Esri and 1776 Join Forces to Support Geospatial Innovation in Startups

Esri has announced a new collaboration with 1776, a Washington, D.C.–based startup incubator, by welcoming the organization into its Emerging Business Program. The initiative is designed to help young companies integrate geospatial intelligence into their products and services, enabling them to tackle complex challenges with location-aware insights.

Through the three-year program, startups affiliated with 1776 will gain access to Esri’s core technologies, including ArcGIS software, online services, and curated geospatial content. This support allows participating companies to embed mapping, spatial analytics, and location-based decision-making directly into their platforms, strengthening both product value and market differentiation.

According to Esri leadership, incorporating geographic context into business intelligence transforms raw data into actionable insight. By enabling startups to analyze spatial patterns and relationships, the program helps entrepreneurs build more scalable, informed, and resilient solutions across a wide range of industries.

Participants in the Emerging Business Program receive a comprehensive package of benefits. These include ArcGIS Online subscriptions, ArcGIS Server licensing, access to the Esri Developer Network, along with technical training, maintenance, and customer support. Startups also gain increased visibility through opportunities to showcase their work at Esri events and collaborate with Esri’s business development teams on joint marketing efforts.

The partnership strengthens Esri’s relationship with the 1776 innovation community while supporting companies focused on solving real-world problems in sectors such as education, energy, healthcare, public services, and other highly regulated industries. By lowering the barrier to advanced geospatial capabilities, the program aims to help early-stage businesses move faster from concept to impact.