MINI AND HAX ANNOUNCE COMPANIES IN FIRST COHORT FOR URBAN-X STARTUP ACCELERATOR

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  April 25, 2016. MINI and HAX, a division of venture capital firm SOSV, today shared the names of several companies that are participating in the first cohort of the URBAN-X startup accelerator program. Over the course of three months, the nine companies in the inaugural cohort will refine their visions and build/launch their products and services which will positively impact urban life and shape the fabric of future cities. The program will culminate at an invite only Demo Day on June 7th, 2016.

The nine companies participating in the inaugural cohort are:

• Brooklyness: We make cycling in the city safer. Brooklyness.com; @brooklyness1
• Buzzware: Supercharging network for commercial drones. Buzzware.co
• CTY: Analytics for places. @heycty
• Farmshelf: Easy to use hydroponic urban farms for schools, apartment buildings and underutilized city spaces, Farmshelf.co; @farmshelfco
• MindRider: Mapping mental experiences to find the best places. mindriderhelmet.com ; @mindriderhelmet
• nello: The virtual doorman for your home. nello.io; @locumilabs
• Industrial/Organic: Sustainable solutions for a changing world. industrialorganic.co
• SAMOCAT: The lightest and the most compact automated public transportation system. Samocat.fr; @SamocatSharing
• stae: We're modern civil engineering. stae.co; @staehere

URBAN-X by MINI and HAX combines the core competencies of MINI, including design, engineering, and usability, with HAX’s best-in-class acceleration processes, investing experience, and ability to help companies bring innovative technologies to market rapidly. The intensive program will assist the participating companies with designing and launching products and services that improve life in cities, and addresses the challenges of increasingly dense urban areas.

URBAN-X is also now accepting applications for the next cohort, which will be held in August 2016 at A/D/O, a new 23,000 square foot space at 29 Norman Avenue in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood set to open this summer.  The deadline for submitting applications is June 24.  The selection criteria will again focus on the strength of the startup’s vision, the quality and commitment of the team, the viability of the business model, and existing traction with customers. Urban-X will host additional cohorts twice a year, with each session lasting three and a half months.

Startups, entrepreneurs and designers can apply for upcoming Urban-X by MINI and HAX programs at Urban-X.com.  

About MINI

MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States, MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC, located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and includes the marketing and sales organizations for the MINI brand. The MINI USA sales organization is represented in the U.S. through a network of 125 MINI passenger car dealers in 39 states. MINI USA began selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2002 with the introduction of the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtops.

About HAX

HAX is the world’s first and most prolific accelerator for hardware and connected devices, with over 100 companies launched in the past 3 years and combined revenues and investments of over $200M. HAX runs programs in San Francisco and Shenzhen, China, the “Silicon Valley for Hardware”, leveraging the supply chain in order to take products to market rapidly.  HAX is a program of SOSV, the Accelerator VC, a global  venture capital firm with over $300M in assets under management. SOSV has been accelerating startups since 2010, and will accelerate over 150 companies in 2016.

Journalist notes: Media information about MINI and its products is available to journalists online at www.miniusanews.com. Media information about HAX and its programs and startups are available to journalists online at www.hax.co.