Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars Announces Class of 2020
Jan 23, 2020
Editor’s Note: Due to global circumstances, Demo Day information indicated in this blog post may be inaccurate. As definitive demo day dates and information are determined, updated info will reflect on the main program page.
Hot on the heels of a powerhouse 2019 program, Techstars, the U.S. Air Force, NSIN, and BAE Systems FAST Labs, are delighted to announce the 2020 class of the Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars.
In 2018 the program launched with the goal of connecting the Air Force to early stage commercially-oriented startups with innovative technologies, and adapting Air Force business processes to match the commercial world – instead of turning startups into full-fledged defense contractors. The first year of our program was a huge success, and in 2019 we welcomed BAE Systems FAST Labs as an additional partner to support the program. For BAE Systems FAST Labs, access to our pool of program applicants provides tremendous insight into current industry trends, and being part of our startup selection process affords a tremendous head-start in integrating our companies technologies into their military systems. Beyond our Air Force and BAE Systems FAST Labs partners, we are grateful to have the support of our sponsors the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN, formerly MD5), AFWERX, the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and AFIMSC Tyndall Program Management Office (PMO) for our 2020 program.
Of our 20 alumni companies, 19 have gone on to win a collective $20+ million in Department of Defense contracts from AFWERX/AFRL’s newly re-designed Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) “Open Topic” program. Many of these companies are also executing proof-of-concept projects from commercial entities and have raised significant private investment as well.
Funded by the U.S. Federal Government, SBIR, also known as the Small Business Innovation Research program, is one of the largest sources of early-stage capital in the United States, and is intended to help small businesses accelerate their dual-use products to market with non-dilutive prototyping contracts. In past years AFWERX and AFRL have transformed the legacy SBIR program to make it more attractive to commercial startups and VCs with generous matching grants – up to $1.5 million – and a much quicker turnaround time for awarding contracting, usually under 30 days.
Selecting the 2020 class of the Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars has been the most competitive to date, yielding a group of stellar technologies with both large commercial markets and clear warfighter use cases. Now, we proudly present the Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars class of 2020:
Beagle Learning
What’s the best next question? Quantifiable training to help individuals work more effectively in group problem-solving and strategy sessions.
https://www.beaglelearning.com/
Lauretta.io
Autonomous Property Management using computer vision.
Mesodyne
Mesodyne’s novel ultra-high energy-density compact power generators increase the endurance of small autonomous systems by 10X over batteries alone resulting in increased capability and cost savings.
MSBAI
Solving the reason most manufacturers don’t use cloud computing in engineering — with GURU, the Ultimate Engineering AI Assistant.
PeakMetrics
PeakMetrics leverages data analytics to track media narratives and develop successful digital content faster.
Southie Autonomy Works
Southie Autonomy makes a Magic Wand for robot arms that enables producers to affordably automate manual tasks regardless of volume and lack of robotics expertise. Our No-Code software platform lets users simply use gestures and voice via augmented reality to task a robot. No programming or engineering, let alone computer skills required.
https://www.southieautonomyworks.com/
Spiral Technology
Augmented Reality platform increasing labor productivity of industrial workforce by visualizing technical information.
Target Arm
Target Arm produces Tular, a universal drone launch and recovery platform for moving vehicles, both rotary wing and fixed wing, up to 65+ mph. Tular works for both commercial and military uses.
VeriTX
Trusted Digital Marketplace for Aerospace and Beyond.
Vermeer
AR Enabled Drone Photo and Video.
