FROM THE OUTSET, Chattanooga-based The Company Lab (CO.LAB) has promised each of the five members of its newest Sustainable Mobility Accelerator (SMA) cohort that they will be matched with a relevant industry actor.

SMA cohort members are focused on challenges in mobility, logistics, energy, infrastructure and-or data.

"By connecting startups with regional assets--including EPB's smart grid, the Smart Corridor, and partnerships with industry leaders such as TVA, Volkswagen, and University of Tennessee Chattanooga [Fuller CIE, CUIP, Fund] CO.LAB provides founders with an environment uniquely suited for piloting real-world solutions," CO.LAB said in its latest cohort announcement.

The new SMA cohort that is listed below in this story was also introduced last month during Mobility Makers' MOVE America conference, which was centered in Detroit.  

The industry-alignment factor is essential in selecting cohort members, CO.LAB CEO Tasia Malakasis told VNC.

Malakasis explained CO.LAB does not admit a startup to it accelerator unless one or more existing industrial partners signal interest in partnering to execute a pilot and-or connect a startup to its initial priority market.

Barry Grove

The CEO also confirmed that representatives of SMA's Fall 2025 cohort are scheduled to be introduced through virtual presentations to groups of fund managers and accredited investors, later this month. Parties interested in those events are invited to message Malakasis or CO.Lab Chief Commercial Officer Barry Grove for further information.

The CO.LAB website explains: "We start by talking to corporate partners to pinpoint their innovation needs. Then we recruit startups building solutions that match those priorities. If you’re in the cohort, you’re not just getting one-time advice you’re matched with an organization to explore a real-world pilot."

During its applicant-screening process, CO.LAB's cooperating industry partners are asked to indicate their interest in supporting specific startups through pilots, facilitating first-customer opportunities, helping determine quantifiable return on investment, and-or guiding maturation of each partnered startup. Related.

In addition to potential customers, CO.LAB connects teams with public agencies, infrastructure providers, and others who are looking to "pilot, buy or scale," according to the program's webpage.

Here is SMA's Fall 2025 cohort, chosen from a field of 101 applicants from the U.S. and abroad.

•  ATLAS Traffic Technologies (Denver) -- "The AI digital Mission Control for cities... AI-powered Mission Control platform that converts traffic cameras into transportation intelligence.

Using computer vision, it detects 87+ events—crashes, congestion, infrastructure failures, and safety risks—while scoring intersections on safety, efficiency, environment, and cost, giving cities continuous performance insights without new hardware or disruptions. Founder: Nick Borrego.

•  Derapi (San Francisco) -- "The interoperability layer for distributed energy" offering a "universal, cloud-based API designed specifically for the Distributed Energy Resource (DER) sector.

It serves as a standardized interface that software developers use to access, control, and gather data from various DER devices — such as solar inverters, batteries, EV chargers, and more—from multiple manufacturers. Founder: Thomas Lee.

•  Qubit Engineering (Knoxville) -- "Bringing quantum computing to clean energy. Qubit’s optimization platform improves wind farm siting, boosts output, and cuts costs. Now, they're taking aim at electric grid management to help ensure a reliable, efficient energy future from turbine to transmission."

This deep-tech startup says it's "pioneering a new era of electric grid intelligence through physics-informed artificial intelligence and quantum-inspired optimization..." Founder: Marouane Salhi.

•  ShipItPro (Memphis) -- "They use AI and ML to help shippers reduce damage, align partners, and save millions in claims. It’s risk reduction and accountability, built in." ShipItPro Dock-to-Dock verification system starts with QR scanning and smartphone checklists at loading facilities, then captures delivery conditions to create comprehensive Load Execution Reports. This documentation-first approach prevents cargo damage through accountability rather than in-transit tracking." Founder: Wesley Montague.

•  Zeus Robotics (Chattanooga) -- "Hospitals are struggling with labor gaps and burnout. Zeus is responding with autonomous delivery robots built for the real world..." Offers robots designed for hospitals and clinics, for transport of medications, lab samples, equipment, laundry, and more.
Founder: Vivek Thankachan.

ADVANCES

In May 2023, CO.LAB and the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) covering their potential collaboration for research. That same month, CO.LAB convened a CO.MOBILITY SUMMIT on the UTC campus. More recently, CO.LAB become closely aligned and allied with the Chattanooga Quantum Collaborative.

For its Fall 2024 cohort, CO.LAB announced selecting five startups, drawn from a pool of 132 applicants.

• Moduly (Montreal, Birmingham) - battery storage solution
• Motoring Labs (Indianapolis) - automated fleet inspections 
• RueData (MexicoCity) - fleet tire management SaaS 
• SensFlo (La Jolla) - production optimization SaaS 
• WEAVE3D (Norcross) - high-performance materials producer 

CO.LAB's Spring 2024 Sustainable Mobility Cohort drew these companies:

• Coulomb Technology (Knoxville) - Battery lifecycle data analytics 
• Fluix (Bay Area, Orlando) - data center energy-cost management 
• MarsCharge (Palo Alto) - decentralized EV-charger grid 
• Terminus Technologies (United Kingdom) - 
• Xtelligent (Los Angeles) - movement orchestration for urban transportation 

Also, during Launch Tennessee's 3686 Festival in September 2024, CO.LAB and TennSmart collaborated to hold a mobility "reverse pitch". Four companies were featured:

• BridgTRK (Chattanooga) - Real-time solution for end-to-end visibility of shipping goods. Tim Mannon.
• Ganaio (El Cajon) - Hardware solution extends EV driving range. John Gewarges.
• Minco Technology Labs - Flexible fuel cell propulsion at lower cost than legacy systems. Rory Roberts PhD. 
• Naycel (Lake Mary, Fla.) - Decarbonizes supply chain, converts carbon gas into battery graphite materials. Neel Patel.

.last edited 1130 6 October 2025