RAMP Welcomes Four Teams for Fall 2024 Cohort
Fall marks the beginning of the second bi-annual RAMP-in-Residence program as elite life science and technology entrepreneurs come together to form this year’s fall cohort. The Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program, or RAMP, is proud to announce four new teams who will complete their signature accelerator program. The entrepreneurs hail from around the state and are ready to develop startups in the life sciences and informational technology sectors.
“The beginning of a new cohort is always an exciting time for our organization,” says RAMP Director John Hagy. “There’s never a shortage of amazing ideas coming out of this region and it’s an honor to meet this group of entrepreneurs and help them realize their visions.”
RAMP will host a “Meet the Cohort,” open to the public, on October 10 at 5 p.m. at The Shenandoah Club in Roanoke. Cohort members are:
Drivingo (Blacksburg, VA)
Drivingo pioneers customer experience with touchless interfaces, conversational AI, and bespoke omnichannel retail systems. Drivingo boosts interactions across the hospitality and tourism industry from banks to grocery stores and airports, and the fast-food industry.
DentAI (Richmond, VA)
DentAI is revolutionizing the dental industry by automating the design of dental splints through advanced artificial intelligence. Our refined workflow offers a powerful tool for high-volume labs and dentists providing in-house treatments. DentAI’s mission is to reduce treatment design costs, enable more same-day appointments, and free up dental technicians to focus on complex cases, ultimately improving dental care efficiency and accessibility.
Accordium.AI (Blacksburg, VA)
Accordium.AI is developing a large language model platform to revolutionize the way users negotiate. This innovative application aims to assist sales, procurement professionals, executives, negotiators, and individuals involved in mergers and acquisitions by offering a comprehensive platform for negotiation preparation, role-playing, coaching, and execution. By creating a bounded universe embedded with a proprietary negotiation system, users will be able to enhance their negotiation skills effectively. The application will provide tailored role-play scenarios and coaching sessions to meet the unique needs of each user, ultimately empowering them to excel in complex sales, price negotiations, and various other high-stakes situations.
Portcullis Research (Blacksburg, VA)
Portcullis is developing techniques to improve supply chain and lifecycle security for physical documents, trusted supply sources, and other routine business processes. These techniques integrate existing technologies to give companies and government agencies better lifecycle management of documents and assured supply chain artifacts.
Since its founding in 2017, RAMP – the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program serving western and central Virginia – has accelerated 52 companies that have collectively created 800+ new jobs and sell products and services to all U.S. states and internationally.
RAMP is an affiliate of Verge, a collaborative strategic alliance that includes the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council established to grow the region’s innovation economy.
During the 12-week cohort program, startups receive $20,000 in non-equity funding, expert mentoring, and free office space with high-speed internet in downtown Roanoke’s Gill Building. RAMP alumni also receive two years of free membership in the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council; one year of membership in Virginia BIO; three years of membership in the Shenandoah Club; membership in Morrow; discounted office space; and three additional years of ongoing support through Exit RAMP – a suite of ever-growing and developing coaching and support services.
The Fall 2024 Cohort will conclude their RAMP-in-Residence experience with “Demo Day,” scheduled for December 11 at the Inn at Virginia Tech when the entrepreneurs will present their companies to the region’s business leaders and investors.
This cohort is supported by VIPC’s Regional Innovation Fund (RIF), as well as VIPC’s CCF Scholarship funds, offering $20,000 in non-equity funding to each cohort member.