AlphaLab is an American technology

startup accelerator Startup accelerators, also known as seed accelerators, are fixed-term, cohort-based programs, that include mentorship and educational components, and (sometimes) culminate in a public pitch event or demo day. While traditional business incubato ...

based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. It was founded in 2008 by Jim Jen. AlphaLab has four tracks, ''Software, Hardware (AlphaLab Gear), Life Sciences (AlphaLab Health), and Robotics (Robotics Factory).''

History

AlphaLab was founded in 2008 by Jim Jen to help startups develop and launch their products, grow their customer base, and secure venture capital funding. The specific amount of funding provided by AlphaLab is up to $100,000, depending on the startup's needs and stage of development. AlphaLab follows a similar structure to

Y Combinator Y Combinator, LLC (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm launched in March 2005 which has been used to launch more than 5,000 companies. The accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View, Californi ...

. The accelerator is a subsidiary of Innovation Works, which receives funding from the state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

for economic development. It focuses on technology startups headquartered in the Pittsburgh region. AlphaLab was one of th
first 10 accelerators in the United States
and one of the first 100 accelerators in the World. AlphaLab created AlphaLab Gear (hardware track) in 2013 and AlphaLab Health (life sciences track) in 2021, each operating as part of the AlphaLab accelerator program.

Programs

AlphaLab has four tracks, ''Software, Hardware (AlphaLab Gear), Life Sciences (AlphaLab Health), and Robotics (Robotics Factory).'' The AlphaLab program provides startups with many resources and mentorship support, including access to office space, funding, programming, and mentorship. AlphaLab’s curriculum is built around three principles that they call "the 3 Cs": Customer, Capital, and Community. In the past, the collective AlphaLab has hosted a Demo Day to showcase the latest technology produced by their startup cohorts.

AlphaLab Gear

AlphaLab Gear, launched in 2013, is the hardware track of the AlphaLab accelerator, with a specific focus on supporting hardware,

internet of things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...

(IoT), and robotics startups. In the past, AlphaLab Gear hosted a yearly hardware startup pitch contest called the Hardware Cup where startups compete for $50,000 in investment.

AlphaLab Health

Launched in 2022, AlphaLab Health, is the healthcare and life sciences track of the AlphaLab accelerator. It was billed as a collaboration between their parent company Innovation Works and regional hospital network

Allegheny Health Network Allegheny Health Network (AHN), based in Pittsburgh, is a non-profit, 14-hospital academic medical system with facilities located in Western Pennsylvania and one hospital in Western New York. AHN was formed in 2013 when Highmark Inc., a Pennsyl ...

as a way to streamline medical device prototypes. This became an evergreen fund in 2024 after a $10M anonymous donation.

Alumni companies

* Identified Technologies, a drone mapping company * NoWait, a restaurant booking company, acquired by

Yelp Yelp Inc. is an American company that develops the Yelp.com website and the Yelp mobile app, which publishes crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. It also operates Yelp Guest Manager, a table reservation service. It is headquartered in S ...

for $40 million * Spoken, a software company that develops an

augmentative and alternative communication Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) encompasses the communication methods used to supplement or replace speech or writing for those with impairments in the production or comprehension of spoken or written language. AAC is used by t ...

app * The Zebra, an insurance company

References

{{Reflist

External links

AlphaLab

AlphaLab Gear

AlphaLab Health
Business incubators of the United States Companies based in Pittsburgh Startup accelerators Venture capital firms of the United States