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Friday Fix: Koolbridge Energy, Path Intelligence, The Download, and More!
Posted Yesterday tl;dr GrepBeat.com shares news about startups and technology, and each week David Schwartz creates a "Friday Fix" to help readers catch up on stories they might have missed. This week's recap included features on Koolbridge Energy, an award-winning company, and Readalot.ai, along with an update from Path Intelligence founder Nate Robert-Eze and a new "Download" episode with Brooks Malone and guest Erkang Zheng. Readers can listen to the full recap and subscribe to The GrepBeat Podcast to stay updated on tech news in their area. |
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The Download: Erkang Zheng, Founder and CEO, Ariso
Posted Thursday tl;dr Erkang Zheng is a tech entrepreneur who previously built a successful cybersecurity company and is now leading Ariso, a startup that uses AI to help people and organizations manage information and work more efficiently. He believes that as AI takes over routine production tasks, everyone increasingly becomes a "manager" who must organize, track, and make sense of everything being produced—a theme he explores in his upcoming book, "Everyone Is a Manager Now." Beyond his company, Erkang stays busy mentoring students, serving on university advisory boards, and splitting his time between Raleigh and Austin while enjoying local coffee shops and restaurants. |
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Charlotte Student’s Readalot.ai Generates Stories to Enhance Reading Lessons
Posted Wednesday tl;dr Sofia Norenko, a middle school student in Charlotte, created Readalot.ai, an AI-powered platform that lets kids ages 3-12 create their own personalized stories where they can be the main character in adventures like exploring space or discovering magical forests. The platform combines fun storytelling with educational content, including reading comprehension questions, to help kids improve their literacy skills at their own pace while staying entertained. Readalot.ai has already partnered with a local middle school and received a $17,100 grant to help grow the business, with plans to expand into more schools in the future. |
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Path’s Nate Robert-Eze on Winning Invest Fest, Playing Four Instruments, and Wrapping a $2.3M Seed Round
Posted Tuesday tl;dr Path Intelligence is a startup led by founder Nate Robert-Eze that created an AI "sales agent" for real estate — instead of just showing buyers virtual tours of homes, this AI actually talks with them in over 42 languages, answering their questions any time of day. The company has grown a lot since last summer, winning a big pitch competition in Atlanta that earned them $125,000, receiving grants and recognition, and working with major real estate companies like Ritz-Carlton Residences and Hines. Robert-Eze shared that his biggest lesson was learning to explain his product simply (saying "we sell homes faster" instead of using fancy tech language), and he hopes his AI can someday help everyday people get honest answers about buying homes, not just wealthy luxury buyers. |
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How Coastal Entrepreneur of the Year Koolbridge Energy Facilitates a Sustainable Future
Posted Monday tl;dr A Wilmington, North Carolina company called Koolbridge Energy has invented a smart breaker box called the Smart Load Center (SLC) that can manage electricity from multiple sources, like solar panels, batteries, generators, and the regular power grid, instead of just one like old-fashioned breaker boxes. This device automatically chooses the cheapest and most efficient energy source for a home’s needs, helps lower electric bills, and can prioritize which appliances get power first during an outage. Founded by inventor Dr. Paul Dent and now led by CEO Bill Griffin, the company recently won the Coastal Entrepreneur of the Year award and hopes to grow this North Carolina-based innovation into a major player in the future of home energy. |
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Monday Mix: NC IDEA Deadlines, ConvergeSouth, The Seed List, NEW’s AI Roundtable, and More!
Posted Monday tl;dr This week’s newsletter highlights several important deadlines and events for entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts. On Monday and Tuesday, key grant and program applications from NC IDEA are due, while Tuesday evening features a Student Showcase from The SEED List’s Emerging Leaders program. Later in the week, there are networking opportunities focused on climate tech and AI, plus a two-day conference in Winston-Salem where the GrepBeat team will be attending. |
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Friday Fix: Giving Week, RCOAST, XTND, and Much More!
Posted August 21, 2026 tl;dr GrepBeat.com shares news about startups and technology, and every Friday, David Schwartz gives a quick recap called the Friday Fix to help people catch up on the week's stories. This week's recap included a thank-you for their Week of Giving donations, along with features on companies like RCOAST, Milk Diary, and XTND, plus highlights from NC State's Andrews Launch Accelerator Demo Day. You can listen to the full podcast episode and subscribe to stay updated on future tech news in your area. |
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Wilmington’s XTND Announces Strategic Partnership With Clio
Posted August 20, 2026 tl;dr XTND, a startup that helps insurance defense law firms manage billing and collect money they've already earned, has officially partnered with Clio, a major legal software company, making XTND an official solution partner in Clio's network. This partnership matters because complex insurance law firms often struggled to use modern cloud software like Clio due to complicated billing rules, but XTND solves that problem by handling the tricky financial paperwork so firms don't lose money. Moving forward, XTND plans to add new AI-powered tools to spot where firms are losing revenue, grow its team, and reach hundreds of similar law firms across the country, all while staying rooted in its hometown of Wilmington. |
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By a Mother, for Mothers: Raleigh’s Milk Diary Alleviates Stresses of Breastfeeding
Posted August 20, 2026 tl;dr Kaya Thomas, a mom from Raleigh, created an app called Milk Diary to help new parents track breastfeeding and pumping schedules, since she couldn't find one that focused specifically on feeding after her own baby was born early and needed extra care. The app lets parents track feeding times, milk supply, and patterns to share with doctors, while keeping all data private and only using AI to help organize information quickly, not as the main feature. Thomas hopes Milk Diary will grow beyond just tracking to become a tool that motivates parents and helps them feel confident and accomplished during the challenging early days of parenthood. |
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Andrews Launch Accelerator Showcases 10 Startups at 2026 Demo Day
Posted August 19, 2026 tl;dr NC State's Andrews Launch Accelerator (ALA) recently finished a 12-week summer program, ending with a "Demo Day" where 10 startups pitched their business ideas to guests from the local entrepreneurial community. These young companies tackled all kinds of problems, from apps that help climbers check trail conditions to smart earbuds for athletes, disease-detecting plant sensors, and AI tools that automate restaurant orders and dental office tasks. Funded by a $1 million donation, the program gives these startups free seed money and mentorship, and even brought back a successful alum from a past cohort to show attendees the accelerator's real-world impact. |
