Regional collaboration connects deployment-ready companies with North Texas cities, investors, and partners around city priorities

FRISCO, Texas, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- North Texas Connected, a regional initiative led by the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (FEDC), McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), and the North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA), have announced Geolava, Vaidio, and Sensoneo as the winners of the 2026 North Texas Connected Innovation Pitch Competition. The live competition brought together nearly 200 city leaders, department teams, investors, corporate partners, research institutions, entrepreneurs, and regional collaborators at Hall Tower in Frisco on Oct. 21.

The competition reversed the traditional pitch model: participating cities began by defining real operational challenges, and selected companies responded with deployment-ready solutions. Out of 53 applicants representing 38 cities, seven countries, and four continents, six finalists presented approaches spanning public works, environmental solutions, and transportation and logistics.

Six Finalists Respond to Three City Challenge Areas

The finalist field reflected the breadth of technology now available to help local governments improve operations and resident services:

• Public Works: SYBor Tech and Geolava
• Transportation and Logistics: Vaidio and LuftCar
• Environmental Solutions: Sensoneo and Strategos

A winner was selected from each category; congratulations to:

For Public Works, Geolava (San Francisco, Calif.). Geolava brings physical AI to the built environment through a world model that analyzes how assets change and predicts potential failure before it occurs. Its technology is designed to give infrastructure owners and operators earlier, decision-ready insight into risks affecting facilities, roads, bridges, and other physical assets.

For Transportation and Logistics, Vaidio (Stamford, Conn.): Vaidio's AI Vision platform turns existing cameras into intelligent monitoring and analytics tools for cities. The platform can support traffic-flow analysis, vehicle and pedestrian counts, incident detection, crosswalk safety, and actionable insights for transportation planning and response.

For Environmental Solutions, Sensoneo (Boston, Mass.): Sensoneo provides smart waste management technology that combines fill-level monitoring, software, route planning, and asset management. Its tools help cities and service providers make collection more efficient, reduce unnecessary mileage and fuel use, and improve visibility across waste operations.

Jennifer Sanders, Executive Director, NTXIA: "The goal was never simply to name a winner. It was to create a practical bridge between the challenges our cities are working to solve and the companies ready to help solve them. Every finalist brought strong ideas and a willingness to listen, adapt, and work alongside local leaders. That is the spirit behind North Texas Connected – and it is how great ideas move from conversation to deployment."

A Timeline of Regional Innovation

Alongside the competition, an Innovation Expo was held, tracing a decade of entrepreneurship, technology adoption, and economic-development milestones. The exhibition was designed as a shared regional story, showing how complementary investments, partnerships, and convenings have strengthened the broader innovation ecosystem.

Michael Kowski, CEO, McKinney Economic Development Corporation, shared, "North Texas Connected has already demonstrated what is possible when economic development and city innovation work together. This was on full display through the event interest and quality of the solutions. We are proud to partner to create a pathway that gives companies meaningful market access and gives our community the opportunity to evaluate solutions with tangible local value."

Featured milestones included the McKinney Innovation Fund; regional partnerships with Plug and Play; Frisco's Origin Innovation Hub; 16 Corporate Innovation and R&D Centers in Frisco, Baylor Scott & White's sports-treatment innovation work; the PGA of America headquarters and innovation center; Frisco and McKinney's first joint delegation with NTXIA to Smart City Expo World Congress in 2022; the Global Smart Cities Startup Challenge; WhiteGlove.AI; Amsys, and Frisco's role in hosting Dallas Startup Week and Venture Dallas activities.

The exhibition answered the question: "What happens when sectors and ecosystems collaborate?" – and invited attendees to see the competition itself as the next chapter in that story.

Gloria Salinas, SVP, Chief Growth Officer, Frisco Economic Development Corporation, commented, "Frisco has built an environment where companies can test ideas, connect with customers and scale. This competition puts that approach into action, connecting emerging technologies with real-world opportunities while giving founders a pathway to grow their businesses in one of the country's fastest-growing markets."

From Pitch to Partnership

The pitch competition was followed by a curated salon dinner in McKinney that brought finalists together with senior city and economic-development leaders, investors, and ecosystem partners. The evening was designed to deepen the conversations that began during the competition and accelerate potential pilots, strategic partnerships, investments, and opportunities for companies to establish or expand a North Texas presence.

"The Geolava team had a great time taking part in the North Texas Connected pitch competition," commented Pierre Mombeleur, Co-founder and VP of Operations, Geolava. "To our surprise this was only the first event of its kind, given how well organized it was. We thank NTXIA for the warm welcome, the energy and excitement around innovation that could serve the public sector in the region were palpable. We are excited to be part of this community, and to bring data-driven intelligence for smart infrastructure to North Texas."

"It was an honor to represent Vaidio at NTXIA's Connected 2026 Pitch Competition, and I'm proud that the judges selected Vaidio as a winner", said Douglas Hammer, SVP of Strategy, Vaidio. "NTXIA's mission to create 'the most connected, smart, and resilient region in the country' really resonates with us. The best thing about this win is that it gives us the opportunity to partner closely with these visionary institutions, as we build out the most capable, scalable and trustworthy Vision AI platform for a world of agentic automation. We look forward to building the future together."

Martin Nestepny, CEO of Sensoneo Inc. said, "Sensoneo's recognition as the Environmental Solution category at North Texas Connected is a strong signal that North Texas is ready to lead on data-driven waste management. Sensoneo is proud to be part of that work."

North Texas Connected partners will begin follow-up discussions in the coming weeks. Additional outcomes and pilot activity will be shared as agreements advance.

About North Texas Connected

North Texas Connected is a regional innovation and economic development initiative that connects communities with the companies shaping the future of cities. Through collaborative innovation challenges, startup engagement, pilot opportunities, and strategic partnerships, the initiative creates new pathways for emerging companies to grow while helping local governments deploy technologies that improve infrastructure, mobility, sustainability, and resident services. Founded through a partnership between the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (FEDC), McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), and the North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA), North Texas Connected showcases North Texas as a destination for innovation, investment, and community impact.

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SOURCE North Texas Innovation Alliance