Here are the 10 startups that made it to the Comcast LIFT Labs Accelerator

A final group of 10 companies — including one from Philly — has been selected out of the hundreds of startups from 38 countries that applied to join the inaugural cohort of the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator, powered by Techstars.

Kicking off today at a dedicated location at Three Logan Square, the 13-week accelerator will provide access to mentorship, office space and an undisclosed amount of seed funding to companies hailing from countries like South Korea, Germany, Singapore, and U.S. cities like Los Angeles, New York and Austin, Texas.

“We are excited to mentor and collaborate with these innovative companies who are experimenting in interesting areas related to our business,” said Comcast Chief Business Development Officer Sam Schwartz.

Though initially the program was supposed to take place at the Comcast Technology Center, the 1.5-million-square-feet tower wasn’t ready in time for the first cohort kickoff.

“We are excited to offer our 10 selected companies this one-of-a-kind program, which pairs up Techstars’ proven mentorship-driven accelerator with Comcast NBCUniversal’s deep industry expertise,” Techstars Managing Director Maya Baratz said in a statement. “This is going to be an amazing year for our program and the Philadelphia startup community.”

Here’s the list of media, entertainment, and connectivity companies selected for the program:

• Alive5, Austin, Texas: Makers of a chat software that allows them to connect and accept payments from customers via website, social media and text messages.
• eyecandylab, Munich, Germany: Creators of a platform of immersive, augmented reality for linear TV.
• Orai, Philadelphia: An AI speech coach that helps people improve their public speaking skills with personalized coaching.
• Pium, New York and Seoul, South Korea: Makers of an IoT-powered smart home fragrance device.
• Polycade, Los Angeles: A modern arcade gaming console powered by a platform through which developers can build and sell games.
• Portl Media, Toronto, Canada: A network of personalized media and entertainment for rideshare vehicles.
• Tally Interactive, Toronto, Canada: A mobile platform for live interactive game shows.
• Thinker Tinker, Los Angeles: A platform that blends traditional hands-on tactile play and digital interaction for children.
• Trapica Labs, New York: An artificial intelligence platform to optimize online ad targeting.
• WiARframe, Singapore: Creators of a prototyping tool for interactive augmented reality content, without coding, 3D knowledge or equipment.

“There were so many great applications, but Orai’s team and product are what set them apart,” said Danielle Cohn, Executive Director of Entrepreneurial Engagement at Comcast NBCUniversal. “We saw a wonderful opportunity,” Cohn said of the Philly-based startup selected for the cohort.

Ebony Lee, Senior VP of Strategic Development at Comcast, said the company will rely on its staff of specialists to add value to the companies as they undergo Techstars’ accelerator programming. But in connecting with the nascent startups, it’s also the 55-year-old corporation which benefits by having an early look at technologies, investing in them at the seed stage and connecting them with its investing arm, Comcast Ventures.

“We can’t be satisfied with slowing down,” Lee said. “This is one way to tap into what other people are doing and how they’re innovating. Having our people work with these startups is meaningful to us.”

There’s also a community-building (and talent pipeline) angle to it, said Cohn, who led a Comcast effort to get feedback from some 1,500 entrepreneurs on the best ways the company could help foster entrepreneurship.

“There are about 30 people who’ll be moving to Philadelphia,” said Cohn. “They’ll be hiring from the local community and we’re equally excited about how this can impact the tech community here.”

The program will come to an end Oct. 11, with a pitch session from the entrepreneurs before a lineup of investors.