Best pitch of the evening takes home $200,000 on March 21, 2019
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 Thursday, March 21, 2019, at 5:00 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 five are from New York State, including three teams from the Mohawk Valley region, and one team from Philadelphia, 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 early-stage venture capital firm, Wasabi Ventures, 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.
“While the six startups in this cohort may cover a wide range of industries, there is one thing that all of their founders have in common: dedication. These founders have developed new go-to-market strategies, chosen the intellectual property that best helps their startups, begun creating pitch decks, as well as started the AFRL licensing process, while also wearing all of the hats of an entrepreneur,” says Wasabi Ventures Academy Program Director, Michele Pesula Kuegler.
The six startups competing at Demo Day are:
- CYBER DEFENSE NETWORK ADAPTER – Oriskany, NY – In-Line Malware Prevention
CDNA provides a diverse set of cyber-protection and sits in-line with your network connection, intercepting threats before reaching the host system.
- E-HEALTH NOW – Philadelphia, PA – Breaking down geographical barriers to provide affordable world-class cancer care
E-Health Now is the first platform that exclusively focuses on optimizing the management plans for cancer patients in China.
- GO FIGURE – Utica, NY – The Contractor’s Mobile Office
Go Figure is the only solution that lets you measure, estimate, and create a proposal, all onsite using just your iPad.
- SKYTUBELIVE – Oneida, NY – Safe. Private. Secure. Live Drone Video Streaming.
SkyTubeLive is the site for live streaming drone videos.
- STONEWALL DEFENSE – Watervliet, NY – Leadership – Technology – Training
Emphasizing leadership, technology, and training, it seeks to help scrap metal recyclers protect their valuable rollaway containers that regularly stolen or lost. A small, low cost, high powered tracker that can give users near real time updates as to the location of their assets. Its software is integrated with the high-powered DoD system, Android Team Awareness Kit, and can link thousands of different assets across multiple networks in a manageable common operating picture.
- TOOLING INTEL – Yorkville, NY – Tooling Assets with a Pulse.
Tooling Intel will bridge the gap between corporate and operations to bring real-time global tooling asset visibility and predictive tooling analytics to all corporate stakeholders.
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. Additional assistance will be provided to the teams through the Griffiss Institute, the Griffiss Institute Business Incubator, a Certified NYS Business Incubator, and Mohawk Valley EDGE. Participating teams will be required to reside in the Mohawk Valley region for a 12-month period after Demo Day.
This Demo Day is a free event and open to anyone interested in startups, entrepreneurship, technology, and the Mohawk Valley ecosystem. RSVP at https://commacaddemo19.eventbrite.com
The 2019 AFRL Commercialization Academy cohort and Demo Day are made possible by the generous support of NYSTEC and M&T Bank.
