US Air Force Lab with MassChallenge Selects Inaugural Cohort

The first 10 startups to participate in the U.S. Air Force Lab with MassChallenge, a two-year pilot project designed to increase non-traditional participation in Small Business Innovative Research program opportunities, were selected April 24.

Christian Melton, center, senior partnerships manager for MassChallenge Boston, discusses the U.S. Air Force Lab with MassChallenge program with Capt. Teresa Doskey, a contracting officer for Digital’s Force Protection Division, from left, Brian Carr, director of innovation for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks, Stacy Simon, Small Business lead for Digital, and Capt. Amanda Rebhi, chief innovation officer for Digital during a meeting at the MassChallenge facility in Boston, Mass., Feb. 21. U.S. Air Force photo by Todd Maki

Airgility, Inc.; Agile Data Decisions LLC; Colvin RunNetworks; Jaxon, Inc.; Lynq Technologies, Inc.; Mesodyne; Pison; Sema; SensatekPropulsion Technology, Inc.; and SimX, Inc. make up the first cohort to benefitfrom specialized mentorship and support from Air Force and MassChallengeexperts through this program.

The U.S. Air Force Lab with MassChallenge is contractedthrough the Griffiss Institute and is a partnership between MassChallenge, anetwork of zero-equity startup accelerators; the Digital Directorate; theCommand, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks Directorate; theCyber Resiliency Office for Weapons Systems and the Air Force Research Lab.

As the cohort begins interacting with the program’scustomized resources, Hanscom Air Force Base’s participating directorates willevaluate how the individual technologies might be utilized to support thewarfighter.

“MassChallenge’s expertise identifying startups for the AirForce to evaluate brings forward many new and evolving concepts andtechnologies,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Schmidt, PEO for C3I&N. “We aregrateful for the opportunity to begin this new phase and specifically look attechnology insertion in areas such as C3I&N’s software development, processautomation, artificial intelligence and machine learning.”

Representatives from Hanscom’s directorates will be keycontributors throughout the accelerator program.

“As PEO Digital progresses with the accelerator, we’ll beworking closely with MassChallenge to tailor and develop curriculum that fits theunique needs of the cohort,” said Capt. Amanda Rebhi, chief innovation officerfor Digital. “We will also be intimately involved with the program, essentiallyserving as subject matter experts to guide the cohort as it navigates the SmallBusiness Innovative Research program.”

The CROWS team is also actively engaged in the program,assisting with company selections, submitting problem statements and judgingapplications, said Joe Bradley, director of CROWS and associate director ofEngineering and Technical Management at Hanscom.

“CROWS is laser-focused on finding creative ways to advancemission assurance in cyber-contested environments,” he said. “We will behelping the SBIR Phase I companies better understand our opportunities, connectwith potential customers across the Air Force, and progress to SBIR Phase IIand beyond.”

“The U.S. Air Force Lab with MassChallenge has streamlined adifficult step in the Phase I to Phase II transition, identifying aproduct-market match between the Air Force and solution providers,” saidMarissa McCoy, MITRE's Air Force cyber operations portfolio chief of staff. “Asa judge and mentor for the program, I look forward to helping ensure that thePhase I awardees gain greater insight into government challenges and have thesupport they need to accelerate customer discovery. The MITRE team and I areeager to mentor companies to ensure the Air Force has access to the mostpromising technologies.”

Cait Brumme, the managing director of MassChallenge Boston,expressed her congratulations to the 10 startups selected for the program: “MassChallenge’sstartup-centered approach to acceleration will ensure that these companies aremore effectively and efficiently able to bridge the ‘valley of death’ betweenPhase I and Phase II awards,” she said. “Additionally, partnering with keydefense stakeholders will validate early-stage startups while helping tode-risk the development of these applications.”