Three companies advancing artificial intelligence–enabled solutions have been selected to participate in FLIPspace 2.0: Advanced Mobility AI, the next phase of VentureWell’s FLIPspace program.
Building on the inaugural 2025 FLIPspace pilot, FLIPspace 2.0 supports companies working at the intersection of advanced mobility, artificial intelligence (AI), and commercialization.
About FLIPspace 2.0: Advanced Mobility AI
FLIPspace 2.0 provides targeted commercialization support to companies developing AI-enabled technologies in advanced mobility and related sectors. Through structured customer discovery, mentorship, and partner engagement, the program helps companies validate market demand, refine value propositions, and accelerate progress toward deployment.
The 2026 cohort includes companies applying AI-driven approaches to challenges across multiple sectors. Unlike in the initial cohort, participation in FLIPspace 2.0 does not require a formal university affiliation; this reflects the program’s continued evolution toward supporting a broader range of commercialization pathways.
“FLIPspace 2.0 is intentionally rooted in Northwest Arkansas, where emerging technology meets real industry demand,” said Katie Dzugan, VentureWell senior program officer. “By focusing on vertical AI (industry-specific AI built for sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and food systems), along with cybersecurity and advanced mobility, we’re aligning breakthrough innovation with the sectors shaping the region’s future. In partnership with the Walton Family Foundation and Highway Ventures, we’re creating pathways for founders to build and scale companies here in Northwest Arkansas.”
Entrepreneurs-in-Residence were selected through a competitive application process designed to assess founder readiness and commercialization potential. Three companies were selected based on viability, early market validation, clarity of problem and solution, competitive landscape awareness, and business model strength. Selected founders receive dedicated support and compensation to focus on company formation and early-stage commercialization.
2026 Cohort Companies
Each of the three companies in the FLIPspace 2.0 cohort is headquartered in Northwest Arkansas, including one participating founder who previously took part in the inaugural FLIPspace pilot.
SMART Reproduction
SMART Reproduction is an agricultural technology company developing machine-learning tools to support data-driven decision-making in sheep and goat production. Using a smartphone-based computer vision platform, the company enables producers to assess livestock readiness and health more consistently, helping address quality gaps that contribute to the United States’ reliance on imported sheep and goat products.
By improving consistency across producers, buyers, and packers, SMART Reproduction aims to strengthen domestic supply chains and improve operational efficiency. Through FLIPspace 2.0, the company is conducting customer discovery with commercial producers and establishing pilot partnerships to validate market demand and scale its solution.
Participant:
Brittany Scott, founder and CEO
Hidalga Technologies
Hidalga Technologies is developing automation tools to reduce delays in cancer treatment caused by administrative bottlenecks in prior authorization workflows. The company’s platform extracts required information from patient charts, identifies missing documentation, and helps oncology clinics anticipate authorization issues before they delay care.
Focused on independent and community-based oncology practices, Hidalga is testing an early minimum viable product (MVP) with an Arkansas oncology clinic and building a pipeline of similar partners. Through FLIPspace 2.0, the company is advancing early commercialization and refining its product through direct engagement with clinical users.
Participants:
Joshua Upshaw, founder and CEO
Jeejo Pallayi, founder and chief information and technology officer
OpCo
OpCo is developing operational technology to address inefficiencies in the food industry, a sector known for thin margins, manual processes, and complex, outdated workflows. Drawing on founder Philip Sambol’s two decades of experience across for-profit and nonprofit food ventures, the company is focused on solving persistent operational bottlenecks that limit efficiency and scalability across food distribution and related operations.
Through FLIPspace 2.0, OpCo is validating market demand and refining its commercialization approach, while establishing partnerships to test and deploy solutions in real-world food system environments. Sambol also took part in the inaugural FLIPspace pilot.
Participant:
Philip Sambol, founder
