Best pitch of the evening takes home $200,000 on November 13
Rome, NY – The Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL/RI), together with Griffiss Institute will hold the current AFRL Commercialization Academy cohort’s Demo Day on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, at 5:30 pm EDT, at Griffiss Institute, 725 Daedalian Drive, in Rome, New York.
Six innovative, tech startup teams from the current AFRL Commercialization Academy cohort, of which all are from New York State, including two teams from the Mohawk Valley region, have been selected to take the stage to compete in a live pitch competition in front of a live audience and a judges’ panel. The teams will pitch their startup in cyber security, big data, information systems, and UAS, and compete to win $300,000 in prize seed funding provided by IDEA NY! The grand prize of $200,000 will go to the best pitch of the evening and $100,000 will go to the runner-up.
At Demo Day, the judges’ panel will evaluate each startup based on such factors as: the ability of the business to affect Upstate New York’s start-up ecosystem and high-tech economy, the culture of innovation that has been created within the startup due to incorporating AFRL technology, the sustainability of the solution beyond the initial startup period, profitability after sustainability, and go-to-market strategy.
The startups were incubated by Liddy Enterprises, while embarking on an acceleration process to either build a sustainable startup, or enhance technology from an already existing startup, with Department of Defense intellectual property from the Information Directorate.
“I frequently tell start-ups ‘keep grinding’ and that is just what the 2019 fall cohort of the Commercialization Academy did,” says John Liddy, principal at Liddy Enterprises. “Starting with customer discovery, identifying value propositions, and corresponding intellectual property (IP), creating minimal viable products, establishing go-to-market strategies, and ending with a pitch deck, this cohort exemplified tenacity and perseverance. Teams iterated product offerings, in a wide variety of industries, as well as target markets, and IP licenses, as they put in the grueling hours it takes to be an entrepreneur.”
Here are the six startups that will take the stage at Demo Day on November 13th.
AIMLExchange™ – Rome, NY
AIMLExchange™ creates the Digital Future™ by enabling Hi-Tech CEO-CxO Teams Peak Performance.
Inferenx Labs Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Inferenx Labs is preventing automotive collisions with wildlife and reducing insurance claims.
On the Curb, Inc. – Utica, NY
On the Curb exists to change the world of data.
PreVision Corp. – Syracuse, NY
PreVision Corp are global leaders of real-time aerial 3D imaging technology.
Seven Sundays – Syracuse, NY
Seven Sundays is developing systems for the future of hospitality.
United Aircraft Technologies – Albany, NY
United Aircraft Technologies is modernizing the way aircraft wire maintenance is done through Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence.
The Innovation & Development Entrepreneurial Accelerator, known as IDEA NY Mohawk Valley, is a business accelerator competition and twelve-month program that will incentivize promising entrepreneurs to create and grow viable commercial businesses in the Mohawk Valley region. This accelerator program is made possible by a $2 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative grant from New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
After Demo Day, eligible teams will participate in the year-long IDEA NY accelerator program and will be required to reside in the Mohawk Valley region for a 12-month period after the event.
This Demo Day is a FREE event and open to anyone interested in startups, entrepreneurship, technology, and the Mohawk Valley ecosystem. RSVP at https://afrlfall19demoday.eventbrite.com
Demo Day will include food catered by Everything But A Pickle and cash bar by Copper City Brewing Co.
The 2019 Fall AFRL Commercialization Academy cohort and Demo Day are made possible by the generous support of National Grid, NYSTEC and M&T Bank.
