Leading Cities Announces Top 10 Urban Sustainability Solutions for 2023

Leading Cities Announces Top 10 Urban Sustainability Solutions for 2023

Leading Cities, the global nonprofit dedicated to advancing city resiliency and sustainability, in collaboration with QBE Insurance Group, is thrilled to unveil the top ten urban technology startups chosen as finalists of the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge. Now in its fifth year, this groundbreaking program has established itself as one of the world’s largest initiatives of its kind, bridging the gap between innovative startups and urban centers. The AcceliCITY program has already facilitated over $1 Billion in funding for alumni startups, many of which have deployed their solutions to enhance the equity, resilience, and safety of cities worldwide.

“We are excited to announce this year’s finalists of the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge. These startups represent the future of urban innovation, and their dedication to addressing critical city challenges is truly inspiring,” said Michael Lake, President and CEO of Leading Cities. “With the support of QBE Insurance Group and our global network of mentors, these startups will play a pivotal role in shaping more resilient and sustainable cities for all.”

This year’s finalists were selected from an impressive and record-breaking pool of over 650 applicants hailing from 80 different countries. The entrepreneurs leading these ventures are committed to addressing a wide range of urban challenges, including clean water, inclusive mapping, electric vehicle infrastructure, and more. The journey began with the selection of the Top 100 Resiliency Solutions, who participated in a business-to-government and capital acquisition-focused web-based curriculum, receiving invaluable one-on-one mentorship from global experts. Now, the Top 10 Resiliency Solutions are gearing up for the QBE AcceliCITY Virtual Boot Camp, scheduled from October 3rd to the 6th, where they will compete for a total of $100,000 in pilot project funding.

“As a company that helps people and businesses develop resilience and mitigate risk, QBE is proud to play a role in helping our cities and local governments build resiliency and prepare for a range of environmental and economic risks,” said Chris Castaldo, Chief Financial Officer at QBE, who also serves as Executive Sponsor of the AcceliCITY Challenge. “Our partnership with Leading Cities, now in its fifth year, puts action behind our values and purpose to enable a more resilient future for our communities, customers, and employees.”

AcceliCITY’s unique approach streamlines innovation for both startups and governments by reimagining the innovation and implementation cycles for Smart City solutions. The program connects startups’ innovative solutions directly with business users and provides them with the necessary channels, training, and knowledge to successfully implement their technologies in cities.

About the Finalists

– Aqua Solar Solutions: Cutting-edge technology to generate affordable green electricity as well as fresh water.
– Flash: An AI/Deep Learning platform that is changing the way we forecast weather by forecasting lightning hazards for the continental U.S.
– GoodMaps: Turn-by-turn navigation that enables anyone to find their way within the built environment regardless of their routing preferences.
– itselectric: An urban curbside EV charging network that connects to existing buildings and shares revenue with the host property.
– SmartAcqua Solutions: Water Losses are growing globally despite investments; existing solutions are not working and SmartAcqua AI/ML solution can fix it.
– Stratasite: A cloud-based active threat planning portal that allows emergency responders to create and share coordinated response plans.
– SustainAccount: Provides real estate stakeholders with actionable climate intelligence to foster the resilience of buildings.
– Syrinx: Leaders in nature-based solutions, sustainable technologies and positive impact models.
– UrbanSky: Provides high-resolution, ultra-low-cost, city-wide aerial imagery using zero-emission balloons.
– WEO: Creates accessible environmental analytics by harnessing the power space data and AI.

In addition to the Smart Cities Track of the Resilience Challenge, the 2023 competition also features two auxiliary tracks, a proptech track seeking solutions to challenges at the intersection of sustainability and commercial property, and an ggtech track looking to identify a solution to support America’s small- and mid-size farmers.

In the proptech track, four finalists – Climasens, Flash, Intelligent AI, and UrbanSky – pitched to a judging panel made up of QBE’s property leaders in North America and International, as well as QBE Ventures. Intelligent AI, a global location intelligence solution that helps identify, measure, predict and mitigate property risks in real time, was selected as the winner, receiving $25,000 and business support from QBE. Additionally, the judges made the decision to extend QBE’s business support to all participating finalists in recognition of the high quality of the solutions they presented.

For more information about Leading Cities and the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge, please visit www.AcceliCITY.com

About Leading Cities

Leading Cities is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing city resiliency and sustainability. Through innovative programs like the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge, Leading Cities connects startups with city governments, fostering collaboration to address urban challenges and create more resilient, sustainable, and equitable cities. Additional information can be found at www.LeadingCities.org or by following Leading Cities on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

About QBE

QBE North America is a global insurance leader helping customers solve unique risks, so they can stay focused on their future. Part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, QBE North America reported Gross Written Premiums in the first half of 2023 of $5 billion. QBE Insurance Group’s results can be found at qbe.com. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 27 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The North America division, headquartered in New York, conducts business primarily through its insurance company subsidiaries. The actual terms and conditions of any insurance coverage are subject to the language of the policies as issued. Additional information can be found at qbe.com/us or follow QBE North America on LinkedIn and Facebook.

About the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge

QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge, a signature program, leverages the Leading Cities network of forward-thinkers in the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors to advance innovation in local governments. The program lowers the cost and risk of innovation for startups as well as cities and corporations by streamlining the innovation and sales cycles for Smart City solutions.