Startup earns competitive showcase opportunity for their HydroStation™, a smart water fountain for cities, at SXSW's annual Conference in Austin this month.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US, April 5, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- HOPE Hydration, the startup behind the HydroStation™, an IoT-powered drinking fountain, was picked from among more than 650 startups to present at the highly competitive SXSW PITCH competition earlier this month. HOPE delivered their pitch to an audience of innovators, investors, and influencers during the world-renowned innovation conference.

“We are building a future where for the first time, water and your other favorite drinks will be readily accessible waste-free,” explained HOPE’s founder and CEO, Jorge Richardson. “Having the opportunity to share our vision and mission as a part of the larger smart cities innovation conversation at the SXSW Conference was a milestone achievement for our business and growth strategy.”

SXSW’s PITCH competition featured startups from across 10 categories, including Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice, Enterprise & Smart Data, Transportation & Logistics, and Social & Culture. HOPE was honored in the Smart Cities category.

HOPE is committed to making sustainable water free and accessible within a five-minute walk in every city throughout the world. The HydroStation™ dispenses filtered water for free, and users will have the option to pay for premium drink refills. The stations are equipped with proprietary IoT technology to provide real-time data updates, including information on the amount of plastic and carbon dioxide (CO2) saved. HOPE will be rolling out the first permanent HydroStations in Atlanta this year and is in conversations with other cities around the world about installation plans.

Richardson emphasized that the HydroStation™ fountain is trying to offer a sustainable water solution globally and get rid of the 1 million plastic water bottles that are produced every 60 seconds around the world. “The old business model for plastic bottles doesn’t make sense,” said Richardson during his pitch at the conference. “Instead of asking, ‘How do we produce a bottle that uses less plastic?’ we should be asking, ‘What does the world look like with no plastic at all?’ That’s the world we are building.”

About the HydroStation™

The HydroStation™ is a thoughtfully designed, tech-enabled water refill station capable of providing high-quality filtered water in high-traffic areas across the country—particularly in busy urban centers, public parks and trails, event and conference spaces, and concert venues—significantly reducing dependence on plastic. Each HydroStation™ is equipped with proprietary IoT, providing real-time data updates to local partners including information on the amount of plastic and CO2 saved and macro-user trends, ushering cities into the next generation of sustainability. The station’s innovative design features high-resolution digital screens, touchless refill, and self-cleaning capabilities.

About HOPE Hydration

HOPE Hydration (“HOPE”) is a tech-enabled company that believes water is a human right. The company’s mission is to develop solutions to bring clean water without waste around the world through a technology solution—the HydroStation™. HOPE is working to encourage new behaviors around water consumption, conservation, and waste—including reducing the environmental impact of plastics pollution. HOPE’s young team of co-founders—including Dave Tigue and Cristina Gnecco, brought together by a desire for a more sustainable future—have deep experience around sustainable development goals, business development, and software and hardware engineering. HOPE CEO Jorge Richardson has collaborated with major brands including Apple, Cannes Lion, and Google on technology-powered water solutions. He is a Forbes 30 under 30 and was recognized by Adweek as a Top Entrepreneur of Gen Z in 2019.

To learn more, visit www.hopehydrate.com and follow HOPE on Instagram.

Josette Archin-Tomlinson
Pioneering Collective
+1 469-269-4709
jarchin@pioneeringcollective.com
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