The Sacramento City Council has recommended 15 recipients for new innovation grants the city hopes will boost entrepreneurs in the local tech economy.
Some familiar names, such as I/O Labs, Hacker Lab and Code for Sacramento, are among the proposed winners of the Rapid Acceleration Innovation and Leadership in Sacramento (RAILS) grant program.
The biggest award, $250,000, would go to I/O Labs to help launch a new innovation center on J Street in downtown Sacramento. Another $100,000 would go to the local Entrepreneurship Showcase, an accelerator program for startups. Square One Clubs, an accelerator for software and game development businesses, would use $50,000 to open a location in Sacramento.
Hacker Lab would use a nearly $100,000 grant to expand its workspace at 1715 I St. into an adjacent facility, and Code for Sacramento would receive $50,000 to build capacity.
The Mayor's Office for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (with Chief Innovation Officer Abhi Nemani), the city's Economic Development Department, and the Mayor's Tech Council of local business leaders reviewed and scored more than 140 applicants to whittle the list down to the 15 recipients.
The Mayor's Tech Council includes Sheri Atwood, CEO of SupportPay; Erika Bjork of the Sacramento Republic FC; Sonny Mayugba of Waitr; Viabhav Nadgauda of Moneta Ventures; Jay Sales of VSP Global; and Tyler Smith of SkySlope.
A full list of the recommended recipients is posted online. The City Council will be asked to approve the list of proposed recipients at its Nov. 1 meeting.
