Westchester County’s Element 46 Tech Accelerator Welcomes 12 Dynamic Startups into Fall 2024 Cohort

Westchester County’s Element 46 Tech Accelerator Powered by Quay Acceleration recently welcomed 12 innovative startups into its Fall 2024 cohort. The program will culminate with a Demo Day on November 21, 2024, where each participant will have the opportunity to pitch their venture to a room of investors, technology experts, press representatives, government officials, and other key contacts.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “The 12 startups chosen for this fall’s Element 46 Tech Accelerator cohort feature diverse areas of focus and exciting innovations. Westchester County is proud of its growing community of entrepreneurs and looks forward to supporting these ventures during their growth journeys.”

Westchester County Director of Economic Development, Bridget Gibbons, said: “The ventures chosen for this cohort are solving problems and advancing industries. We are proud to offer an innovative and engaging program that helps entrepreneurs scale and look forward to working with this group of dynamic entrepreneurs.”

Westchester County Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Deborah Novick, said: “Education, mentorship, and networking are core elements of the Element 46 Tech Accelerator. This cohort of 12 exciting ventures are applying innovative solutions to significant problems such as water quality; robotics manufacturing; pharmaceutical regulatory compliance; fitness and wellness. Each founder has an appetite for growth, and achieving excellence in their respective areas of focus, and each was a standout in a highly competitive selection process. We are delighted to welcome these 12 ventures into our program.”

Quay Acceleration Co-Founder, John Lynn, said: “Westchester County is among the first governments to adapt the startup accelerator model from a tool for venture capital investors into a platform for constituents to organically build their own entrepreneurial community -- and benefit from it. The 12 startups selected for the Element 46 Tech Accelerator Fall 2024 cohort represent now almost 70 companies that the program has gathered since its inception, as well as the diversity, innovation, and world-class entrepreneurial talent that is already growing in the County. Quay Acceleration (formerly Cela Innovation) is extremely proud to be supporting the County's innovative work to ensure that its startup ecosystem are all prepared and participating in the new opportunities of our increasingly technological world.”

The ventures chosen for the fall 2024 Element 46 program, are:

• ACQUA Solutions (Yonkers): ACQUA Solutions helps small and remote communities solve the challenge of accessing clean and affordable water by providing energy-efficient, sustainable water treatment technologies, including advanced filtration and wastewater treatment systems. ACQUA Solutions has a licensing agreement with the University of Michigan for PFAS removal technology and a temporary licensing agreement for additional innovations.
• Advanced GP (Dobbs Ferry): Advanced GP is an AI transformation company that provides AI solutions customized for investment management.
• Alline (Yorktown): Alline is a SaaS platform that helps small business owners solve marketing challenges by providing step-by-step guidance to develop a customized marketing plan tailored to their business, leveraging artificial intelligence to customize marketing strategies.
• Astrabeam LLC (Scarsdale): Astrabeam is a fabless semiconductor design startup that builds sub-terahertz imaging radar sensors for autonomous mobile robot manufacturers and system integrators to operate safely and reliably in complex environment conditions.
• Augie (White Plains): Augie helps outbound marketers solve their video needs with our all-in-one ai-assisted video platform, Augie Studio. Augie raised a $4.1 million Seed round in 2023, has just released a commercial product, and has active distribution partnerships with TikTok, Dropbox, and others.
• Curation Lounge (Mount Vernon): Curation Lounge offers style-conscious individuals a solution to finding personalized lifestyle recommendations. Its AI-powered platform combines curated content from trusted influencers with the user's personal style and existing wardrobe to recommend new outfits and experiences. Curation Lounge currently has a functional prototype with AI-driven recommendation capabilities, initial users, and influencer partnerships.
• DIYBook (Larchmont): DIYBook helps aspiring authors solve the problem of starting and completing their books by providing affordable, easy-to-follow writing prompts created by our founder, a professional ghostwriter with nearly 20 years of writing experience. DIYBook has engaged its first customers and plans to add up to 1,000 new customers in the next six months.
• Global Key Solutions Group (White Plains): Global Key Solutions Corp (GKSC) helps pharmaceutical companies, specifically quality auditors and regulatory professionals, solve the challenge of compliance and inspection readiness by providing FDA regulatory data through a streamlined software platform.
• Griz Inc. (Rye Brook): Griz Inc. is a tech company that created the IOS app FlipFlop: Campus Connect, which provides college and university students with a platform to alleviate the stress of navigating college life. FlipFlop has acquired 2,000 users and is available at over 150 campuses in the United States.
• Portelle Inc (Eastchester): Portelle helps women-owned e-commerce businesses solve the lack of resources and support to start, grow, and scale their businesses by offering a platform that includes a curated marketplace for them to sell on and SaaS programs to support their growth.
• Tangible Results, Inc. dba VibroAcousticsNY
  (New Rochelle): The venture’s Sonic Calm Mat helps those suffering from PTSD or in high-stress occupations, as well as first responders, effortlessly reduce harmful cortisol levels, which then causes significant reductions in blood pressure, pulse rate, anxiety, tension, muscle spasticity and poor sleep quality by integrating two well-studied soundwave delivery techniques into a portable mat. Tangible Results, Inc. has done successful work with a prominent Sleep Medicine Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital using an early prototype.
• ZeroWheel, Inc. (Armonk): ZeroWheel, Inc. is a fitness technology company that provides a novel smart fitness device for gym-goers, athletes, and fitness enthusiasts to enhance their core workouts with state-of-the-art motor technology and data-driven performance tracking. To date, ZeroWheel has raised $1.7M in investment, partnerships with professional sports teams, and orders from notable gyms across the country.

Members of each Element 46 Tech Accelerator cohort are chosen in a competitive selection process. Each group comprises up to 12 tech startups and must feature committed founders with at least a prototype of their technology or tech-enabled product.

In the program, each founder is matched with hand-picked mentors who are leaders in technology, finance, business strategy, venture capital, marketing, and other key areas. Participants also gain access to a world-class curriculum on fundraising, customer development, executive management, product iteration, branding, marketing, and more.

The Element 46 Tech Accelerator Powered by Quay Acceleration runs for 10 weeks every spring and fall. This is the fifth cohort produced in partnership with Quay Acceleration, experts in tech accelerator programming and operations.

To learn more about the Element 46 program, visit the Element 46 website.

About The Westchester County Office of Economic Development

The Westchester County Office of Economic Development works to improve the County’s economic well-being and quality of life. This includes a broad range of activities to attract, create and retain jobs, and to foster a resilient, pro-growth and inclusive economy. For more information, visit the Westchester Catalyst website.