The University of Baltimore has launched an AI-Enabled Business Accelerator, a nine-week program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs build scalable ventures that use artificial intelligence in practical, market-ready ways.
The inaugural cohort includes eight Baltimore-based founders applying AI across healthcare, energy, education, housing, workforce development, and small business services. The accelerator is housed within UBalt’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and is supported by funding from TEDCO, Maryland’s economic development agency.
“This accelerator is about connecting innovation to opportunity—helping founders apply AI in practical ways, build strong businesses and stay rooted in Baltimore as they grow,” said Henry Mortimer, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. UBalt said the program is also intended to deepen the university’s role in local economic development by opening campus resources to community entrepreneurs.
Participants will work through customer discovery, go-to-market strategy, revenue modeling, and investor storytelling, supported by mentorship from entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders. Founders will also have access to UBalt academic expertise, including faculty affiliated with the university’s Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business program, which launched in 2024.
The eight companies in the first cohort span a range of AI applications. AI Sharp Index, founded by Romane Sharp, is developing an AI-powered behavioral health platform focused on predicting relapse risk and enabling data-informed interventions within clinical workflows. Alektra, Inc., founded by Jiaqun Wang, is building an AI-driven electricity market intelligence platform that provides predictive insights for energy producers and traders. BrickRose Exchange, founded by Bianca Jackson, is developing an AI automation platform aimed at helping micro and small businesses adopt and operationalize AI tools.
In healthcare and workforce-adjacent innovation, HealthLink360, founded by Kenneth Watson Jr., is creating a preventive health platform using AI and digital twins to identify early metabolic risks and guide personalized interventions. NextGenEdu, founded by Amber Johnson Avery, is building an AI-enabled career discovery platform that helps students explore personalized career pathways using real-time labor market data. Sommos, founded by Nicole Foster, is developing an AI-powered family storytelling platform to help families capture and organize memories across generations.
The cohort also includes SphereHub, founded by Hamza Umar, an AI-driven housing and roommate-matching platform for students seeking compatible off-campus housing, and Stacks Data, founded by Scott Kaufman, a B2B platform using AI to streamline supply chain compliance and sustainability reporting for manufacturers.
UBalt said the program will culminate with a Demo Day on March 17, 2026, when founders will present progress to mentors, partners, investors, and members of Baltimore’s innovation community. The university framed the accelerator as part of a broader effort to strengthen Baltimore’s startup ecosystem by connecting campus resources with local entrepreneurs, positioning participants for follow-on funding, entry into additional accelerators, and long-term growth tied to job creation and inclusive economic development.
KEY QUOTES
“This accelerator is about connecting innovation to opportunity—helping founders apply AI in practical ways, build strong businesses and stay rooted in Baltimore as they grow.”
Henry Mortimer, Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Baltimore
