We're excited to announce the newest members of Immerse — our eighth fully-funded cohort of founders creating with purpose. This cohort focuses on AI for Good, featuring eleven mission-driven entrepreneurs using AI and Bubble to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Why AI for Good?

Since 2020, Immerse has supported dozens of underrepresented builders in bringing their ideas to life on Bubble. We’ve seen everything from AI mediation apps — like the one built by Best Pitch  winner Renee Jackson last year — to recycling and healthy eating tools. This year, we wanted to focus specifically on founders using AI for social impact.

As AI becomes more accessible, it opens up opportunities to solve complex problems at scale. But these tools often stay with well-funded startups or large corporations. We’re here to change that by empowering mission-driven founders to build with AI for meaningful change — ‌creating apps they can launch and grow with their communities without coding skills or massive budgets.

Meet the founders of Immerse Cohort 8

Cohort 8 spans from Nigeria and Chile to US cities like Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles — and the challenges these founders are tackling are just as diverse. From healthcare access to environmental sustainability, from legal services to education, we're excited to watch these founders make an impact using AI and no-code.

Anthony “Andy” Stowers Forest

Founder of QT Support Services — Santiago, Chile

Andy is the founder of QT Support Services, a nonprofit dedicated to helping LGBTQ individuals access passports and navigate relocation for safety and opportunity. He also serves as the survivor community facilitator for Freedom Network USA, has consulted with Trans Asylias to support trans asylum-seekers, and trains with HEAL Trafficking. A Research Fellow at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, Andy's work bridges advocacy, research, and direct support for those facing identity-based violence.

Edmond Kofi Awuah 

Founder of Chat Emet — Florence, Kentucky

Edmond is a Ghanaian-born creative director, filmmaker, and tech entrepreneur based in Kentucky. He led creative strategy for TV3 and all Media General stations, producing campaigns that reached millions across West Africa, and spearheaded Meta's Ghana campaign spotlighting Africa's top creatives. His passion for preserving stories and identities led him to found Chat Emet, an AI-powered social platform that creates interactive avatars to keep legacies alive. He believes technology should strengthen human connection across generations — not replace it.

Erica Terry 

Founder of Love On 'Em — Newnan, Georgia

After her husband survived stage 4 cancer, Erica saw first-hand how inaccessible estate planning is, especially for underserved families. That experience inspired her to found Love On 'Em, a mission-driven platform that uses AI to help families preserve love, wisdom, and legacy across generations. With over 20 years in education and family engagement, and as CEO of AI Business U, Erica blends instructional design, digital business expertise, and no-code innovation to close the legacy gap and make milestone messaging and planning simple, secure, and deeply meaningful.

Francis Rutledge III 

Founder of With Love — Atlanta, Georgia

Francis is a multidisciplinary creative from Brooklyn, now based in Atlanta, with a background spanning TV/film, fashion, music, and advertising. Over his career, he’s built campaigns and branding for major names like the NBA, McDonald’s, Sprite, and YouTube. His journey into entrepreneurship grew out of blending creative skills with AI, launching ventures like his caregiving coordination app, With Love, and his fashion-tech startup, TrendLens. Today, he's focused on building products that merge culture and innovation, aiming to solve real-world problems while creating meaningful brand experiences.

Katie Kirk

Founder of Makerlist — Los Angeles, California

Katie is the founder of Makerlist, an AI-powered platform that helps artists co-create project components with AI and connect with skilled providers to bring them to life. Based in Los Angeles, Katie is both a Lead Product Designer and a practicing artist with an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has led product design at companies including The Honest Company, Crexi, and TadHealth and has also advised early-stage startups across industries. With Makerlist, Katie is building the infrastructure she wished existed — helping artists move seamlessly from vision to execution.

Kimberly Cinco 

Founder of CHARLIE — Houston, Texas

Kim is a proud island girl, born on Guåhan (Guam) raised on Oʻahu, and currently residing in Houston. She is a medically-retired US Navy veteran with a service-connected disability  and former foster youth. Kim holds a BA and MA in Social Sciences and Media Psychology, respectively, as well as certifications in user experience design and full-stack software engineering. Her multidisciplinary background spans criminal justice, military service, social advocacy, and health equity technology, positioning her to address the complex challenges facing marginalized communities within medical and justice systems.

Oluwasanmi Sknington

Founder of Human Systems Audit — Lagos, Nigeria

Sanmi is an energy tech founder from Lagos, Nigeria, who combines a civil engineering background with interests in engineering psychology and extensive commercial experience in the energy sector. Beginning in upstream petroleum projects, he recognized the untapped potential for technology to transform fuel delivery and consumption. This passion for solving complex problems with scalable, tech-driven solutions led to ventures like Human Systems Audit, which now use data-driven platforms to streamline LPG distribution and expand access to affordable, cleaner energy. Sanmi's mission is to redefine energy access and operational efficiency across emerging markets.

Quinn Cummings 

Founder of Reading To Connect — Richardson, Texas

Quinn is the Dallas-based founder of Reading To Connect™, a movement reclaiming reading as a space for presence, healing, and cultural safety. Drawing from her own parenting journey and years of work with families, she created The ENGAGE Method™, a six-phase framework that transforms reading time into a source of trust and generational connection. She’s the host of The Reading To Connect Show, creator of the global Reading To Connect Day, and builder of a growing community united by the belief that books should be bridges, not benchmarks. Quinn is now developing an AI-powered app to help families choose and engage with books in ways that meet their real needs in the moment.

Stephanie LaScala-Lodato 

Founder of VerbaVista — Brockport, New York

Stephanie is a Long Island native now based in Rochester, NY, and the founder of VerbaVista, an AI instructional planning platform for English language teachers serving adult learners. After earning her BA in sociology and women’s studies from SUNY New Paltz, she spent four years teaching English in Rio de Janeiro, where she immersed herself in Brazilian culture and developed a deep commitment to equitable adult language education. Drawing from her 14 years of teaching experience, she conceptualized VerbaVista's AI-powered lesson builder, Verbi, which delivers context-relevant, standards-aligned lesson plans in minutes rather than hours.

T.S. Strickland

Founder of TALWA — Pensacola, Florida

T.S. is the Florida-based founder of TALWA, a community-led design platform that uses AI to make public space planning more inclusive. A journalist with more than a decade covering government, development, and equity issues, he now also serves as a public radio host. T.S. co-founded Bluffline, a 20-mile greenway and placemaking initiative, where he has seen first hand how participatory design can transform communities. Of Muscogee heritage, he chose the name TALWA — meaning “town” or “community” in Muscogee — to reflect his commitment to reclaiming voice and visibility for historically excluded communities.

Uzoma Abakporo 

Founder of Pulzable — Minneapolis, Minnesota

Uzo is the founder of Pulzable, a remote patient monitoring platform built to close the gap between clinic visits and early interventions — especially for underserved populations in Africa and beyond. A trained physician with a product manager background, he's worked at the intersection of healthcare delivery and digital innovation for over a decade. Pulzable reflects his passion for using technology to make care more continuous, proactive, and equitable. He currently splits his time between Dallas, Texas and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Want to follow along or join our next cohort?

These eleven founders represent the future of AI-powered social impact. Over the next few months, they'll work with our team of mentors and the broader Bubble community to build, iterate, and launch their ideas.

Want to follow their journey? Join the conversation on the Bubble forum, where our Immerse founders regularly share updates and connect with the community.

While applications for Cohort 8 are now closed, future Immerse cohorts open periodically throughout the year. Visit our Immerse page to learn more about the program and sign up for our newsletter to get notified when applications reopen.