These 7 NoVa-based startups are headed to the Collision Conference later this month

The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP), Arlington Economic Development (AED), Arlington County and Prince William County have selected seven startups to to attend the annual tech conference Collision in Toronto May 20-23.

The joint initiative, coined NOVA Goes North and sponsored by the two economic development groups, was created to bring a spotlight on Northern Virginia tech companies. Arlington County and Prince William County joined the partnership this year.

The groups are fully sponsoring Alexandria, Va., and Arlington, Va.- based startups to attend the conference and showcase their tech products and services. After calling for applications, seven were selected.

Here are the NoVa startups attending Collision (with company descriptions from a press release):

• BCM Strategy, Inc, a company that builds automated predictive analytics tools that measure and analyze geopolitical and policy risk using Natural Language Processing and other automated extraction tools.
• Explanation Kids, a web-based application and media platform for teachers and parents that provides thoughtful responses to kids’ tough questions about issues in our country.
• HealthFlow, a company empowering patients through blockchain-enabled secure data exchanges that are patient-driven.
• Huddle, an online platform that enables teachers to give students personal attention and effective feedback that sticks.
• NOVI, LLC, developer of advanced spacecraft and geo-analytics platforms for the emerging new space industry.
• Oplign, LLC,  an AI-driven SaaS company that automates the alignment of people and jobs, with a special emphasis on aligning Veterans and Military Spouses to the right opportunities in the marketplace.
• SmartBridge Health, an online platform connecting cancer patients with oncologists to improve their health outcome with a second opinion.

All seven of these companies are early-stage startups (less than 5 years old), have their own websites, are independent companies and possess a unique software product or solutions.