University of Florida’s I-Street Accelerator Seeks Gov Tech Firms for Pilot

A lab and research operation in one of Florida’s main college towns wants to help companies make better technology for smart cities via a fresh pilot program.

I-Street, a government technology accelerator that has partnered with the University of Florida Transportation Institute in Gainesville, has put out the call for applications for its fall and spring pilot programs.

Companies taking part in the pilots will enjoy assistance from academic researchers with expertise in transportation, transit, artificial intelligence, mobility and robotics, Justin Dennis, COO and co-founder of traffic management tech provider Urban SDK, told Government Technology.

The Florida-based company, along with the state’s Department of Transportation and CivStart — another gov tech accelerator — also work with I-Street.

“Our goal is to bring the best-in-class mobility, climate and safety companies to work in Florida but also improve how local governments can test and adopt new technology without the historic risk of not trying before you buy,” Dennis said in an email interview.

The plan is to pilot 20 companies this year and next, with those businesses earning what he called “new partnerships in local, state government and venture investments to continue their growth.”

I-Street will not only collaborate with companies in the pilot but document how their tech influences the community and help them publish findings and conduct demonstrations. The group also wants to expand its efforts to other cities, Dennis said.

Acceleration and incubation programs keep on growing in the gov tech space. A recent example comes from Amazon, whose Amazon Web Services provides a foundation for many cloud-based gov tech services.

The company recently announced a new cohort of tech suppliers that, according to Amazon, use the cloud “to improve outcomes, build resilience and accelerate progress in service of their respective missions, constituents and communities.”

*Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in Government Technology, a sister publication of Industry Insider — Florida. Their parent company is e.Republic.