyper-personalization platform that helps brands reach 100% of their customers. The platform matches the characteristics of each online shopper with existing perfect product details page (PDP) images.

Illinois

The Crypto Mom – The Crypto Mom is a Chicago-based organization that provides a space for women to discuss, purchase, and give crypto. The Crypto Mom helps to balance the male-dominated crypto space and provides a path for women to get involved in the industry.
CulturePilot – CulturePilot is a Chicago-based company that offers a single platform to museums and exhibition spaces. This allows them to create Computer Vision-powered tours without needing to invest in their own equipment, making it more accessible for visitors.

Maryland

CyDeploy – CyDeploy is a Baltimore-based company that offers an intelligent, automated approach to functional testing of IT and the Internet of Things (IoT), helping to prevent 80% of security breaches that occur due to misconfigured or unpatched systems.

New York

CareCopilot – CareCopilot’s app helps loved ones care for aging relatives by guiding them through all the necessary steps. Based in New York City, CareCopilot is a valuable resource as the elder care crisis approaches.
Gyvlink – SaaS platform reducing donation waste, donor churn, staff costs, and warehouse charges by helping organizations rapidly share and match requests for in-kind donations. This organization is based out of Albany.
Oarbt – Oarbt is a New York City-based software that allows businesses to establish and gain analytical data from interactive 3D stores without needing any coding skills.
Recut – Recut, based in New York, focuses on creating video advertising experiences that stand out. We use a combination of existing actor-based video content and AI-generated photorealistic visuals and audio to create compelling ads that grab attention.

Rhode Island

Solvent – Solvent offers numerous financial tools at reasonable prices to those who have been hurt by money-related systemic problems, such as mass imprisonment, economic inequality, and being shut out of the banking system.

Tennessee

Nodat – Nodat helps businesses connect with consumers in their service area, ultimately increasing sales and customer satisfaction.

Texas

ChurchSpace – Houston-based ChurchSpace is the only marketplace designed to help churches turn their unused space into on-demand event, meeting, and commercial kitchen space – similar to Airbnb but strictly for religious buildings.
Heroshe – Heroshe, an e-commerce and logistics enablement platform based in Houston, empowers social sellers in Africa to grow their cross-border business abilities.
Moyae – Moyae, an Austin-based software company, provides a suite of tools that enables ophthalmologists and optometrists to create compliant records, maintain relationships with patients, manage billing, and improve the speed of feedback between researchers and doctors.

This first batch of companies represents a wide range of industries, from health care to retail to financial services. And they’re just the beginning – we’re looking forward to seeing the amazing things these companies will achieve with the help of the AWS Impact Accelerator.

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