The UW DubHacks Next startup incubator is producing 20 new businesses in its latest batch
Great engineers are retiring faster than the companies that can replace them, creating a growing technology gap in industries from aerospace to nuclear power.
Hera, a project developed by students at the University of Washington, aims to solve this problem with technology that automates the design of components that meet safety and industry regulations, a process that often requires years of knowledge and experience.
The product is timely, as 1.9 million manufacturing jobs are expected to be unfilled in the $2.3 billion sector by 2033, according to Deloitte.
“Hera answers design questions 10 times faster than a senior engineer,” said Meera Patel, Hera developer. “Once it knows that a drawing can be built, it pulls data from all your machines and gives you a precise production plan.”
That’s one of the few problems University of Washington students face with DubHacks Next, a 16-week startup incubator. On Thursday, May 7, student founders pitched 20 startups in hopes of turning their ideas into viable companies.
As of 2022, DubHacks Next has promoted 68 startups and at least 25 active companies. Participants get access to free workshops, mentoring sessions, client acquisition meetings and networking with potential investors.
This year’s batch of 20 startups includes AI salon receptionists, a student liberation platform and an emotional recovery app.
“I’ve never had the experience of building such a big idea and bringing it to life,” said William Pantel, developer of Catalvst, an AI audio plugin builder.
Past incubator projects have collectively raised more than $5 million, and alumni go on to join accelerators like Y Combinator and Techstars or global jobs at major technology companies.
Starting this year, students can apply to join the Pack Ventures portfolio, including $50,000 up front and $150,000 upon entry by another company.
Patel and Hera fellow Noelle So are among the students working with Pack. The demo is now live in three manufacturing plants, Patel said.
Here are some of the highlights from this year’s batch:
A chameleon: Of the 1.3 billion people living with disabilities worldwide, nearly 96% of the top Internet homepages are considered inaccessible. Enter Chameleon, an AI-powered web access tool.
The suite includes a Chrome extension with tools like focus rulers, voice commands and head tracking controls for accessible web navigation on any site, said co-founders Aditya Shirodkar and Ajit Mallavarapu.
“Especially with vibe coding, people are in a rush to develop software and don’t think about accessibility requirements,” Shirodkar told GeekWire. “It’s a silent barrier that hasn’t really been addressed.”
Chameleon is entering a market with growing demand – and financial opportunity. The global market for digital accessibility is estimated at $1.8 billion, and is expected to reach $3.2 billion by 2034, according to Straits Research.
“It’s not just about doing something nice,” said Mallavarapu. “It’s about making something that people will use every day.”
Iris: Sthiti Patnaik and Saachi Dhamija focused on another technology headache: spreadsheets.
Universities often rely on extensive spreadsheets to track alumni for fundraising, networking and event planning, but the records quickly become out of date and difficult to search. With Iris, alumni associations and other groups can easily store member information.
“We eat their spreadsheet, and present it in a very visual way with bubbles and graphs,” Dhamija told GeekWire.
Along with enriching data and creating an interactive visual map for editors, Iris helps members find each other through shared knowledge and interests. Patnaik, a recent graduate and managing director of DubHacks Next, hopes the solution will help him stay in touch with other innovators.
“All of our students go on to do great things, like raise money, start their own startups, or work for great companies,” she said.
After launching Iris, Patnaik and Dhamija secured a design partnership with Pack Ventures.
Catalvst: For Aaron Li and William Pantel, the incubator has been the launch pad for Catalvst, possibly the first AI audio plugin builder.
High-end audio plugins — software tools that create and manipulate sound — can cost music producers hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Li, who started producing EDM three years ago, said the cost of the software has slowed his progress.
“I remember working all summer just to save money,” he says. “It’s a domino effect. You get one piece of software, and you realize you need another one that’s more expensive.”
With Catalvst, users can define the sound they want in simple language and produce downloadable, functional audio software in less than a minute.
“If you like to say, ‘I want my songs to sound like I’m singing in a big church,’ software will create your song to sound like that,” Pantel said.
The founders differentiate their product from AI-powered music platforms, stressing that their goal is to empower human creators rather than replace them. They are currently beta testing with music producers to refine the product and grow the user base.
“We’re using AI to build tools that human producers can use,” Pantel said.
Applications for the sixth batch of the incubator open this fall.
Some starters for Batch 5:
- BeamBell: AI salon receiver | Arvin Hakakian, Anant Dhokia, Aur Shalev Merin
- Clearlobby: A lobbying workplace | Shruthika Balasubramanian
- Healr: An emotional recovery app | Advait Raman
- HeartBeats: Workout Music Mix | Hriesha Popat
- Specifically: Agentic product management | Ronald Luong
- Leasing: Student-to-student subscription | Sanjana Satagopan, Annika Chan
- madr: Campus life app | Abraham Gibson, Azim Memon, Keshav Kalia
- MindMark: Resource Tracking Tool | Chandana Robba
- nomad: A travel communication app | Rahul Bonthu
- nomi: Roommate management app | Anika Rao, Taj Khandekar, Nandini Sinha, Tharika Jayaraj, Aditi Agarwal, Sophia Zhang
- Quality: E2E agent evaluation | Jove Pendapotan, Reuben Santoso, Samuel Purnama
- Question: Q&A tool for live events | Saachi Surana, Shreya Pandey
- Scout: Camping App | Aditi Agarwal, Anika Rao
- sparks: Shopping for modest fashion | Aleeza Bhatti, Zahra Taher
- Wallzy: Credit card rewards app | George Evans Daenuwy, Kezia Joesoef, Patrick Wijaya, Calista Vidianto
- Zither: Local and File Web Browser | Alexander Zhu
