Startups in Boulder, CO, might be getting a little more connected.
The Boomtown Accelerator hosted its first demo day Friday. Six startups showed off their work and pitched investors at the Boulder Theater, and Boomtown announced it will open up a new “connected device lab” in the city. The accelerator hopes to make Boulder a hub of the connected device industry as the so-called “Internet of Things” emerges.
Boomtown is a startup accelerator launched earlier this year and co-founded by advertising industry legend Alex Bogusky, the former principal of Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Its focus is to find seed-stage Internet, mobile, and software startups, primarily in the media, design, marketing, and ad tech sectors.
The idea to create a connected device lab was sparked by two startups in this year’s program, Boomtown co-founder and co-director Toby Krout said. Boomtown’s also bullish on the Internet of Things because market research firm International Data Corporation expects the global market for connected devices to reach $7.1 trillion in 2020.
The lab will be in downtown Boulder and already is under development. Boomtown said in a release that it would be open to Boomtown companies and the community.
Here are the startups that graduated the accelerator:
—6px has developed an application programming interface (API) for processing images in the cloud. The software allows developers to create image-based apps and services and can support the growth of photo-oriented applications. The company was co-founded by Nick Parsons and Dustin Higginbotham and is pursuing a seed round.
—Chui is a smart doorbell that uses facial recognition to unlock doors and activate smart home devices. Applications include home or business security, and the product can be integrated with automatic locks, alarms, music systems, lighting systems, and more. The startup hopes to ship its first product this fall and is currently raising a seed round. CEO Shaun Moore and chief technology officer Nezare Chafni founded the company.
—Wüf is developing a smart dog collar that features a GPS tracker, activity monitor, and Bluetooth technology. It connects with a mobile app that will track and analyze dog behavior. Wüf currently is testing
