Sprint and Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) today announced the nine companies participating in the sixth annual accelerator program. The 90-day immersive program launches today and runs through June. Startups in three verticals — 5G Technology, Ag Tech and Dairy Food Products — will work directly with leaders from Sprint, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), CoBank and other industry experts and mentors to create strategic, long-term partnerships. The Sprint Accelerator program culminates on Demo Day, June 27, in which the startups showcase their ideas.
“We’re excited to once again provide mentoring, collaboration and resources that will help fuel the growth of this year’s start-up companies through our Sprint Accelerator program,” said Bryan Fries, Sprint vice president, 5G market strategy and global services. “We’re about to begin the next-generation of wireless in nine markets, including Kansas City. So, this year, Sprint added a new 5G vertical so companies can use our 5G network to bring innovative products and services to customers, that help transform industries such as mobile gaming, entertainment, and transportation.”
“It’s been rewarding to help mentor these entrepreneurs, and we’re thrilled to get started with another class for this year’s DFA Accelerator. Plus, we’ve found that we learn along the way too,” says Monica Massey, executive vice president and chief of staff at DFA. “By working and collaborating with ag tech and dairy food startup companies, we’re helping develop solutions that will not only provide value for our farm families and their operations, but will also help drive consumer demand for dairy.”
The 2019 Class of the Corporate Accelerator
5G Technology
Nodecraft (Oklahoma City, Okla.). Nodecraft is a cloud platform that enables Game Developers, E-sports tournaments, and direct-to-consumer (gamers) the ability to instantly create unforgettable online multiplayer experiences.
Portl Media (Toronto, Canada). Portl Media eliminates idle time by providing education and entertainment options to users through a network of strategically placed media and entertainment screens starting off in rideshare cars.
Ag Tech
Bezoar Laboratories (Bryan, Texas). Bezoar’s current innovation is a patent-pending probiotic for cattle that, when paired with nitrate, decreases their methane production by 50%, while providing additional benefits
Cattle Care (San Francisco, Calif.). Using low-cost video cameras Cattle Care detects, recognizes and tracks every cow as well as business processes and makes decisions for the farmer about the treatment of a particular cow or a whole barn.
Healthy Cow (Toronto, Canada). Healthy Cow is an ag-biotech helping dairy farmers to produce more wholesome, natural, and nutritious milk while simultaneously reducing their dependence on antibiotics and hormones.
Labby, Inc (Boston, Mass.). Labby is an AI-powered smartphone platform for food and agro analytics.
Dairy Food Products
Brooklyn Buttery (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Brooklyn Buttery is reimagining butter for the 21st century as a fun convenient product for home cooks to turn up the flavor on their dishes using sustainably sourced ingredients.
Numa (Bridgewater, N.J.). Numa makes all-natural sweet, chewy milk treats with just six natural ingredients and four grams of protein.
RifRaf (Brooklyn, N.Y.). RifRaf offers cool, creamy ricotta cups that are one part cheese and one part unexpectedly delicious flavor.
Since its inception in 2014, the Sprint Accelerator has worked with 45 start-up companies. These companies have raised an aggregate of over $36 million since participating in the program. Visit the Sprint Accelerator calendar for public opportunities to engage with these companies at sprintaccelerator.com.
About Sprint and its Support for Entrepreneurship
Sprint has a strong history of working with startups in Silicon Valley, Kansas City and around the globe, helping young companies navigate the corporate world and build momentum behind their new businesses. Sprint is committed to supporting the entrepreneurial movement across the country, delivering new business opportunities, and spurring the startup spirit within the company. In 2014, Sprint opened the award-winning Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City – home of the Corporate Accelerator. The accelerator space is used to deliver year-round programming, including mentor engagement, STEM programs, entrepreneurial community collaboration, and community coworking space.
About Sprint:
Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served 54.5 million connections as of Dec. 31, 2018 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Today, Sprint’s legacy of innovation and service continues with an increased investment to dramatically improve coverage, reliability, and speed across its nationwide network and commitment to launching the first 5G mobile network in the U.S. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
About Dairy Farmers of America:
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a farmer-owned cooperative representing 8,000 family dairy farms across the United States. DFA is committed to providing value to its farmer-owners through marketing members’ milk, providing services and resources on the farm and connecting our family farms with plants and brands such as Borden® Cheese, Plugrá® Butter and Kemps® to name a few. For more information, call 1-888-DFA-MILKCall: 1-888-DFA-MILK (332-6455) or visit dfamilk.com.
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