New URBAN-X Cohort Tackles Wildfires, Community Feedback

URBAN-X, an urban tech accelerator based in New York, has taken on a new cohort of companies whose work includes community engagement, early wildfire detection and more.

The accelerator’s 12th cohort, which now includes backing from Israeli venture capital firm JVP, consists of nine tech startups. Four of them have a direct government focus:

• ClimateView: Software to track and manage greenhouse gas reduction programs. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.
• Dryad: Long-range IoT gas sensor networks to detect wildfires in their smoldering phase. Based in Berlin.
• Gentian: Applying AI to high-resolution satellite imagery to monitor habitats and urban ecological impacts, with use cases including pest identification, wildlife protection and flood risk management. Based in London.
• Seam Social Labs: AI-driven community engagement and feedback toolbox. Based in New York.

The other five companies in the cohort are factoRee, FunForm, itselectric, Novele and Urban Dashboard.

The URBAN-X program includes in-person events and programming in New York as well as virtual activities. Since its founding in 2016, the program has taken on more than 80 companies which have raised more than $440 million, with four company exits.