CTIA Wireless Foundation announced the five finalists in Catalyst 2023, a competitive grants program accelerating social entrepreneurs using the power of 5G and leading-edge wireless technologies to enhance lives and improve American communities.
“These Catalyst 2023 Finalists personify the wireless industry’s spirit of entrepreneurism,” said Dori Kreiger, Executive Director of CTIA Wireless Foundation. “We are thrilled to continue supporting the work of bold visionaries who embrace the transformational power of mobile-first solutions to enrich our lives, uplift our communities and bridge the digital divide.”
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In its fourth consecutive year as the Foundation’s signature initiative, Catalyst remains dedicated to elevating and funding solutions that leverage the speed, efficiency and versatility of 5G wireless as a platform for innovation and social good. Catalyst will award over $200,000 in unrestricted grants to this year’s finalists.
The Catalyst 2023 Finalists are:
- Dope Nerds: Breaking down barriers to digital inclusion by using virtual reality to deliver STEM-STEAM curricula along with career planning to middle and high school students. Dope Nerds was founded by Ursula Spencer, a self-proclaimed nerd who started her first tech company at 21.
- Healium: An immersive, virtual solution for stress management powered by biofeedback. The company’s social purpose provides virtual tours to terminally ill and aging Veterans who are unable to visit their memorials in Washington, DC. Healium was founded by Sarah Hill, a former TV journalist who covered trauma for decades.
- PONS: An AI-driven mobile technology that patients use to provide remote ultrasound imaging to doctors. PONS was founded by Soner Hacihaliloglu and two professors at Rutgers University.
- Promly: Supports teen mental health through a social platform that uses AI for age recognition, suicide risk and self-harm detection and biofeedback to monitor and manage panic attacks. Promly was founded by Jen Libby, a therapist who specializes in high-risk adolescents.
- ReThink: An app stopping digital hate by using AI and machine learning to detect online hostility before it’s sent and prompting youth to “rethink” sending it. ReThink was founded by Trisha Prabhu during her high school science fair, a first-generation American who experienced online harassment.
Supporting the reach and access of 5G wireless technologies, this year, the Foundation saw a record number of Catalyst applications from diverse social entrepreneurs from across the United States. 74% of applicant organizations are led by a member/members of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, and 57% of the organizations are led by a person whose gender identity is female.
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The five finalists will participate in an invitation-only second round application and three finalists will be selected as winners in fall 2023, with the first-place winner receiving a $100,000 grant, and the second and third place entries receiving $50,000 and $25,000, respectively. Additional finalists will receive honorable mentions and $10,000 grants.
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