Newlab today announced the launch of its 2022 Open Call season, inviting applications from trailblazing startups and entrepreneurs from around the world interested in joining this year’s Innovation Studios. Newlab’s Innovation Studios pair the challenges of corporations, cities, and countries with impactful solutions from global innovators, and this year’s Studios will drive innovation across energy storage, medical textiles, 5G, socially responsible technology, and sustainable mining.
Selected companies will partner with Newlab to test their technologies in real-world environments, partner with local industry and civic leaders to pursue pilot projects, and uncover new use cases. Through their participation in the Innovation Studios, they will have access to grant funding, Newlab’s robust investor network, and corporate partners and programs, as well as a peer community of 250+ companies and more than $5M of on-site prototyping resources. Participation in a Newlab Innovation Studio is equity-free.
“Identifying transformative, technology-driven solutions to critical industry and societal challenges is core to the mission of Newlab’s Innovation Studios,” said Shaun Stewart, CEO of Newlab. “We’re looking forward to welcoming cutting-edge companies to work with us, alongside community organizations, civic partners, and industry leaders, to drive forward meaningful impact through scalable technology.”
Newlab has launched numerous Innovation Studios over the past four years focused on a range of challenges and opportunities across industry and society, including its Mobility Studio, which it launched in partnership with Ford’s Michigan Central to support the development of new mobility concepts; the 5G Studio, in collaboration with Verizon, which enabled its company cohort to leverage Verizon’s 5G network and Mobile Edge Compute (MEC) to test new technologies; the Prospect Mining Studio, a partnership with Vimson Group to support companies developing and piloting solutions to enhance safety, sustainability, and efficiency in the mining industry; and the Circular City Studio, which focused on making New York City more resilient and sustainable by piloting smart city technology.
Interested companies are invited to apply to the following Innovation Studios by the deadlines listed below. This page will be updated periodically with the latest information pertaining to each Studio’s open call.
Prospect Mining Studio
Prospect Mining Studio is a first-of-its-kind platform for Applied Innovation and Investment across the metals and minerals mining value chain. We are focused on solving critical challenges for the production, supply, and use of bulk and critical ores and metals, while advancing global energy and carbon reduction goals. A catalyst for change in the industry, the Studio is a partnership between Vimson Group, a leading Indian mining conglomerate, and Newlab, a center for invention. Prospect Mining Studio convenes key stakeholders across mining and adjacent industries to build, pilot, and scale transformational technologies against critical challenges and opportunity spaces. The Studio look to mobilize innovators, industry partners, investors, academics, and the public sector through collaboration, technology validation, and investment.
Applications are now open.
Resilient Energy Studio
The Resilient Energy Studio, a collaboration between the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Newlab, aims to cultivate local energy storage capacity by working with entrepreneurs, community organizations, energy experts, and leading industry stakeholders to advance energy storage for a sustainable urban future. The Studio supports goals that are critical to New York City’s climate agenda, with focus areas including testing and validating safer energy storage technologies for dense, urban environments, demonstrating novel storage solutions, integrating electric vehicles and energy storage assets, and showcasing the community impact of such innovation. Leveraging test sites across New York City, the Studio is partnering with local leaders to align around areas of opportunity to pursue through pilot projects and is recruiting a cohort of companies developing new storage concepts, designs, and features that create community benefit and yield valuable insights for scaling urban energy storage solutions.
Applications are now closed.
5G Studio
Verizon and Newlab created the 5G Studio to support the development of next-generation applications that have the power to transform industries like mobility, energy, and automation to create the ecosystems of the future. Since 2020, companies developing products in autonomous systems, mobility, EV charging, computer vision, location technologies, machine learning, A.I., and more, have piloted new and unprecedented technologies in the 5G Studio. The Studio is recruiting participants for its fifth cohort this Spring, focused on industrial automation, energy, transportation, and the supply chain, including warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing. Studio participants will have the opportunity to use Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network and Mobile Edge Compute (MEC) at Newlab to build transformative applications that can fundamentally change how they approach and scale solutions across their sectors.
Applications are now closed.
Vertical Impact Studio
The Vertical Impact Studio is a partnership between Newlab and Leonisa, a textile manufacturing company owned by Vertical Partners, enabling leading global brands and retail manufacturers to leverage emerging technologies to launch new products and advance operations across the apparel value chain. Studio participants will get the opportunity to work with industry leaders in merging corporate strategies with market-leading technologies, ultimately achieving greater efficiencies, expanded product lines, enhanced customer experiences, and opportunities for strategic investment and growth. The focus areas for this cohort include advanced textile materials, robotic technology, sensor deployments, and A.I. and machine learning.
Applications are now closed.
Ethical AI Studio
The Ethical AI Studio is the first Studio launched through Newlab Studios Uruguay, and is built in partnership with Globant, a global technology services firm with clients across the major tech, media, and travel industries. The Studio works with global entrepreneurs to integrate advanced digital technologies with socially responsible frameworks, ethics, and policy recommendations to ensure the ethical design, implementation, and scaling of AI to directly address the unintended harms caused by digital innovations. Participating early-stage technology companies will work alongside industry and government partners, developing new products and solutions that will promote wellbeing and build the public’s trust in emerging technology.
Applications are now closed.
