CO.LAB calls for startups in Sustainable Mobility Accelerator program

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Company Lab (CO.LAB) recently announced it is looking for its next cohort of companies to become part of its Sustainable Mobility Accelerator program.

The program runs for six weeks, during which participants work in-market, focusing on customer acquisition strategies and pilot implementations. While relocating permanently to Chattanooga isn’t required, several past participants have established operations in the city after completing the program.

Tasia Malakasis, CEO of CO.LAB, spoke with FreightWaves about the company’s 16-year history of helping startups scale through its unique accelerator program.

The accelerator, part of CO.LAB’s 16-year history of supporting entrepreneurship, now focuses specifically on mobility innovation, capitalizing on Chattanooga’s unique freight ecosystem where an estimated 85% of the nation’s goods pass through its highways.

“About three years ago, we made the decision to focus on what we believe very strongly is the competitive advantage for this region,” Malakasis told FreightWaves. “The way we define sustainable mobility is the future-forward movement of people, goods, energy and data.”

What distinguishes CO.LAB from traditional accelerators is its corporate matching approach. “The differentiator for this program hinges on the fact that we don’t accept a team into our program unless we can match them with a corporate partner for potential pilot or first-class customer opportunities,” Malakasis explained.

“The difference is we’re going to get you into a market and help you scale, meaning we’re making those customer connections and getting you here for a pilot. So, it’s a very different model, and I think that’s one that’s incredibly distinctive and very supportive for a startup,” added Malakasis.

Chattanooga is known as the “Silicon Valley of Freight,” a moniker given by Revolution founder Steve Case due in part to its unique concentration of freight, technology and supply chain companies.

The city ranks first in the nation among all metropolitan cities regarding the volume of freight moving through it by truck, according to a study by Cambridge Systematics. Through this “Freight Alley,” it is estimated that over 80% of all U.S. freight travels through Chattanooga due in part to the convergence of three Interstates – I-75, I-24 and I-59.

For CO.LAB, this concentration of industry expertise and freight has created fertile ground for mobility startups seeking to connect with established companies. Another benefit is the intersection of energy and telecommunications infrastructure via the Tennessee Valley Authority and EPB, Chattanooga’s electric power board.

Through EPB’s gig-speed and quantum-enabled grid, the city is home to the country’s first commercial quantum network. That infrastructure hosts the nation’s largest urban testbed for connected vehicle infrastructure, with 120 smart intersections spread across the city. These intersections contain advanced technology being tested through research initiatives at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

CO.LAB’s ultimate vision is to establish Chattanooga as one of the top destinations for mobility innovation in the United States.

For this latest cohort, CO.LAB is looking for startups with traction (post-revenue or in-market pilots) in these specific areas: