Plug and Play’s Batch Two Expo Day Highlights Supply Chain Innovation in Savannah

By Chester Thorson | June 20, 2023

Read more stories on Plug and Play Savannah here.

Plug and Play’s Savannah Batch Two Expo Day was successfully hosted on Wednesday, June 14th, creating an exciting follow-up to the initial Selection Day showcase event. The event took place in downtown Savannah at SoHo South, providing a vibrant backdrop for 13 innovative startups to present their advancements within the supply chain and logistics industry. These startups showcased solutions related to warehousing, renewable energy, trucking, and workforce/staffing development, highlighting the ongoing innovations in these areas.

Opening Remarks from Dr. Chris Curtis at Plug and Play Savannah Batch Two Expo Day

Dr. Chris Curtis Vice Provost for Research at Georgia Southern University

The expo commenced with opening remarks from Dr. Chris Curtis, Vice Provost for Research at Georgia Southern University, emphasizing the significance of the Savannah Logistics Innovation Corridor and the university’s collaboration with Plug and Play. Dr.Curtis expressed their shared goal of establishing Savannah as a renowned center for logistics innovation. Plug and Play boasts an impressive investment portfolio, with over 1,600 companies across 1,500 locations globally. Savannah, GA, and Phoenix, AZ, are among their latest locations, both focusing on supply chain and logistics.

Jen Bonnet, Executive Director for The Creative Coast, Alex Rhodeen, Supply Chain Catalyst for ATDC, and Vasant Kamath, Partner at Tech Square Ventures present at Plug and Play Savannah Batch Two Expo Day

Fireside Chat: Cultivating an Innovation Ecosystem (L to R: Vasant Kamath, Partner at Tech Square Ventures, Alex Rhodeen, Supply Chain Catalyst for ATDC, & Jen Bonnett, Executive Director for The Creative Coast)

Jen Bonnett, Executive Director for The Creative Coast, led a fireside chat with Alex Rhodeen, Supply Chain Catalyst for ATDC, and Vasant Kamath, Partner at Tech Square Ventures. Together, they explored the essential elements of a thriving startup innovation ecosystem highlighting government involvement, academia, stakeholder and corporate engagement, mentorship, and more.

According to Rhodeen, Savannah possesses the critical ingredients for a thriving startup ecosystem, which is characterized by an energetic and innovative atmosphere that captivates newcomers. He emphasized that the startup ecosystem-building process is a challenging one, but is well worth it: “You’ve started here, keep the gas going…I promise you, it’s worth it.”

Kamath illustrated the time and collaboration necessary for ecosystem development citing Atlanta’s startup ecosystem, which took 20 years to build. Bonnett further highlighted the individual economic advantages of a thriving ecosystem. “The average wage of a tech startup coder is probably twice the average wage of an average Chatham County employee,” said Bonnett.

The main event of Expo Day featured ten of the thirteen startups, which were selected to be a part of Plug and Plays Batch Two Cohort, in April of this year. The startups pitched sharing updates on their progress since being selected for Plug and Play’s accelerator program. Locally the ultimate goal is to have these startups pilot projects right here in Savannah at the ports, in warehouses, and in manufacturing centers.

Cloverly, Tag n Trac, and Gig n Take could not be present. You can read more about these three startups by clicking here.

Meet the startups:

Chunker – An on-demand, short-term warehouse marketplace connecting companies needing temporary space with those with excess space.

Brad Wright CEO Presents Chunker at Plug and Play Savannah Batch Two Expo Day

Brad Wright, CEO of Chunker, pitches at Plug and Play Expo Day.

Ubicept – Ubicept provides new imaging solutions that enable us to see in the dark and other challenging environments at unprecedented quality.

Enexor – Enexor BioEnergy has developed an onsite, renewable energy solution to end the world’s organic and plastic waste problems.

Denim – Denim is a mobile employee experience solution for the deskless, hourly workforce to increase retention and incentivize individual tasks that support your overall business goals.

Freight Mango – FreightMango is an online marketplace for international freight shipping that lets importers and exporters search, book, pay, track, manage, and finance your freight in seconds.

Chris Samson Presents Freight Mango at Plug and Play Savannah Batch Two Expo Day

Chris Samson, CEO of Freight Mango, shares next steps for his company.

Arvist – Minimizing disruptions and reducing costs in warehouses and cargo operations with real-time operations visibility using existing cameras and AI.

Terzo – Terzo is an Enterprise AI platform that extracts data trapped in documents and makes it available to critical business processes.

Tranzhalo – Tranzhalo develops cybersecurity products for the transportation industry, detecting radio frequency signals to ensure security on high-value loads like pharmaceuticals or electronics.

Venus Desai Presents NuGen Systems at Plug and Play Savannah Batch Two Expo Day

Venus Desai Co-Founder, CEO NuGen Systems, Inc, shares NuGen’s needs in the future.

NuGen – NuGen Systems develops and provides Innovative, Clean, and Efficient Energy Solutions to replace Legacy Systems currently used by Industrial/Commercial customers while saving them money and improving productivity.

Darvis – Empowering your existing cameras to deliver real-time visibility and insight to your operations.

Plug and Play Tech Center is based in Silicon Valley with an office in Savannah focussed on Supply Chain and Logistics innovation. For more information on the program, reach out to Plug and Play Savannah at savannah@pnptc.com.

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