A new accelerator for startups promoting peace is launching in National Landing, helping founders raise capital and gain traction in the shadow of the Pentagon.
While the United States, Israel and Iran forge ahead with a two-week ceasefire after weeks of airstrikes and talk of dramatic escalation, the PeaceTech Accelerator — a 12-week program for organizations building software and AI that focuses on peacemaking — is still seeking applications as it plans to launch next month.
“PeaceTech is about building technology that predicts, prevents, or reduces violent conflict,” Shane Ray Martin, an investor and startup advisor with B Ventures Group, told ARLnow. “Unlike defense tech (which often focuses on military hardware or offensive cyber), PeaceTech is about early warning, de-escalation, and misinformation detection. Think AI that forecasts geopolitical risk to prevent things from becoming violent.”
The free go-to-market accelerator program — backed by founding partners including Salesforce, Arlington Economic Development, Carta and Rho — is geared toward companies in the pre-seed or seed stage with the goal of selling to Fortune 1000 companies or top governments. Sponsored by the Arlington Innovation Fund, half of the cohort is expected to be based in Arlington.
Noting the spread of violent conflict around the world, even as countries have increased their defense budgets, Martin said he is looking for founders with innovative tech ideas to support peace.
“I’m sick and tired of the same white papers, the same research, the same stuff being written about peacetech,” he said in a video announcing the accelerator. “This is the time for action. This is the time for doing.”
Martin said he sees peacetech “as a complement, not a competitor to defense tech,” pointing to companies such as Anadyr Horizon and CulturePulse as examples.
During the program, founders will build and close paid pilots with government and enterprise buyers, while receiving legal, fundraising and go-to-market guidance, along with support from big-name operators and advisors such as Apple and KPMG.
Martin said he was attracted to Arlington because of its proximity to the Pentagon. National Landing in particular has been seeking to promote public-private partnerships through the National Innovation Quarter, an “innovation district” that launched in February with the goal of strengthening national competitiveness.
“If you want to build something that reduces conflict and also generates a profit, this is the place for you,” Martin said.
Applications close April 30.
