11 tech start-ups comprise second incubator class at Comcast
“There is a heavy emphasis on female-founded companies and there is an emphasis on sports,” said Sam Schwartz, the Comcast executive overseeing the incubator program.
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A Philadelphia online sports-betting firm, Sporttrade, and companies from the Ukraine, Canada and India are among a small group of firms participating in Comcast Corp.'s 13-week start-up incubator program at the Comcast tower. It’s the program’s second year.
“There is a heavy emphasis on female-founded companies and there is an emphasis on sports,” Sam Schwartz, Comcast’s chief business development officer, said on Friday.
The 11 companies develop software and Comcast has moved away from hardware start-ups -- such as gaming consoles or smartphones -- because of difficulties launching those products, Schwartz said.
Sporttrade’s blog says its app is a “mobile marketplace where people trade sports predictions.” The blog adds that “by eliminating the role of the bookie from our framework, the cost savings are passed along to you, the market participants.”
Sports-betting could be a growth industry for Philadelphia. The Kambi Group, a European company with a platform for sportsbooks at SugarHouse, Parx, and Rivers Casinos in Pennsylvania, and DraftKings and PlaySugarhouse.com in New Jersey, has opened its U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia.
Among the other start-ups selected for the Comcast incubator is the Gist, based on Toronto, which provides sports content specifically for women. It was developed by three women, Roslyn McLarty, Jacie deHoop and Ellen Hyslop. “Our vision is to be the go-to source for sports for women,” the company says in an online job posting.
Ukraine-based Respeecher transforms voices using artificial intelligence so that one person can talk in the voice of another. The process would help production companies dub movies and TV shows with fewer actors, the company maintains.
Los Angeles-based Messy.fm is a platform for publishing podcasts for free. Every podcast created on the platform comes with a six-second ad for Messy. The company charges for analytics, Messy ad removal, and advice.
The other start-ups comprise three companies from Brooklyn, Gameon, Nickl, Takeshape, and a second from Los Angeles, Struct Club for cycling instructors, as well as one each from Boulder, Colo., Pivan Interactive, and Banglore, India, Edisn.ai, and from San Francisco, Diana AI.
Developing a Center City pool of tech employees to supply the new Comcast Technology Center with highly skilled and entrepreneurial geeks is part of Comcast’s goal with the incubator program, which is run by outside firm Techstars.
Comcast also targets start-ups that could do business with the company’s technology operation or NBCUniversal. Comcast is the largest residential internet provider in the United States and is developing the Xfinity Mobile wireless data business.
The incubator program is housed on the fourth floor of the new 60-story Comcast Technology Center for the first time. Construction delays last year forced Comcast to hold the program in leased renovated space across from its headquarters on Arch Street.
The start-up founders will be mentored by Comcast executives, including those from European pay-TV operator Sky and the Dreamworks studio in Hollywood. They may sign deals with Comcast divisions or seek venture funding.
Orai, a Philadelphia company selected last year for the Comcast incubator program, has grown to 13 employees from three, a company official said. Orai has developed a speech-coaching app based on Toastmasters International public-speaking skills.