Upstream Tech wins NEWIN’s 2017 “Innovation of the Year” Award

We have some exciting news from NEWIN’s 2017 Innovator and Innovation Award and Gala!

Upstream Tech, an awardee of MassCEC’s Catalyst program, won the “Innovation of the Year” award at NEWIN’s annual gala on December 5th. NEWIN, New England Water Innovation Network, is an organization that works to “establish best practices in order to accelerate innovation” in the water sector, and their Innovation of the Year award acknowledges one company for its commercial success.

NEWINidentifies successful innovation as the integration of market assessment, solution development, and market engagement.Upstream Tech cleared these hurdles to achieve NEWIN’s recognition.

Upstream’s technology targets the inefficiencies in the water market by providing the data that stakeholders need to make informed decisions. By combining remote sensing and machine learning, Upstream is capable of processing entire states’ or countries’ data at once.

In the fall of 2016, with the support of the NEWIN community, Upstream received an award through MassCEC’s Catalyst Program. The Catalyst Program provides grants to researchers and early-stage companies who are developing innovative prototypes and proofs-of-concept in the clean energy and water industries.

After receiving MassCEC’s Catalyst award, Upstream joined local accelerator, MassChallenge, as they worked to grow and develop their business.  Following successful graduation from MassChallenge, Upstream was acquired by Natel Energy, a company that is working to make hydropower technology more sustainable, affordable, and climate resilient.

Remarkably, Upstream has gone from inception to acquisition in roughly a year-and-a-half, which is an amazing feat. We look forward to seeing the progress the Upstream team will make with their new colleagues at Natel.

If the Catalyst program seems like it would be a good fit for your startup, check out our website for more information. The Spring 2018 session will be open in late February!