The drone industry is one that is – quite literally – just beginning to take off. I’m writing to let you know about a really exciting competition for drone enthusiasts and entrepreneurs interested in using their drone-based technology to take off into the business!
GENIUS NY, the world’s largest business accelerator for drone and UAS-based startups, is gearing up for their 3rd annual competition.
Located in Central New York, GENIUS NY was started in order to fuel the growth of innovative startup businesses in the drone industry.
To date, they’ve handed out millions (and that’s no type-o, I mean MILLIONS) of dollars to exciting, groundbreaking drone businesses around the world. This year, they’re ready to dish out $1M to the top team, as well as $500K to 4 separate runner-up teams.
“We have learned a lot through two rounds of this program and are in a position, thanks to the unprecedented investments being made by New York state, to make adjustments to create greater impact for the companies in the program and ultimately the region’s unmanned industry cluster,” said Robert Simpson, president of CenterState CEO.
“We now know that teams need more immediate capital for manufacturing in the Central New York region, and additional funding to hire more employees. The increases in awards will result in a larger budget for companies to hire new employees, supports additional market research and product development, and generally creates a longer runway for companies to achieve revenue and follow-on funding.
As these companies grow and evolve they become more integrated in the region’s larger efforts, and strengthen our position as a global leader for the unmanned systems industry.”
“This is tremendous support from the GENIUS NY program and a total game-changer for Fotokite,” last years winner Fotokite of Switzerland, which combines aerial and ground-based robotics with flight control algorithms to create a kite-like tethered drone system that can fly fully autonomously for 24 hours, “We are excited to be expanding operations here to support our customers moving forward and will work hard to continue building on this early momentum.”
“GENIUS NY provides a lot of useful trainings, workshops, events, and resources to help startup companies like us be functional quickly,” explains Syracuse native, UsPLM, which provides a collaborative environment to develop, test, deploy and safely operate a single or a fleet of unmanned aerial systems.
“More importantly, it provides a synergy platform for all the GENIUS NY teams to collaborate with each other to promote our technologies.”
GENIUS NY has funded some really exciting companies over the past couple of years. For example, Dropcopter out of California is a business that participated in the competition, and specializes in using drones for pollination of apple trees in the agricultural industry.
This business is particularly important when you consider the declining population of bees which is having a devastating effect on agricultural communities. Companies like Dropcopter are leveraging drone technology to provide solutions to real-world problems that have the potential to effect the entire globe.
GENIUS NY is funded with $5 million from NYS Empire State Development (ESD) and from contributing sponsors. I’d highly encourage anyone interested in starting or growing a drone-based business to check out GENIUS NY.
Its honestly an incredible program providing huge opportunities to entrepreneurs with a passion for drone and UAS technology. Here are some details about how to apply:
Visit the application process page to learn more about how to get involved with GENIUS NY. If you have an idea for a business, or if you know someone who is interested in growing a drone-based startup, click the link to visit GENIUS NY’s website and learn more about this phenomenal program
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