The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
UConn to open data science ‘incubator’ on Stamford campus
STAMFORD — UConn on Tuesday announced the opening of a data science technology incubator in the city.
The 5,685 square-foot facility at 9 West Broad St. is hosting five start-up companies initially. The incubator includes office space and shared work areas.
The Stamford incubator is one of three Technology Incubation Programs the university operates. The other two are at the school main campus in Storrs and at UConn Health in Farmington.
Radenka Maric, UConn’s vice president for research, innovation and entrepreneurship, said the combination of Stamford’s vibrant business community and UConn’s strengths in data science and innovation will allow the new technology incubator to “become an engine for new company and job creation.”
One of start-ups in the Stamford incubator is ACW Analytics, which uses advanced modeling to predict the impact of extreme weather on critical infrastructure such as power utilities.
ACW Analytics chief executive officer Vijay Jayachandran said the location between Hartford and New York gives the company easy access to customers in the insurance, risk, and finance sectors.
“As our company gains market traction, we expect to create new jobs, participate in thought leadership, and enrich the entrepreneurial community in the region,” Jayachandran said. “We hope to be part of something bigger, by attracting new talent to Connecticut and making it a destination of choice in the postCOVID world.”
The other startups besides ACW are Foot Traffic State, Illumu, Inc., Populi, Inc., and Sky Squeegee.
According to UConn, the incubator is the first of a three-part initiative to expand the school’s Stamford operation. The school said it will next hire five junior faculty “with expertise in data science to fuel innovation and an experiential learning co-op led by the Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.”
The school also said funding for the project and for the Stamford Data Science Initiative is provided by UConn and a a $2.1 million grant from StamfordNext via CTNext.