We are excited to announce the startups selected for Blue Startups Cohort 18.
Each of these companies takes part in a 12 week program of intensive mentorship and business development, starting July 20. This cohort builds across travel, gaming, AI, software, sustainability, and health.
2 weeks online focused on customer discovery
8 weeks in person in Honolulu with mentors
1 week in San Francisco to close
Every team is paired with a lead mentor and gains access to a network of more than 250 mentors reaching from Hawaiʻi to Asia to Silicon Valley. The road leads to Demo Day at Hawaii Tech Week and a mixer at SFTechWeek in San Francisco.
Cross-border between Asia and the U.S. (East Meets West)
Female founded or co-founded
Hawaii-based or Hawaii-connected
Travel and tourism technology solutions
Gaming technologies, networks, and communities
Sustainability: responsible consumption, carbon reduction and smart cities
Ocean technologies, conservation solutions, and use of marine resources
Portfolio Companies
NatureMe
NatureMe is the world’s first AI nature guide that provides hyper-personalized, daily nature connection practices that reduce stress and loneliness by restoring a sense of belonging in the living world.
Paws Abroad is building the infrastructure layer for international pet travel. Our platform helps pet parents, relocation providers, veterinarians, and travel partners navigate complex cross-border pet movement through compliance automation, digital pet passports, personalized travel planning, and global partner integrations.
Pacific Hybreed is a genetics and breeding company developing improved shellfish lines for commercial aquaculture. The company produces high-performing oyster and clam seed tailored to diverse farm environments, with traits such as higher yield, resilience, and uniform growth.
Matter Manifest is redefining physical creation. By combining AI-driven CAD with accessible physics simulation, we lower the barrier to creating and developing hardware, enabling anyone from makers to mechanical engineers to turn ideas into physical reality faster.
Wander is an app that lets you travel the world as if you had a local with you as you explore a new place.
LaunchDetect
LaunchDetect is a geospatial startup based in Hawaii, with the mission to build space domain geospatial and hardware solutions in the pacific region to innovate solutions for government and commercial programs.
Join us during Hawaii Tech Week for an evening of innovation and connection at Blue Startups Cohort 18 Demo Day. Our cohort takes the stage to pitch their solutions in travel, gaming, AI, software, sustainability, health, and ocean tech to a curated audience of investors, mentors, and ecosystem leaders. A networking reception with local pupus and beverages follows.
📍 Entrepreneurs Sandbox, Honolulu
📅 Friday, September 4
🕒 3:00 to 6:00 PM HST