The American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, today announced the 2026 national cohort for its EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator, supported by the Wells Fargo Foundation and MATTER, a Chicago -based healthcare startup incubator and innovation hub. The program supports entrepreneurs and founder-led ventures developing solutions designed to improve health outcomes and address community needs.
The accelerator helps founders strengthen business models, refine adoption strategies and connect with mentors, health care leaders, investors and industry experts. Participants receive practical training, strategic business support and access to a national network designed to help move promising ideas toward real-world implementation.
"At the Wells Fargo Foundation, we believe some of the most impactful solutions emerge from people who understand community challenges firsthand. Through the EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator, we are helping entrepreneurs access the capital, mentorship and networks needed to turn innovative ideas into sustainable businesses that improve health outcomes and strengthen communities," said Kimelyn Harris, head of business growth philanthropy at the Wells Fargo Foundation.
This year's cohort includes founders working across technology, education, prevention, maternal health, nutrition security, care coordination, chronic disease support and access to care. Their organizations reflect a range of approaches, including digital health tools, community-based services, culturally responsive education, precision health solutions and technology-enabled support for patients, families and care teams.
Innovators advancing health through technology and community insight
The Health Tech-Enabled Products and Services Track features early-stage and growth-stage companies developing technology-enabled products or services aimed at improving health outcomes. Because many of these are founder-led startups that operate virtually, through incubators or across distributed teams, the release identifies each venture through its founder/organization name, company link and a brief fact-based description rather than a traditional headquarters location.
- – Manassas, Va. - SAFE4BOTH is a mobile health platform from Benten Technologies that supports care coordination for mothers and infants through case management, care plans and engagement tools.
- - Dallas - CardiacFITT offers personalized health care management support for people with chronic conditions through care plans, remote monitoring, coaching and community engagement.
- – Tulsa, Okla. - CerTracker provides credential and compliance management tools designed to help health care professionals and organizations manage certifications, licenses and audit readiness.
- – Chicago - Cocina RX is a food-as-medicine platform bringing together medically tailored meals, nutrition care, personalized nutrition and clinical expertise.
- – Rochester, Minn. - Geneticure offers DNA-guided treatment recommendations designed to help clinicians personalize hypertension treatment.
- – New York City - Health in Her HUE connects women of color with culturally informed health care providers, health content and community support resources.
- – San Francisco - Healthy Hip Hop uses music, media, games and culturally responsive content to support learning, movement and healthy self-expression for young people.
- – West Palm Beach, Fla. - HydroHUB Technologies focuses on verified impact infrastructure for food and nutrition programs, including tools to document delivery and consumption outcomes.
- – Gainesville, Fla. - Intersect Healthcare Systems offers digital health, health information technology and virtual care solutions, including tools built around FHIR-enabled data infrastructure.
- – Atlanta - Senior Shield provides scam detection and digital safety tools designed to help older adults identify suspicious messages, websites and potential fraud.
- – Washington, D.C. - STORC connects expecting mothers, families and health care providers through a patented platform focused on safer maternal transport to birth settings.
- – Gaithersburg, Md. - T1D1 provides a free app with tools to help people newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes manage essentials such as insulin calculations and logs.
- – Wheaton, Ill. - Ukali Health uses artificial intelligence and operations research to support health care delivery, including revenue cycle, chronic disease, population health and health disparities solutions.
Next-generation leaders turning ideas into impact
The Collegiate Track highlights undergraduate and graduate founders developing innovations at the idea-to-prototype stage. The updated release maps the collegiate cohort to institutions or affiliations where available to support amplification by schools and partner organizations.
- – Redwood City, Calif. - University of North Texas Health Science Center; founded by Michael Ryder, D.O.; a field-first continuity capture platform for unhoused and complex-needs populations.
- – San Francisco - CranioView, Inc.; co-founded by Gil Herrnstadt, Ph.D.; developing noninvasive ultrasound solutions to monitor intracranial pressure.
- – Baltimore - Johns Hopkins University; co-founded by Selena Shirkin; developing a radially expanding sheath for endovascular procedures.
- – New York City - Johns Hopkins University; venture description to confirm against final cohort materials before newsroom submission.
- – Boston - Harvard University; co-founded by Elizabeth Djajalie; an AI-powered nutrition platform that helps build heart-healthy habits through photo-based meal analysis.
- – Akron, Ohio - community-based organization in Akron, Ohio; represented by India Nunn; focused on community agriculture and food security.
- – Cambridge, Mass. - Massachusetts Institute of Technology; founded by Yazhini Ravi, M.D.; developing a voice-based AI platform to support early heart disease insights.
- – Washington, D.C. - founded by Christian Davis; a cloud-based dental clinic workflow system for patient records, charts, appointments, billing and clinic operations.
- – Syosset, N.Y. - Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research / Northwell Health; led by Polona Safaric Tepes, Ph.D.; women's health innovation venture description to confirm against final cohort materials before newsroom submission.
From lived experience to scalable solutions
"Innovators closest to communities often have the most powerful solutions, but they face the steepest barriers to growth," said Marcella Roberts, Esq., a member of the American Heart Association volunteer board of directors. "The EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator helps close that gap by pairing funding with the insight, validation and narrative clarity founders need to move from promising concept to real-world impact."
Through the EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator, participants receive executive mentorship, strategic business support and access to a national network of entrepreneurs, health care leaders, investors and industry experts. The program helps founders strengthen business models, accelerate growth and expand their impact.
Why this matters
According to the American Heart Association, health outcomes are shaped by a range of social, economic and environmental factors in addition to clinical care. Addressing these challenges requires innovation, collaboration and leaders who understand community needs. The EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator reflects the Association's commitment to supporting entrepreneurs developing solutions designed to improve health outcomes nationwide.
National Showcase Finale
The 2026 EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator National Showcase Finale will take place Oct. 22, 2026, at MATTER in Chicago, where founders will present their ventures before judges, industry leaders and community partners. One participant from each track will receive a $100,000 award to support continued growth and expansion of their work.
Learn more about the EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator and the 2026 cohort.
