On August 14, Upstate Capital hosted the Future of Air & Space to provide visibility and access to key Upstate NY assets to a national audience of entrepreneurs, investors and industry professionals active in aerospace, defense, uncrewed systems, robotics and enabling technologies.
The event drove connections for corporate innovation and private venture capital investors to each other and deal flow opportunities and offered connections for startup entrepreneurs to potential investors.
Highlighting the Innovation Ecosystem
Upstate Capital partnered with GENIUS NY and the Griffiss Institute to produce the event. GENIUS NY is a $3 million business accelerator in Syracuse, NY focused on uncrewed aerial systems, robotics and big data startups. Griffiss Institute is a non-profit organization based in Rome, NY that aims to develop the next generation of STEM talent and defense technologies, including through their HUSTLE Defense Accelerator Program.
Past and present cohorts of both GENIUS NY and HUSTLE had the opportunity to meet with investors and potential customers as part of the invitation-only structured networking session that was hosted as part of the program. This unique session was dedicated to customer discovery with investors, corporate and government customers in the air and space sectors, including industry professionals working with external innovation at A+D companies. Some teams also had the opportunity to make quick introductions to the audience. The teams included Aerialoop, Aviant, Crover, Flyhound, INVOLI, AVSS, EagleHawk, Levanta Technologies, ArchAngel, Triarii and Marhold Space Systems.
Invest NY
Last year, Upstate Capital launched the Invest NY platform – an ecosystem data platform tracking startups, investors, and deals conducted across the state. This powerful, open-access platform delivers insights into industry trends including Air & Space. We created an Air and Space Startups to Watch list. These startups have had rapid growth of over 10x in combined valuation in the past 5 years. You can check out the list and the industry report linked from the list for more insight into the growth of the Air and Space industry.
Keynote conversation w/ Matt Byington, General Catalyst
Matt is an investor on the Global Resilience team at General Catalyst working on defense, intelligence and industrial tech. The conversation was moderated by Kara Jones, the Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs and Engagement at CenterState CEO and Director of GENIUS NY. The pair took an inside look at General Catylist’s investment thesis, segments of interest, and investment decision-making, along with Matt’s personal story.
Panel: M&A Activity in Air & Space
Noa Simons, the President and CEO of Upstate Capital moderated a panel discussion on M&A activity in the air and space sector in New York. The conversation provided visibility for entrepreneurs and advisors into corporate M&A dynamics, particularly sourcing buyers and preparing for transactions. Ed Koch, Chief Roboticist at FarmX (former CTO of AutoModality) spoke about his recent deal.
FarmX announced the acquisition of AutoModality, Inc., a mobile robotics navigation software company, based in San Rafael, CA, and Syracuse, NY. AutoModality was the 2017 GENIUS NY Grand Prize Winner of $1M. John Stack, Senior Managing Director, Aerospace & Defense Investment Banking, B. Riley Securities, spoke about how he recently helped a GENIUS NY company transact, including helping to identify potential buyers.
Panel: Upstate NY’s Private Corporate Assets and Resources
This panel featured private companies operating in the aerospace and defense sectors in Upstate NY. The panelists were Craig Marcinkowski of Saab, Cully Patch of Quanterion Solutions, and Brian Gunderson from Booz Allen. The speakers shared views on how their companies execute strategies tied to internal and external innovation.
The panel showcased the breadth of talent and activity while providing opportunities for investors and startups to connect with established industry players locally. John Liddy moderated the panel. John helps people start and grow businesses, primarily by contracting with organizations like Griffiss Institute and Centerstate CEO whose role it is to support entrepreneurs.
Local Critical Infrastructure
The audience was able to tour the Innovare Advamcenet Center at Griffiss Institute and other local infrastructure critical to the aerospace and defense industry, including:
- SkyDome: Of the the country’s largest indoor/outdoor UAS research and testing facility
- Orion: An open architecture, cloud-hosted ecosystem that is specifically designed to produce sustainable non-proprietary solutions that employ the latest technologies to solve real-world problems for the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Quantum Labs: Specialized labs for experimentation in quantum communications.
Interested in getting involved?
The Upstate Capital Association of New York hosts events connecting the investment community across New York. As a member-driven non-profit, our mission is to increase access to capital for companies and deal flow for investors across Upstate New York. Our audience includes investors, advisors, entrepreneurs, and people generally interested in innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the region. Learn more about Upstate Capital membership on our website.
