Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
upace™
Revolutionizing How Members Engage with Recreation Centers
Revolutionizing How Members Engage with Recreation Centers In 2014, Rachel Koretsky founded Upace, which has since skyrocketed to become the top mobile app engagement and reservation platform, supporting over one million members of community recreation centers across the US and Canada. Her journey started at American University, driven by a...
Global Innovation Spotlight
3 Proven Ways to Boost Brand Visibility Fast
3 Proven Ways to Boost Brand Visibility Fast To boost brand visibility fast, leverage custom apparel for instant recognition, harness storytelling to forge emotional connections, and expand reach through strategic partnerships. These innovative branding strategies bypass traditional advertising noise by creating authentic touchpoints that build trust. By implementing these tactics,...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
A research, training and innovation powerhouse
With nearly 7,000 students across eight schools and an array of centers and institutes, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) leverages the university’s clinical, behavioral, public health, laboratory, engineering, and social science capabilities to train health professionals and researchers and expand access to quality care. RBHS is among the few...
INNOVATE® Georgia
THIS DOT LABS
BRINGING THE SILICON VALLEY TO ATLANTA - DIGITAL INNOVATION FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY
Innovation is the lifeblood of progress, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Atlanta’s burgeoning tech scene. As the city continues to transform into a hub of technological advancement, it is imperative to focus on industries that have a profound impact on human well-being, such as life sciences. To...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
Enduvo’s
No-Code Platform Enables Anyone With the Power to Create and Share Immersive Content Within Their Organizations and the Metaverse
Enduvo was born at the University of Illinois and initially funded through a Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES) grant. These grants support collaborative research and development between OSF Healthcare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Dr. Matt Bramlet, Justin Drawz,...
INNOVATE® Georgia
HERMEUS
IMAGINE: NEW YORK TO LONDON IN 90 MINUTES
Hermeus is an Atlanta-based aerospace startup on a mission to revolutionize air travel with hypersonic aircraft. These planes will fly five times the speed of sound – turning a seven-hour trip from New York to London into a short 90-minute flight. Traveling at these speeds effectively shrinks the size of...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
Union Kitchen
HOW A FOOD BUSINESS ACCELERATOR IN WASHINGTON,DC IS PAVING THE WAY FOR THE NEXT BIG CPG BRANDS
Cullen Gilchrist founded Union Kitchen in 2012 to partner with food businesses of all sizes to grow and scale their success. Cullen got his start in the food industry with his sister and friends when they opened the Blind Dog Cafe. Faced with the challenge of increased demand and not...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
STEMFUSE
EDUCATION AND ESPORTS: How Esports can be used to reimagine Business and Multimedia Classrooms
STEM Fuse is a developer of digital K-12 STEM and CTE curriculum and PD, working with 12,000+ schools across the country. We were founded in 2009 with the mission to help schools deliver engaging STEM programs to prepare students for the fastest growing career opportunities. The Founder, Carter Tatge, was...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
AMPLIFY CAPITAL
TARGETING QUANTITATIVE IMPACT OUTCOMES; DELIVERING DOUBLE BOTTOM LINE RETURNS
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
Nova Scotia Health
Innovation Hub
Making Healthcare in Nova Scotia Better There is a smarter way to deliver quality healthcare, but achieving it requires fresh thinking, a forward-focused approach, and the courage to move beyond traditional methods. That is exactly what the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub is designed to do. Established in 2023, the...
Vykon Performance Exhausts
From Humble Beginnings to a Global Brand
A New Chapter in Performance Excellence. Vykon Exhausts is not just a company; it’s a testament to a legacy of innovation, passion, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Founded by Brad Anassis, Vykon is a continuation and evolution of the remarkable engineering prowess that began with his late father, Gerry, and...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
YOCO
PASSION, TALENT AND A SHARED SENSE OF PURPOSE SEE YOCO GROW INTO A LEADING AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY COMPANY IN A FEW SHORT YEARS
In a few short years since launching in 2015, Yoco has grown into an African technology company that is ready to take on the world. With its focus on creating opportunities for small businesses, breaking down the barriers they face, and helping them to participate fully in a more inclusive...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
ULTRA
GAMERS HAVE WANTED TO DO MORE WHILE GAMING. NOW THEY CAN.
READY PLAYER ONE“What if I actually owned my digital games and in-game items?” That’s been the question on most gamers’ minds. With limited solutions and some gamers resorting to the shady secondhand grey market to make use of their content outside of the game, David Hanson and Nicolas Gilot,...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Platypus Labs
Innovation is mission critical
We provide holistic, fully-orchestrated programs to help harness and deploy innovation. Similar to the platypus, we believe that the greatest innovations are an amalgamation of seemingly disparate insights and ideas, that together create surprisingly, unexpected outcomes enabling organizations to deliver their own toxic blow and outpunch the competition. We live...
Global Innovation Spotlight
IT Solutions for Industrial Manufacturing: What 8 Systems Are Worth in 2026
From MES to predictive maintenance, a plain-English look at the systems that actually pay off on the plant floor.
Most industrial plants are not short on technology. They are short on technology that gets used. Deloitte's 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey of 600 senior executives at manufacturers with $500M or more in revenue found that 92 percent see smart manufacturing as the main driver of competitiveness over the next three...
INNOVATION Quebec
CISA
CCTT D’INNOVATION SOCIALE EN AGRICULTURE
Créé en 2009, le Centre d’innovation sociale en agriculture (CISA) du Cégep de Victoriaville est un centre de recherche collégial dont la mission consiste à piloter des réflexions et des projets de recherche-action misant sur les innovations sociales, dans le but de générer desrésultats ayant une pertinence pratique pour le...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
THE DC WHEELS
SKATEBOARD TEAM AND CHARITY ORGANIZATION USES THE POWER OF SKATEBOARDING TO CHANGE LIVES
Their mission is to overcome longstanding stereotypes that surround skateboarding by helping others, reinforcing positivity, and supporting a healthy lifestyle. Also known as the Skate Crusaders, they have handpicked talent from across the metropolitan region and dedicate themselves to meaningfully help those in need. The team is comprised of girls/women...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
11th Street Bridge Park
Bridging Divides: Transforming Washington D.C.
Where the echoes of history and the pulse of modern life intersect in Washington, D.C., a groundbreaking project is taking shape: the 11th Street Bridge Park. Led by Scott Kratz, Senior Vice President of the non-profit organization Building Bridges Across The River and partnering with the District Department of Transportation,...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
RON ARTESANO
Artesano is the product of inspiration, perspiration, hard work and perseverance
This is what we call Ron Artesano. This craft rum brand is hand-made in small batches in the mountains of Jayuya, Puerto Rico. The founders are a solid team of professionals that handle the different aspects of the business: Commercial Operations & Business Development, Distillation, Production & Aging and Rum...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
NOVATRON
POWERING THE FUTURE WITH FUSION ENERGY
In 2019, a bold vision took root in Sweden—one that could redefine the future of energy. Inspired by the pioneering ideas of inventor Jan Jäderberg, Novatron Fusion Group (NFG) was founded with a singular mission: to unlock the power of fusion energy and make it a practical, scalable, and sustainable...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
ABEXUS
BIG DATA IS WHAT WE DO
ABEXUS Analytics is a tech company which specializes in Extracting, Analyzing and Visualizing data. Even though this process is either somewhat automated within large firms, or totally neglected within small and medium companies, there remains a gap which ABEXUS is ready to fill. That is, not all numbers are created...
INNOVATE® Nashville
NASHVILLE INNOVATION ALLIANCE
FUELING INNOVATION FOR A THRIVING NASHVILLE
The Nashville Innovation Alliance aims to make Nashville one of America’s leading centers of technology innovation by bringing the community together to create a shared vision, set ambitious goals and advance strategic initiatives. Established by Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Vanderbilt University in 2024, and anchored by participation from LaunchTN, the...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Original Technology Drives Commercial Applications, International Collaboration Confirms Sustained Reputation
How HU Xiaokang's AI-driven family education model reached the classroom and a cross-border partnership with Lexile.
In May 2025, Chinese intelligent family education expert HU Xiaokang signed a Digital Access and Distribution Agreement with Lexile, a subsidiary of Meta Metrics in the United States. More than a year has passed, and this cross-border cooperation has entered substantive operation from the signing stage: 5000 student assessment license...
INNOVATE® Seattle
READ
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF WORKWITH CONNECTED INTELLIGENCE
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF WORKWITH CONNECTED INTELLIGENCE. Founded in 2021 by David Shim, Robert Williams, and Elliott Waldron, Read AI brings together your meetings, emails, and messages and transforms them into collaborative partners, so that they talk to each other, share information, offer updates, find answers, and organize tasks through...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
upace™
Revolutionizing How Members Engage with Recreation Centers
Revolutionizing How Members Engage with Recreation Centers In 2014, Rachel Koretsky founded Upace, which has since skyrocketed to become the top mobile app engagement and reservation platform, supporting over one million members of community recreation centers across the US and Canada. Her journey started at American University, driven by a...
Global Innovation Spotlight
3 Proven Ways to Boost Brand Visibility Fast
3 Proven Ways to Boost Brand Visibility Fast To boost brand visibility fast, leverage custom apparel for instant recognition, harness storytelling to forge emotional connections, and expand reach through strategic partnerships. These innovative branding strategies bypass traditional advertising noise by creating authentic touchpoints that build trust. By implementing these tactics,...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
A research, training and innovation powerhouse
With nearly 7,000 students across eight schools and an array of centers and institutes, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) leverages the university’s clinical, behavioral, public health, laboratory, engineering, and social science capabilities to train health professionals and researchers and expand access to quality care. RBHS is among the few...
INNOVATE® Georgia
THIS DOT LABS
BRINGING THE SILICON VALLEY TO ATLANTA - DIGITAL INNOVATION FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY
Innovation is the lifeblood of progress, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Atlanta’s burgeoning tech scene. As the city continues to transform into a hub of technological advancement, it is imperative to focus on industries that have a profound impact on human well-being, such as life sciences. To...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
Enduvo’s
No-Code Platform Enables Anyone With the Power to Create and Share Immersive Content Within Their Organizations and the Metaverse
Enduvo was born at the University of Illinois and initially funded through a Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES) grant. These grants support collaborative research and development between OSF Healthcare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Dr. Matt Bramlet, Justin Drawz,...
INNOVATE® Georgia
HERMEUS
IMAGINE: NEW YORK TO LONDON IN 90 MINUTES
Hermeus is an Atlanta-based aerospace startup on a mission to revolutionize air travel with hypersonic aircraft. These planes will fly five times the speed of sound – turning a seven-hour trip from New York to London into a short 90-minute flight. Traveling at these speeds effectively shrinks the size of...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
Union Kitchen
HOW A FOOD BUSINESS ACCELERATOR IN WASHINGTON,DC IS PAVING THE WAY FOR THE NEXT BIG CPG BRANDS
Cullen Gilchrist founded Union Kitchen in 2012 to partner with food businesses of all sizes to grow and scale their success. Cullen got his start in the food industry with his sister and friends when they opened the Blind Dog Cafe. Faced with the challenge of increased demand and not...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
STEMFUSE
EDUCATION AND ESPORTS: How Esports can be used to reimagine Business and Multimedia Classrooms
STEM Fuse is a developer of digital K-12 STEM and CTE curriculum and PD, working with 12,000+ schools across the country. We were founded in 2009 with the mission to help schools deliver engaging STEM programs to prepare students for the fastest growing career opportunities. The Founder, Carter Tatge, was...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
AMPLIFY CAPITAL
TARGETING QUANTITATIVE IMPACT OUTCOMES; DELIVERING DOUBLE BOTTOM LINE RETURNS
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
Nova Scotia Health
Innovation Hub
Making Healthcare in Nova Scotia Better There is a smarter way to deliver quality healthcare, but achieving it requires fresh thinking, a forward-focused approach, and the courage to move beyond traditional methods. That is exactly what the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub is designed to do. Established in 2023, the...
Vykon Performance Exhausts
From Humble Beginnings to a Global Brand
A New Chapter in Performance Excellence. Vykon Exhausts is not just a company; it’s a testament to a legacy of innovation, passion, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Founded by Brad Anassis, Vykon is a continuation and evolution of the remarkable engineering prowess that began with his late father, Gerry, and...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
YOCO
PASSION, TALENT AND A SHARED SENSE OF PURPOSE SEE YOCO GROW INTO A LEADING AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY COMPANY IN A FEW SHORT YEARS
In a few short years since launching in 2015, Yoco has grown into an African technology company that is ready to take on the world. With its focus on creating opportunities for small businesses, breaking down the barriers they face, and helping them to participate fully in a more inclusive...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
ULTRA
GAMERS HAVE WANTED TO DO MORE WHILE GAMING. NOW THEY CAN.
READY PLAYER ONE“What if I actually owned my digital games and in-game items?” That’s been the question on most gamers’ minds. With limited solutions and some gamers resorting to the shady secondhand grey market to make use of their content outside of the game, David Hanson and Nicolas Gilot,...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Platypus Labs
Innovation is mission critical
We provide holistic, fully-orchestrated programs to help harness and deploy innovation. Similar to the platypus, we believe that the greatest innovations are an amalgamation of seemingly disparate insights and ideas, that together create surprisingly, unexpected outcomes enabling organizations to deliver their own toxic blow and outpunch the competition. We live...
Global Innovation Spotlight
IT Solutions for Industrial Manufacturing: What 8 Systems Are Worth in 2026
From MES to predictive maintenance, a plain-English look at the systems that actually pay off on the plant floor.
Most industrial plants are not short on technology. They are short on technology that gets used. Deloitte's 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey of 600 senior executives at manufacturers with $500M or more in revenue found that 92 percent see smart manufacturing as the main driver of competitiveness over the next three...
INNOVATION Quebec
CISA
CCTT D’INNOVATION SOCIALE EN AGRICULTURE
Créé en 2009, le Centre d’innovation sociale en agriculture (CISA) du Cégep de Victoriaville est un centre de recherche collégial dont la mission consiste à piloter des réflexions et des projets de recherche-action misant sur les innovations sociales, dans le but de générer desrésultats ayant une pertinence pratique pour le...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
THE DC WHEELS
SKATEBOARD TEAM AND CHARITY ORGANIZATION USES THE POWER OF SKATEBOARDING TO CHANGE LIVES
Their mission is to overcome longstanding stereotypes that surround skateboarding by helping others, reinforcing positivity, and supporting a healthy lifestyle. Also known as the Skate Crusaders, they have handpicked talent from across the metropolitan region and dedicate themselves to meaningfully help those in need. The team is comprised of girls/women...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
11th Street Bridge Park
Bridging Divides: Transforming Washington D.C.
Where the echoes of history and the pulse of modern life intersect in Washington, D.C., a groundbreaking project is taking shape: the 11th Street Bridge Park. Led by Scott Kratz, Senior Vice President of the non-profit organization Building Bridges Across The River and partnering with the District Department of Transportation,...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
RON ARTESANO
Artesano is the product of inspiration, perspiration, hard work and perseverance
This is what we call Ron Artesano. This craft rum brand is hand-made in small batches in the mountains of Jayuya, Puerto Rico. The founders are a solid team of professionals that handle the different aspects of the business: Commercial Operations & Business Development, Distillation, Production & Aging and Rum...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
NOVATRON
POWERING THE FUTURE WITH FUSION ENERGY
In 2019, a bold vision took root in Sweden—one that could redefine the future of energy. Inspired by the pioneering ideas of inventor Jan Jäderberg, Novatron Fusion Group (NFG) was founded with a singular mission: to unlock the power of fusion energy and make it a practical, scalable, and sustainable...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
ABEXUS
BIG DATA IS WHAT WE DO
ABEXUS Analytics is a tech company which specializes in Extracting, Analyzing and Visualizing data. Even though this process is either somewhat automated within large firms, or totally neglected within small and medium companies, there remains a gap which ABEXUS is ready to fill. That is, not all numbers are created...
INNOVATE® Nashville
NASHVILLE INNOVATION ALLIANCE
FUELING INNOVATION FOR A THRIVING NASHVILLE
The Nashville Innovation Alliance aims to make Nashville one of America’s leading centers of technology innovation by bringing the community together to create a shared vision, set ambitious goals and advance strategic initiatives. Established by Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Vanderbilt University in 2024, and anchored by participation from LaunchTN, the...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Original Technology Drives Commercial Applications, International Collaboration Confirms Sustained Reputation
How HU Xiaokang's AI-driven family education model reached the classroom and a cross-border partnership with Lexile.
In May 2025, Chinese intelligent family education expert HU Xiaokang signed a Digital Access and Distribution Agreement with Lexile, a subsidiary of Meta Metrics in the United States. More than a year has passed, and this cross-border cooperation has entered substantive operation from the signing stage: 5000 student assessment license...
INNOVATE® Seattle
READ
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF WORKWITH CONNECTED INTELLIGENCE
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF WORKWITH CONNECTED INTELLIGENCE. Founded in 2021 by David Shim, Robert Williams, and Elliott Waldron, Read AI brings together your meetings, emails, and messages and transforms them into collaborative partners, so that they talk to each other, share information, offer updates, find answers, and organize tasks through...