Phase II Teams Announced for NSIN's DIA Cohort
Advanced technology developed by U.S. Department of Defense labs moves towards commercialization through the Defense Innovation Accelerator, Phase II.
The National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) Defense Innovation Accelerator (DIA) 2021 cohort has moved into Phase II with teams advancing to the next round of entrepreneurial development. In the next phase of DIA, teams will explore company formation, technology licensing from top Department of Defense (DoD) labs and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and funding opportunities both dilutive and non-dilutive such as SBIRs/STTRs.
Over the last two months, teams worked with DoD lab scientists and technologists to find the best pathways for the commercialization of the cutting-edge technology being developed.
Through many customer discovery interviews, the teams assessed the market viability of their technologies and explored both commercial and DoD-related applications. The teams moving on to Phase II have determined that there is a path forward with the technology and plan to create a startup company around the idea.
“The fact that 20 teams have determined that their technology has enough commercialization potential for them to continue investing their time and energy is a phenomenal result for us. We couldn’t be more excited about both the DoD inventions and the caliber of the entrepreneurs we chose for this cohort,” said Mark Antholt, Program Manager for the DIA.
The teams moving forward into Phase II are working on technologies that include an x-ray CT, a mercury-free handheld UV disinfection, data pre-processing with natural language processing, and various other topics. Information about the teams, their technologies, and an opportunity to comment on their progress can be found in the DIA Community on UNUM.
The labs participating in the 2021 DIA cohort are:
- Aerospace Corporation (FFRDC)
- Air Force Research Lab RX Materials & Manufacturing Directorate
- Army Research Laboratory
- Naval Research Laboratory
- Naval Information Warfare Pacific
- Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility
- MIT Lincoln Laboratory (FFRDC)
About DIA
The Defense Innovation Accelerator is a program under the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) powered by FedTech. Through the partnership, breakthrough technology is leveraged from top Defense Department research and development labs to solve real-world problems with defense and commercial customers. Entrepreneurs and Mentors are sourced from across the U.S. and matched into teams with inventors of innovative technologies from Defense Department labs. Over an intensive 24 week program, teams go through two phases; customer discovery and early company formation. Successful teams have gone on to form companies, license the technology from the labs and pursue various funding opportunities. More information can be found on the NSIN DIA website HERE.
