The 2024 Propelify Conference, hosted by TechUnited in Hoboken, marked a significant gathering of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders in the New Jersey and New York Community. The annual event facilitates a plethora of networking opportunities with over 20 guest speakers and panels and fosters career and business development for all in attendance. With the conference’s focus on the advances of artificial intelligence this year, many startup spotlights and panels were geared towards AI’s impact on society, but there was still a wide variety of people from every type of technological background and field.
Proud to represent the New Jersey Innovation Institute at the conference was NJII’s Entrepreneurship Division, accompanied by several promising startups currently partaking in various programs managed by the organization. Each team brought unique innovations to the table, highlighting their successes and showcasing NJII’s impact on their journey thus far, helping spread NJII’s name to visitors alongside the Entrepreneurship members advertising the programs themselves. The event was a positive experience for everyone, fostering connections and potential partnerships that would not have formed otherwise. Tom Steen, a member of Plant Hopper, mentioned, “we got a lot of great interest and support from the Propelify community. The Spotted Lanternfly is such a ubiquitous pest in NJ that quite a few people stopped by just to share anecdotes about their experiences with the pest. We received lots of support and encouragement to continue on the road towards safe, effective insecticide options.”
In addition to Plant Hopper, there were two other teams present at NJII’s table; Portable Diagnostics Systems and Ascent Bio.
Portable Diagnostics Systems, a biotech startup specializing in portable drug testing devices, leverages the move-in ready, independent lab space at the Profeta Center. They have solidified their presence in NJ by moving to the Profeta Center upon graduation from HAX’s accelerator program. The company has actively engaged with the local talent pool, hiring NJIT students as interns and taking advantage of other benefits in the NJII community.
Ascent Bio, a startup focused on AI-First scalable molecule design, attracted significant attention at their Propelify debut this year. They are part of the second cohort of the Merck Digital Sciences Studio (MDS Studio), a collaboration between Merck, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Northpond Ventures, McKesson Ventures, Microsoft for Startups, and the New Jersey Innovation Institute, and was represented by co-founder Xuefei Gao at Propelify. Their presence at the conference underscored the growing influence of AI technology in the biotech sector.
Plant Hopper, a biotech company dedicated to resolving the ecological threat imposed by the Spotted Lanternfly, won the final spot at NJII’s table via a competitive video pitch contest. As Part of the inaugural New Jersey Innovation Fellows cohort and a participant in the NJIT I-Corps program, they garnered much curiosity and people to the table, bringing samples of their biopesticide to show off. This in tandem with the immense passion the team exuded make the event highly successful for their progression, a testament to the supportive ecosystem for startups in New Jersey. The 2024 Propelify Conference once again proved to be a vital nexus for innovation, bringing together a diverse array of talents and technologies. With the active participation of NJII and the showcase of startups like Portable Diagnostics Systems, Ascent Bio, and Plant Hopper, the event highlighted New Jersey’s growing prominence as a place for technological advancement and entrepreneurial success. NJII wishes to thank TechUnited for planning the conference, and cannot wait to attend again next year, with more promising startups. You can learn about NJII’s mission to accelerate and enable the next generation of entrepreneurs by visiting our Venture Studio webpage.