Accelerate Smart Cities Innovation Challenge Finale

Last week we celebrated innovative solutions that make our region smart, resilient, and sustainable for everyone at our Finale Pitch Event at George Mason University. More than 40 teams from the region and beyond participated this year, including those led by students. These teams represented a wide variety of sectors including housing, transportation, health, water, food systems, education, infrastructure, energy, and public safety. As our selection committee can attest it was hard to choose our finalists this year, and they were selected based on their high scores on Innovation, Regional Impact, Practicality and Scalability, and, Social Responsibility and Equity.

The seven winning teams were selected by six judges, which included distinguished business, government, and nonprofit leaders:

- Melanie Akwule, MinWO

- Kristina Francis, Jobs for the Future

- Marco Rubin, VIPC

- Malaika Scriven, National Landing BID

- Michael Stiefvater, Arlington Economic Development

- Walter Alcorn, Fairfax County

‍Congratulations to our 2023 Accelerate Smart Cities Innovation Challenge Winners!

- Akular

- Tiami

- Frontline

- Edenic Energy

- Novel Microdevices

- KAPPA AgTech, LLC

- Smart Glasses for Smart Cities

We look forward to seeing how they will help make our cities more livable, resilient, and sustainable for everyone.

Thank You to our Leadership Team and Sponsors for making the 2023 ACCELERATE Smart Cities Innovation Challenge a SUCCESS!