Asheville Companies Among NC IDEA Spring 2026 SEED Grant Semi-Finalists

Four Asheville startups — Beiing Human, BeneDoc, League Linq and Shuttlebee Dispatch Solutions — are among the 21 companies selected as semi-finalists in NC IDEA's Spring 2026 SEED grant cycle, the Durham-based private foundation announced March 23. Each semi-finalist is competing for a $50,000 grant as part of the program's 41st cycle.

The four local companies claimed a notable share of the semi-finalist field, which NC IDEA drew from 184 total applicants across North Carolina. Shuttlebee, co-founded by CEO Kristina Fahl and headquartered on South French Broad Avenue, is an insurtech platform that improves student transportation with safety tools, auto insurance for small transportation providers, and contracts for those providers to serve K-12 students. The startup was previously named one of NC IDEA's MICRO grant recipients, making it one of eight prior MICRO recipients represented in this cycle's semi-finalist pool.

Beiing Human automates construction accounts payable invoices, purchase orders, delivery tickets, and credit card receipts using AI. League Linq offers a full league management platform at no cost to club organizers, built in Asheville.

"This cycle brought one of our larger applicant pools, reflecting the strength and breadth of North Carolina's entrepreneurial ecosystem," said Amy Bastian, Vice President of Grants & Programs at NC IDEA. "We are excited that eight of our previous MICRO grant recipients are represented, and look forward to learning more about the full group in this next phase of the grant cycle."

NC IDEA awards SEED grants to companies targeting large, rapidly growing markets with a clear path to scale: either raising venture capital within two years or hitting $2 million or more in annual revenue within five years, with potential to exceed $10 million. Both the SEED and MICRO programs include mentorship alongside funding, and companies may apply to only one program per cycle.

The Asheville companies now face a revised application deadline of March 30 before finalists are selected April 24. Finalist pitch sessions are scheduled for May 8, with grant recipients named May 13. The full list of 21 semi-finalists spans nine North Carolina cities, including Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.