Two Alabama companies won a combined $75,000 in non-dilutive funding after winning out a group of ten other finalists in the Alabama Launchpad Cycle 2023 Finale.
Founded by Will Bryan, Autonoma, a business that creates autonomous vehicle simulation and validations tools, won $50,000 in the early seed stage.
“I think the real value I’ve gotten is the advice and mentorship I’ve gotten from the Launch Advisors throughout this process,” Bryan said. “Their decades of experience will provide even more than a check does, and winning Alabama Launchpad really will help us accelerate our next stage of growth.”
DevClarity, an AI-powered platform for proactive developer management, took home $25,000 in the concept stage category. The company was co-founded by Will Blackburn and Peter Inge.
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“We started this company because we’ve led development teams before, and we’ve seen the difficulties in doing so,” said Blackburn. “We’ve seen developers leave Birmingham and Alabama in general, and we’ve seen tech layoffs recently. We truly believe DevClarity can play a role in creating better, more attractive teams, keeping talent here and avoiding layoffs in the future. This capital gives us a full quarter of runway, with developer help, so that we can mature the platform while we raise seed capital.”
One of the judges said the competition shows Alabama’s pro-business climate.
“To have a front seat to the innovative companies that are in Alabama, doing amazing things, is rewarding and proof and evidence that Alabama’s open for business,” Martha Underwood, Founder of Prismm, said. “There is a talent pipeline here, and larger companies can come here to access people and resources to scale.
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“People think Alabama is not the place to come to because of the history here, but when they come here and see programs like Alabama Launchpad and high-tech companies, like DevClarity and Autonoma, they realize their perception was wrong. Alabama is the place to build.”
The companies received two months of intensive mentorship, through both one-on-one and group session training with startup founders and business experts to prepare for the competition.
Alabama Launchpad has funded 117 Alabama startups since it began in 2006. Over the past 16 years, it has given over $6 million in non-dilutive funding to winning companies.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
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