Ten Startups Selected to Participate in Sustainability Subscribed 2023

Washington, DC (September 12, 2023) – Village Capital, in partnership with Zuora and with support from Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation (HPE), announced ten startups have been selected for the second class of Sustainability Subscribed, a climate tech accelerator program launched in 2022.

Sustainability Subscribed works to support startups dedicated to mitigate climate change and innovate in sustainability through subscription or recurring revenue models. Our open call was specifically designed to spotlight these visionary startups, particularly those founded by individuals from diverse backgrounds, which are combating climate change and driving sustainable progress. The accelerator is an ongoing initiative to expand access and leverage the subscription economy for good. 

The cohort is composed of ten startups from different states, with 40% of the cohort headquartered outside of US tech hubs, 50% led by a female founder or C-suite member, and 80% led by a BIPOC founder or C-suite member. Companies are leveraging a wide range of technology from batteries, digital twin technology, satellite imagery, digital marketplaces, etc. 

Here are the ten startups helping fight climate change and preserve the planet in the US:

• 1Climate (New York City, New York) automates clean energy incentives and regulatory processes.
• Aquagenuity (Atlanta, Georgia) is the “Google Search for Water Quality,” providing up-to-date water quality data and filtration solutions to help consumers, corporations and cities answer the question: “What’s In Your Water?”
• Blackcurrant (Chicago, Illinois) revolutionizes the low carbon fuels such as Hydrogen and relevant sustainable aviation fuel trading industry, simplifying transactions, and accelerating the decarbonization journey in hard-to-abate sectors such as power generation, heavy industrial use, transportation, and Logistics.
• Climastry (New York City, New York) is an emissions markets financing solution that unlock emissions efficiency for manufacturers.
• dataArrows (Bristol, Rhode Island) develops AI assistance for the autonomous operation of energy systems in commercial buildings.
• ElectricFish (Fremont, California) builds and deploys resilient and flexible EV infrastructure to accelerate decarbonization, and support community adaptation to climate risks.
• Emerald Energy (New York City, New York) is the Indeed + Coursera for climate tech infrastructure workers.
• Enspi (Minneapolis, Minnesota) harnesses the power of AI/ML with its platform that transforms and modernizes your energy management by forecasting energy consumption and demand, leading to increased efficiency and enabling participation in demand response programs; turning sustainability into profitability.
• Genvision (New York City, New York) measures CO2 removal in nature using satellites.
• New Money (New York City, New York) visualizes and monetizes the real-time carbon reduction potential of buildings.

From September to December 2023, the selected entrepreneurs will participate in three interactive workshops (virtual) and one program summit (in person). The tailored, award-winning curriculum helps companies develop the necessary networks and tools to scale their impact and connect them with investors, mentors, and peers for one-on-one feedback and support.

In addition, all selected startups will receive $5,000 in grant capital for milestone support. The top two peer-selected startups will receive equity-free grant funding of USD $50,000 to support operations.

All startups that apply to the program will also receive an invitation to join Abaca, Village Capital’s online global network that helps entrepreneurs articulate how ready they are for investment or their next big expansion. The platform provides a diagnostic tool and matches them with relevant investors and resources.

For more information, reach out to Sofía Cándano at Village Capital (sofia.candano@vilcap.com).

About Village Capital 

Village Capital helps entrepreneurs bring big ideas from vision to scale. Our mission is to reinvent the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Our vision is a future where business creates equity and long-term prosperity. Since 2009, we have supported more than 1,400 early-stage entrepreneurs through our investment readiness programs. Our affiliated fund, VilCap Investments, has invested in more than 110 program graduates. 

About Zuora

Zuora provides a leading monetization suite for modern businesses across all industries, enabling companies to unlock and grow customer-centric business models. Zuora serves as an intelligent hub that monetizes and orchestrates the complete quote to cash and revenue recognition process at scale. Through its industry leading technology and expertise, Zuora helps more than 1,000 companies around the world, including BMC Software, Box, Caterpillar, General Motors, Penske Media Corporation, Schneider Electric, Siemens and Zoom nurture and monetize direct, digital customer relationships. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Zuora operates offices around the world in the Americas, EMEA and APAC. To learn more about the Zuora monetization suite, please visit www.zuora.com. 

About HPE Foundation

The Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation has operated since November 2015, with a history of impacting communities reaching back to 1979 through our activities as part of the former Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation. We continue this tradition of community involvement and our belief in being a force for good by deploying skills, resources, and technology to address social challenges and advance the way people live and work. We collaborate with nonprofit organizations and provide grants to drive progress in three strategic focus areas – Healthcare; Community Resiliency; and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights – while engaging HPE employees to volunteer and help drive impact, empowering them to make meaningful contributions in the communities where they live and work.