The New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Hub will launch an AI Accelerator program in early 2025, powered by the global innovation platform Plug and Play. Located in West Windsor, the accelerator aims to connect local and global AI startups with mentors, investors, and corporate partners, leveraging New Jersey's strengths in sectors like healthcare, pharmaceuticals, finance, and logistics.
Quick Intel
The NJ AI Hub partners with Plug and Play to launch an AI Accelerator in early 2025.
The program will connect startups with mentors, investors, and industry partners.
It will leverage New Jersey's sector strengths in pharma, finance, manufacturing, and logistics.
The initiative builds on the Hub's recent hosting of Microsoft's Discovery AI platform.
Plug and Play will provide its global network of 100,000+ startups and 550+ corporate partners.
Support includes mentorship, business model refinement, workshops, and funding access.
Catalyzing the State's AI Ecosystem
This accelerator represents a strategic effort to solidify New Jersey's position as a center for AI innovation. By partnering with a globally recognized platform, the Hub aims to attract top-tier startups and provide them with the resources to scale, while fostering cross-sector collaboration within the state's robust industrial landscape.
"This partnership with Plug and Play will unleash new technologies, foster powerful cross-sector collaborations, and speed AI innovations from concept to impact," said Liat Krawczyk, executive director of the NJ AI Hub.
Leveraging Global Networks and Local Strengths
Plug and Play will bring its extensive global network and accelerator expertise to the program. This includes access to a vast pool of startups and corporate partners, which will be instrumental in attracting world-class AI talent to New Jersey and providing pathways for collaboration and investment.
"Our team is committed to making New Jersey a global leader for AI. Due to its world-class research institutions, thriving talent base, and institutional support, all the pieces exist to bring this partnership to life," said Saeed Amidi, founder and CEO of Plug and Play.
Building on a Foundation of Strategic Partnerships
The accelerator is the latest development for the NJ AI Hub, which was founded by Princeton University, the State of New Jersey, Microsoft, and CoreWeave. It follows the recent announcement that the Hub will host Microsoft's advanced Discovery AI platform, creating a synergistic environment for research, entrepreneurship, and commercial application.
"We are excited that the partnership with Plug and Play will enable the NJ AI Hub to catalyze AI innovation, including opportunities for faculty and students to turn their novel ideas into successful products and companies," said Princeton Provost Jennifer Rexford.
The launch of this accelerator signifies a coordinated push to translate New Jersey's academic and industrial assets into a thriving, competitive AI innovation economy, aiming to generate new companies and accelerate the adoption of AI technologies across key sectors.
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 60+ locations across five continents. We help our partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also run startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in 2000+ successful companies, including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi.
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