Urban Future Lab Welcomes Winners of Urban Future Competition to ACRE, NYC’s Premier Cleantech Incubator

After a very competitive Urban Future Competition, New York City’s hub for smart cities, smart grid, and clean energy at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering has welcomed two innovative cleantech startup companies into the ACRE incubator.
 

Fentrend and Tagup were admitted to ACRE after winning the Urban Future Competition staged by the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon (UFL) during Greentech Media’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) conference. Each was awarded $25,000, admission to ACRE at the Urban Future Lab, and exclusive mentor meetings with industry partners and sponsors. The winners also had the opportunity to pitch their businesses to potential funders at the REV Future 2016 conference.

“We’re excited to have these innovative cleantech and smart grid companies joining us at ACRE,” said Pat Sapinsley, managing director of cleantech initiatives at the UFL. “As interest grows in making smarter, more efficient cities, Fentrend and Tagup have shown how to effectively make use of both the Internet and Internet of Things technology to thrive in the space. They both leverage resource efficiency for the end users while helping to reduce carbon emissions.”
 

Fentrend, founded in Brooklyn, is building the first intelligent marketplace for the massive window and door industry, which totals $26.5 billion in the United States alone. Using data and proprietary digital tools, the company is replacing the current laborious, haphazard sourcing processes with efficiency and transparency while opening a new, low-cost sales channel for suppliers.

“We are deeply humbled by the opportunity to join this thriving incubator at NYU Tandon,” said Andy Huh, co-founder and CEO of Fentrend. “We started this company with the goal of being a one-stop-shop for architects and builders wanting the most efficient windows and doors for their projects. Joining ACRE will allow us to build on our success in our beta market and provide opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive.”
 

Tagup, founded in Boston, offers manufacturers, value-added resellers, and end users the means to quickly and effectively link their equipment to the Internet, enabling them to monitor performance remotely. It reports that its patent-pending analytics platform can reduce unplanned downtime on equipment like power transformers by as much as 70 percent.

“We’re thankful for this chance to enter the New York energy ecosystem and look forward to the mentorship opportunities the Urban Future Lab community will provide," said Jon Garrity, founder and CEO of Tagup. “Joining this collection of cleantech startups at NYU Tandon will help us bring our innovative solution to new potential users and continue our growth.” 

The Urban Future Competition was a pitching event that sought business solutions for global urban energy and sustainability challenges. Fentrend competed against two other finalists, CTY and Industrial/Organic, in the Smart Cities Category. TagUp competed in the Smart Grid Category against finalists OhmConnect, SEaB Energy, and Highview Power during the Urban Future Lab’s first Jury Day competition.

Note: Images available at http://dam.poly.edu/?c=1820&k=454d553e78 

About the NYU Urban Future Lab and ACRE
The Urban Future Lab (UFL) at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering is New York City’s premier innovation hub for smart cities, the smart grid, and clean energy. The UFL is home to programs focused on policy, education, and market solutions for the green economy. ACRE, the UFL’s flagship program, is a business incubator that supports the growth of high-impact early-stage venture companies addressing climate change. ACRE incubator companies receive 24/7 access to desk space and conference rooms at an office in Downtown Brooklyn in addition to professional business advisory and support services (legal, accounting, design) and introductions to ACRE’s network of market partners, investors, mentors, and startup resources. The UFL and all its programs are supported by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), National Grid, Cushman & Wakefield, and Lowenstein Sandler. More at ufl.nyc.

About the NYU Tandon School of Engineering
The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, when the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture as well as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly) were founded. Their successor institutions merged in January 2014 to create a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention, and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within the country’s largest private research university and is closely connected to engineering programs in NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates business incubators in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu.