SSR - August 15, 2025

Mardi Gras parades are rolling through New Orleans as the city prepares to embrace this vibrant season—and Louisiana isn’t the only Southern state celebrating. Following a successful Super Bowl and the rollout of key new initiatives in the entrepreneurial space, Louisiana certainly has much to celebrate. In this issue, we’re also covering some significant financings throughout the South. As we head into spring, let’s keep the positive momentum going.

Louisiana

The Founder Institute hosted a New Orleans Demo Day, showcasing graduates AnnaBeth Scarle Guillory (BeautyFindr), Vincenzo Caronna (Thrivvy), Benjamin Dubansky, PhD (Developmental, Inc.), and Josh B. (Build-A-Way Inc.). Hosted in partnership with Greater New Orleans, Inc., Nieux Society, STartUP Northshore, and Boot64 Ventures, the event brought together founders, mentors, and investors to spotlight local entrepreneurial talent. Applications are now open for The Idea Village’s Fall 2025 IDEAinstitute cohort—a 10-week hybrid accelerator designed to equip early-stage entrepreneurs with the skills, coaching, and community needed to launch and scale their ventures. Applications are available here. 

Alabama

Nationally ranked accelerator gener8tor is launching gALPHA earth, a free four-week program in Sylacauga this fall to help aspiring entrepreneurs across Alabama turn ideas into businesses—no experience or business plan required. Hosted at the East Alabama Rural Innovation & Training Hub (“earth”), it marks gener8tor’s first statewide gALPHA program and a major step toward expanding startup resources beyond metro hubs. Applications are open through Oct. 19, with the program running Oct. 28–Nov. 21.

Arkansas

The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) has launched the AR-NETWORK program, a statewide initiative to enhance research capacity, accelerate commercialization, and expand STEM career pathways. Funded by an $8 million National Science Foundation E-CORE grant, the program is led by Sarah Burnett Smith with support from partners including the University of Arkansas, Arkansas Tech University, and UAPB. AR-NETWORK connects research talent with industry across sectors like advanced materials, ag-tech, logistics, and digital health to drive economic growth, societal impact, and workforce development.

Florida

First Due, a Miami-based public safety software platform trusted by over 3,000 agencies, raised a $355 million strategic investment led by JMI Equity, with help from TCV and Serent Capital, to turbocharge its AI-driven platform development, customer support, and service delivery. Mana Tech has launched applications for its inaugural Climate Tech Scale-Up Program, a 5-week hybrid accelerator hosted in Miami this fall to support international climate-focused startups looking to scale in the U.S. And in Miami’s startup spotlight, 40 semifinalists were selected from over 200 entries in the SPARC South Florida pitch competition, fast-tracking them closer to the Startup World Cup global finals and a chance at up to $1 million in prize funding.

Georgia

Venture Atlanta 2025 just announced one of its largest pitch contests, offering a $375,000 investment prize to showcase ten standout startups, with finalists competing live before top investors. In Atlanta, ketteQ raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Vocap Partners to scale its agentic-AI-powered supply chain planning platform, PolymatiQ™, and expand globally. Meanwhile, clean energy startup Wattch secured $6 million in seed funding, backed by Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning, to enhance grid-edge visibility for solar and battery systems.

Mississippi

Innovate Mississippi has launched its 2025 CoBuilders accelerator, selecting seven Mississippi-based startups for a 12-week program preparing them for growth and investment. Launch Day on August 12 kicked off the program, which builds toward a Pitch Day in November at Accelerate 2025. The cohort includes Study Placer (academic dashboard), Vertical Take-Off Reading (personalized literacy tools), Automatic AI (AI-driven sports training), ClaimTra (hospital claims management), SimpleScript (prescription price comparison), MagnoliaEd (multilingual AI tutoring), and Altude (Web3 infrastructure). CoBuilders provides mentorship, training, and connections to investors to help startups move from idea to market-ready ventures.

North Carolina

StealthX and Innovate Charlotte are teaming up for Product Jam on September 11 at the Do Greater Foundation, a full-day workshop where five selected NC startups will sharpen their product focus for maximum market impact, with applications open until September 1. In Wilmington, Predicate AI Labs announced a major agreement with Mayo Clinic to advance early detection of sepsis using its OpenDx™ predictive AI platform, aiming to identify high-risk patients before traditional symptoms appear — a potentially lifesaving leap for one of the deadliest conditions in healthcare. Meanwhile, RIoT launched its 21st Accelerator Program (RAP XXI) in Pittsboro for the first time, bringing 10 startups into a 12-week program focused on IoT, clean energy, and digital health, supported by Perch Coworking, the Town of Pittsboro, and funding from NC IDEA Foundation and Wells Fargo to boost rural innovation.

South Carolina

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has launched two venture funds — the Innovation Fund to support early-stage startups developing MUSC-originated technologies, and the Strategic Fund to co-invest alongside other capital partners in more mature companies aligned with MUSC’s mission. Meanwhile in Charleston, Beemok has unveiled Catalyst, a high-profile pitch competition offering up to $1 million in potential funding to early-stage companies in the Tri-county area. Culminating in a November 8 live event at the Terminal Building at Union Pier, Catalyst will feature pitches, networking, and speakers, with applications open to founders in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties — plus a dedicated student category — until September 30, 2025.

Tennessee

Congratulations to Tennessee’s 121 companies that made the prestigious Inc. 5000 list for fastest-growing businesses in the U.S., showcasing a three-year median growth rate of 169%, with standout performers like Monogram Health achieving 14,131% growth. The state’s startup ecosystem continues to expand with AgLaunch, which has opened applications for its 2026 AgLaunch365 Accelerator, a pioneering agritech program that embeds founders directly with farmers for real-world validation. Selected startups will receive a $100K initial investment, on-farm trials, access to data, and co-development support from a national farmer network.