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1/20/2022

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GENIUS NY and Portfolio Companies to Showcase at AUVSI XPONENTIAL

 
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GENIUS NY is getting ready for XPONTENTIAL 2022 in Orlando, Florida
Join us at Booth 1761 in the exhibit hall this year as we seek new startups interested in applying to round six of our GENIUS NY business accelerator. Along with staff who will be available to answer all your program questions, seven of our portfolio companies will be joining our booth including, Airial Robotics, Airtonomy, Circle Optics, Fotokite, ResilienX, WindShape, Circle Optics and TruWeather Solutions.
Airial Robotics: Airial Robotics develops commercial UAVs for surveillance, logistics and agriculture modeled after gyrocopter/helicopter hybrid that are challenging industry performance limits for safety, payload, range and speed.
Airtonomy: Airtonomy's push-button software automates uniform collection, packaging and analysis of data acquired by autonomous vehicles and sensors, specifically targeting critical energy infrastructure.​
Circle Optics: Circle Optics develops high-resolution, wide field-of-view imaging systems that enable real-time capture without the time and expense of post-processing required by other multicamera systems.​
Fotokite: Fotokite builds actively tethered situational awareness tools for first responders to help them save lives and preserve property.​
ResilienX: The ResilienX software platform monitors the health and integrity of a system and will facilitate fault recovery if a problem is encountered.
TruWeather Solutions: TruWeather delivers custom decision intelligence for drones and eVTOLs via micro-weather dashboard for multi-mission awareness or API service for deep C2 integration.
Windshape: WindShape develops indoor weather simulation technology to test and certify drones under controllable and repeatable flight conditions to enable autonomous and scalable drone applications.
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1/4/2022

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NUAIR & NYUASTS Unlock 35 Miles of BVLOS Airspace

 
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NUAIR and New York UAS Test Site Unlock 35 Miles of Beyond Visual Line of Sight Drone Operations
NUAIR and the New York UAS Test Site have received authority from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) across 35 miles of airspace within New York’s 50-mile Drone Corridor. Current regulations require drone operators to always have a pair of eyes on the drone, limiting the ability to fly long distances. The ability to safely fly BVLOS is the key to unlocking the full potential and economic advantage of routine commercial drone operations like medical and package deliveries.

In 2019, NUAIR and the Test Site received their first BVLOS authority for an eight-by-four mile stretch of airspace from the New York UAS Test Site, at Griffiss International Airport, south to the State Preparedness Training Center in Oriskany. This new airspace authority extends west of Griffiss towards Oneida Lake increasing their overall BVLOS airspace to 35 miles.
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“Oneida County’s Test Site at Griffiss International Airport has long established itself as an elite hub for all things UAS,” said Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. “The one-of-a-kind testing, research and development that occurs here is elevating the entire industry. This latest FAA authorization will allow our 50-mile drone corridor to push the limits of what is possible yet again, and we look forward to the new advancements that will result.”
“We have a long track record of safe UAS test flights and real-life implementation, including BVLOS operations,” said NUAIR chief of operations Tony Basile. “This new BVLOS airspace authorization will allow us to test more advanced, long-range flights and help us prove BVLOS operations can be done safely – the key component in realizing the true economic advantage of commercial drone operations.”
NUAIR will utilize the ground-based surveillance systems (GBSS) installed throughout the corridor to monitor air traffic and detect intruder aircraft for BVLOS operations that are taking place at or below 400 feet. Visual observers may also be deployed during BVLOS operations to assure safety of operations.
Empire State Development acting commissioner and president & CEO-designate Hope Knight said, “Supporting innovative technology that is creating the jobs of tomorrow is at the heart of what ESD and the New York State Regional Economic Development Councils are designed to do. By continuing to support the growing UAS industry in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, we are ensuring its continued development in New York State, securing our place as a global leader in this emerging business.”
NUAIR has conducted over 3,800 UAS test flights at the New York UAS Test Site, within New York’s 50-mile Drone Corridor, equating to more than 950 flight hours since operations began in 2014. This new authorization will help advance the reality of routine commercial drone operations and continue to draw companies from across the globe to Central New York and the Mohawk Valley regions.
About NUAIR
NUAIR (Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, Inc.) is a New York-based nonprofit with a mission to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace, enabling scalable, economically viable commercial drone operations. NUAIR manages operations of the FAA-designated New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport, Rome, NY on behalf of Oneida County and is responsible for the advancement of New York’s 50-mile UAS Corridor between Rome and Syracuse, NY.
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12/7/2021

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GENIUS NY Finalists Airial Robotics Tests New UAV At Himalaya Mountains

 
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Airial Robotics Takes UAV’s to New Heights With Successful Mission atop the Himalaya Mountains
The team at Airial Robotics looked to test and prove the suitability of their new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the CT30 Cargotrak, so of course they sought out the extreme altitude and weather conditions of the Himalaya mountains.
The objective of the mission labeled as “Himalaya Express” was to lift 10kg (22lbs) of freight from a takeoff height of 4000m+ (14,000+ft) under the extreme weather conditions, icy temperatures and stormy winds typically found among the rough mountainous region.

After several hours of scaling the mountain in off-road vehicles, it was time finally time to launch. The CT30 Cargotrak UAV lifted itself along with a 10kg (22lbs) weight from 4275m (14025ft), ascended to 4500m (14763ft) and then successfully landed safely at its original starting point. Extreme weather conditions were noted to be 10°C (14°F) with wind speeds up to 10 m/s or 22 miles/hour.
 
Select the video below to view the “Himalaya Express” mission
“Airial Robotics developed within 8 weeks our new cargo drone solution, the CT30 Cargotrak, with high lift capabilities and crowned the product tests with an expedition into the Himalayan alps in Kashmir where the system performed way beyond expectation. Operating at 14°F, 22 mile/hour winds and a height of almost 15,000ft was a real experience. I am very excited about our team’s success which will open new doors for the Airial Robotics technology stack.”
 
Joerg Schamuhn, CEO
Aerial Robotics was recently awarded $500,000 as one of our five finalists selected for the 2021 round of the GENIUS NY competition. The year-long competition is the largest business accelerator for the UAS industry in the world. The accelerator is funded by Empire State Development and housed at CenterState CEO’s Tech Garden incubator in downtown Syracuse, NY. The program continues to help its portfolio companies hit growth milestones, attract outside investments, make connections, local partnerships, and fill  job openings within the region.
 
Since 2017, GENIUS NY has invested $15 million in 26 companies from around the world and brought them to Central New York where they receive assistance with product development, business development, as well as networking opportunities with investors and business leaders. Over the course of five-years, GENIUS NY companies have raised more than $73.5 million in follow-on funding and have created 60 jobs in New York.
 
Beyond the grand prize investments, participants benefit from access to some of the region's premier startup programming, including business planning, industry specific mentors, and access to vetted service providers offering startup friendly terms. The companies are also integrated into the larger regional effort to grow unmanned aerial systems in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, and will have access to world-leading infrastructure and testing assets.
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11/18/2021

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Meet Circle Optics – Q&A with GENIUS NY 2021 Finalist

 
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Company HQ: Rochester, NY
Team Size: 10 employees
Focus: Capturing immersive, real-time experiences through seamless 360° content
Website: www.circleoptics.com
An interview with COO, Ian Gauger
Tell us about your company:
 
Circle Optics is a deep-tech R&D team specializing in wide-field imaging systems. Our first product which we call Hydra, is a 360-degree camera, that can see a complete spherical view. It’s different from any other 360-degree cameras because we can capture higher resolution with less distortion. Due to our method of using novel optics, we can combine field of view together at the speed of light within the optics as opposed to using powerful post processing software. You get real-time high resolution, low distortion spherical images and video.

How did Circle Optics get it’s start?

Circle Optics originally came out of a desire by our founder Zak Niazi to merge two technologies he was seeing used out in the world. He saw that VR headsets were becoming popular while at the same time there were 360-degree cameras on top of Google cars driving throughout the world and he wondered, why can’t I put on a headset on and feel like I’m riding along the Italian Riviera or visit the pyramids in Egypt?

While Zak was at the Institute of Optics University of Rochester, one of the top optics institutes in the world, he learned from an advisor and mentor that this task would be extremely difficult. It just wasn’t possible to do images at that high resolution, with little distortion and high frame rate because it takes a lot of post processing to correct every image. If you are filming 60 frames per second, which most VR does, it would be an incomprehensible amount of data to go through and try to fix after the fact. Already, Google Street view has about a 6 month back log trying to process all of their data before getting it out to their website. A lot of this has to do with the corrections they have to make and even so, you still get some blurry, misaligned images and not a smooth walk-through at 60 frames per second. This all goes back to the issue of parallax and distortion that is inherent in cameras today. In his senior lens design class, Zak tried to solve this issue, but was only able to correctly identify the problem and not yet come up with a solution.

A few years later while he was working in Australia, Zak had a light bulb moment for a solution. Back in the U.S., he began work on the solution, polygon fields of view which align along their edges. Zak realized that no one had done this before so he filed a patent and that is when Circle became a company.

What has your experience been like with current and past GENIUS NY companies?
 
Yes, that is one of the bonuses of GENIUS NY, the network is a lot of the reason why we want to be here. We’ve had a number of conversations with different drone manufacturers currently in the GENIUS NY program like Airial Robotics and past companies such as Fotokite. Right now, we are trying to get a better understanding of their exact needs in order to determine the specs we want to get to with our next system. Our methodology allows for a large range of system sizes, geometries and resolutions, but ultimately there’s tradeoffs. Some companies may want a very small system which is more important than the end resolution, while others may prefer as high a resolution as possible, even if it requires a larger device. So having these conversations has allowed us to understand what the majority of drone companies want to see and to hone in on the specs for what that next system should be.

Hopefully, we will be able to form a partnership with one of these companies in order to get our system on their drone, allowing us to validate to the market that this system works.

How is the data stored and transferred from the Circle Optics camera system?
 
We can run a cord right from the device to transfer data. When we perform demos, we connect the system to a laptop so the computer can run a VR headset. We can also run it straight to an SSD and store it or you can run it to a computer and live stream it over the internet. We are looking into options to incorporate 5G technology or other types of wireless technology so that when you capture something, it can be beamed right back down to the ground in real-time.

Who is your ideal customer?
 
There is a very broad range of companies and a variety of industries that would have interest in our technology. We are starting out by targeting defense and aerospace companies because of their high interest. This is going to help us mature our technology prior to pushing into other commercial markets. A lot of the interest we have been seeing from defense and aerospace comes from the use of our systems on aerial vehicles or electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs).

What can we expect from Circle Optics in the future?
 
The next big step for us is to take our technology which we’ve built and demonstrate its capabilities. Also, finding and working with a drone partner in order to continue testing our product to work in various conditions that may come up, such as vibrations or temperature changes. After that, we will continue to produce smaller size versions which will open up lots of other potential opportunities. With a much smaller system, we will be able to produce 360-degree videos in very small spaces such as interiors of vehicles.

Why are you excited to be part of the GENIUS NY program?
 
We are excited to progress our company, to get to market and generate revenue. All of our previous market research pointed us to the drone market indicating UAV’s as being great potential for our technology, so we’re excited to be here to better network with the unmanned ecosystem in order to get our product out the door soon.

What are you looking forward to while staying in Syracuse?
 
Being from Rochester, NY I have been in and out of Syracuse many times, but since I moved downtown here, I get to experience things in a very different way. It’s one thing to just drive in and out to go to the Dome for a concert, verses me biking here to the office everyday or walking around on a Sunday afternoon and coming across a new store or place to see.

What do you plan to do with your funding from GENIUS NY?
 
We have a lot of hiring to do. Even though we have been growing really fast this past year, we still need to continue to grow in order to expand our product and company. Some immediate needs we have are adding business development staff as well as Human Resource and IT Support. We would also like to build some partnerships and start collaborating with local vendors who can help us build the mechanical and electrical components of our systems.

Be sure to check out Circle Optic’s website for information and to stay connected.
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10/26/2021

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Governor Hochul Announces Winner of Nation-Leading GENIUS NY Business Competition

 
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GENIUS NY Program Builds on Progress of CNY Rising - The Region's Comprehensive Strategy to Create Good Jobs and Attract Businesses to Central New York
  
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Airtonomy, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, is the $1 million grand prize winner of round five of the GENIUS NY accelerator competition. The year-long GENIUS NY program is the world's largest business competition focused on unmanned systems, cross-connected platforms and other technology-based sectors. Airial Robotics of Hamburg, Germany, CarScanner of Krakow, Poland, Circle Optics of Rochester, NY and WindShape of Geneva, Switzerland were each awarded investments of $500,000 following the round five virtual pitch event. The teams will use these investments to continue to accelerate their growth and expand their presence in the region. To date, New York State has invested $25 million in GENIUS NY over five rounds of the competition. GENIUS NY participants are required to operate their business in Central New York for at least one year.
 
"The GENIUS NY competition continues to transform the landscape of Central New York by attracting the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs from around the world to the region," Governor Hochul said, "Our continued investment in unmanned aerial system businesses is helping to ensure that New York remains the leader in this important industry and brings quality jobs and economic growth to Central New York."
 
The GENIUS NY program, which is administered by CenterState CEO's Tech Garden in Syracuse, offers participants incubator space, company resources, programming and mentoring. Since 2017, GENIUS NY companies have raised more than $73.5 million in follow-on funding and have created 60 jobs in the region. The advancement of the GENIUS NY program builds on the progress of CNY Rising, the region's award-winning strategic plan to revitalize communities and grow the economy.
 
Grand prize winner Airtonomy, which was started in 2018 and has 25 employees, enables anyone to collect data uniformly using autonomous vehicles or drones. It makes complex flight as easy as pushing a button so that a wind technician, security guard or power lineman can operate a drone safely and consistently, and collect data uniformly. This means data collected can be processed automatically using machine learning and turned into actionable intelligence for an organization.
 
Airtonomy founder and CEO Dr. Joshua R. Riedy said, "Airtonomy is transforming the UAS landscape and is honored to be selected as the GENIUS NY 2021 winner. This award will fuel Airtonomy's continued growth and will result in the hiring of local talent and the direct investment in the UAS ecosystem, including throughout the Central.  The GENIUS NY program, especially the amazing people and organizations involved, have been incredible. We look forward to reciprocating the support we've experienced with other startups in the region. GENIUS NY exemplifies the type of expertise, networking, and support crucial for the success of a startup. We've gotten to know the other finalists very well and every one of them is outstanding so we're proud to be in their company."
 
Director of GENIUS NY at CenterState CEO Kara Jones said, "Pitch Finals is an important milestone for the teams participating in the GENIUS NY program. It provides an initial investment to accelerate their growth and marks the successful completion of the program's first phase," said Kara Jones, director of GENIUS NY at CenterState CEO. The teams will now begin the second phase of this competition, where they will utilize the input received from judges to go to market, build stronger partnerships with GENIUS NY teams from prior rounds, and focus on technology and business development, hiring and establishing headquarters and offices in Central New York. Each team will receive targeted support from mentors and advisers and will have additional opportunities to meet with investors to ensure their success."
 
Rob Simpson, president of CenterState CEO said, "The investments made through the GENIUS NY program, coupled with resources and support programming, will accelerate the growth of these high-potential UAS companies and the UAS sector in our region. As they establish their businesses in the region we will provide targeted business development support to enable them to leverage these investments, advance their technologies and platforms, create jobs and contribute to the growing UAS ecosystem we have established in Central New York."
 
In addition to the GENIUS NY accelerator competition, New York State is focused on making major investments in the unmanned aircraft systems industry in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley. In 2016, New York state committed a $30 million investment to develop a 50-mile drone test corridor between Syracuse and Rome through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. In 2020, officials unveiled Skydome, a small unmanned aerial system, or SUAS, experimentation and test facility at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, Oneida County. Today, the world's first 50-mile Unmanned Traffic Management Corridor between Syracuse and Rome is a global leader for testing UAS platforms and innovations.
 
Empire State Development Chief Operating Officer and Executive Deputy Commissioner Kevin Younis said, "The GENIUS NY business accelerator competition is helping to fuel the continued growth of the Unmanned Aerial Systems industry in Central New York. Congratulations to all of these companies that are bringing entrepreneurial ideas to the region, where they can take advantage of New York State's unmatched UAS assets and infrastructure."
 
State Senator Rachel May said, "I congratulate Airtonomy on winning the grand prize of this year's GENIUS NY competition and look forward to the investments they will make in our region and economy. The energy and innovation they represent is vital to continuing to build a thriving entrepreneurship economy in Central New York. Each of this year's winners will help our local economy prosper and retain the talent we need to make our region stronger."
 
State Senator John W. Mannion said, "Central New York has a great history of innovation and companies like Airtonomy and all of the GENIUS NY participants are carrying on that tradition. They are driving the jobs and economy of tomorrow and I look forward to seeing them grow in our community. I am grateful to Governor Hochul for supporting New York's entrepreneurs and UAS industry."
 
State Senator Al Stirpe said, "Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 GENIUS NY competition, particularly Airtonomy for taking the grand prize. These companies will be a welcome addition to Central New York's flourishing tech industry. For the past five years, the GENIUS NY program has invested in startups that are looking to change the way our communities function and connects them to resources that supports their growth. I look forward to seeing how these startups transform the future of our region and the global tech market."
 
Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli said, "The Genius NY competition continues to help Central New York maintain its status as a hub for innovative companies exploring unmanned aerial systems and other leading-edge technologies. I look forward to watching its collaboration, with both the Tech Garden and local companies, bring expertise and new ideas to the forefront of the unmanned aerial systems industry."
 
Assemblymember Pamela Hunter said, "Innovations relative to unmanned systems continue to strengthen our central New York economy. The recent awards from Governor Hochul shines a spotlight on the technological strength of our local companies and ongoing potential in workforce development. Congratulations to all the finalists and $1 million award winner AIrtonomy."
 
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said, "It is incredibly exciting to see the emerging UAS industry continue to grow right here in downtown Syracuse. On behalf of Onondaga County, I congratulate and welcome these innovative companies who are ready to put down roots in Central New York. I have no doubt that they will continue to play an important role in our regions' overall economic success."
 
City of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said, "Congratulations to Airtonomy and welcome to the exciting ecosystem for unmanned aerial systems technology that is growing in the City of Syracuse and Central New York.  The GENIUS NY competition has helped expand our entrepreneurial culture and contributed to the Syracuse Surge, our strategy for inclusive growth in the New Economy.  I thank Governor Hochul for ensuring that New York State continues to invest in this important economic development initiative."
 
Central New York Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chairs Randy Wolken, President & CEO of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY), and Deborah Stanley, President of the State University of New York at Oswego said, "Many Congratulations to GENIUS NY round five winner Airtonomy. We are incredibly proud to welcome these imaginative entrepreneurs to the Central New York as they commit to growing their innovative business in this region. Through the regional council's continued support for the GENIUS NY competition, we are ensuring that New York state remains at the forefront of the growing UAS industry in Central New York, creating new opportunities and jobs for residents in the region for generations to come."
 
The GENIUS NY teams' business plans and pitches were judged by Captain Houston Mills, vice president of Flight Operations and Safety at UPS; Theresa Mazzullo, CEO of Excell Partners; Chedy Hampson, founder and CEO of TCGplayer; Kelly Wypych, consultant and retired CEO at Cryomech; Clayton Besch, director of Empire State's Development's New York Ventures.
 
To learn more about GENIUS NY, click here.
 
To learn more about CenterState CEO and the Tech Garden, visit: https://www.centerstateceo.com/about-us/partners-programs/tech-garden
 
Accelerating CNY Rising 
Today's announcement complements "CNY Rising," the region's comprehensive blueprint to generate robust economic growth and community development. The regionally designed plan focuses on capitalizing on global market opportunities, strengthening entrepreneurship and creating an inclusive economy. Now, the region is accelerating CNY Rising with a $500 million State investment through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. The State's $500 million investment will incentivize private business to invest well over $2.5 billion - and the region's plan, as submitted, projects up to 5,900 new jobs. More information is available here.
 
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10/18/2021

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Meet The 2021 GENIUS NY Judges

 
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This years GENIUS NY Pitch Finals premieres on October 26 at noon. Watch our 5 finalists pitch their innovative startups to a panel of judges and see who is awarded $1 million.
register here

Meet the judges

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Houston Mills, VP of Flight Operations and Safety at UPS
Houston is the VP of UAS Operations at UPS. Prior to this position, Mills served as Global Aviation Strategy & Public Policy Director, where he advocated for federal and international aviation policy on behalf of UPS and the aviation industry. He also served as UPS’s Director of Airline Safety and Compliance, where he was responsible for ensuring safe flight operations throughout the world.
Within six years at UPS, he was promoted to management, serving in positions of increasing responsibility in human resources, flight training, flight standards and flight operations.
In 2016, Mills was appointed by the Secretary of Transportation to serve on the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Drone Advisory Committee and is also one of only 35 executives in the country to serve on the committee tasked with advising the FAA Administrator on what new polices should look like in integrating unmanned systems in the national airspace.

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Theresa Mazzullo, CEO of Excell Partners
Theresa Mazzullo has been CEO of Excell Partners since 2006. She has a 30-year track record in business, finance and entrepreneurship. Having owned and sold a small business, she brings firsthand knowledge, unique skills, and proven experience to the seed stage investment arena. In her role as CEO, her duties include governance, compliance, reporting, community integration, finance and fundraising.
In addition to her CEO position at Excell, Theresa co-founded Impact Capital NY, LLC. a privately-held VC Fund in upstate NY. Her fundraising ability has resulted in bringing over $60 million into the upstate ecosystem for investments in high tech startups.

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Clayton Besch, Director of ESD’s New York Ventures
Clayton is the Director of ESD’s New York Ventures which works to bolster the critical capital needs of New York State's innovation economy by providing seed and early-stage venture funding to high growth startups as they move from concept to commercialization, through early growth and expansion.
Raised in the Capital Region, Clayton did his undergraduate at Hamilton College in Central NY followed by advanced education in Asia, earning a master’s at Nagasaki University and a PhD at Tokyo University.  After working with SOFTBANK Capital's worldwide VC network for several years he returned to the Capital Region and joined New York State’s VC community.

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Chedy Hampson, Founder and CEO of TCGplayer
Chedy Hampson is the founder and CEO of TCGplayer, the leading online marketplace for the collectibles world. For more than three decades, Chedy has been pioneering the disruption of the industry, building TCGplayer from a two-person web design firm serving trading card enthusiasts into a technology platform that today connects thousands of hobby and collectibles businesses with customers around the globe.
Chedy credits TCGplayer’s rapid growth to its award-winning culture and commitment to its five core values. His leadership style embraces the Company’s ‘Community for All’ core value, and he has been instrumental in creating a pervasive culture of acceptance and open-mindedness across the organization.
Under Chedy’s leadership, TCGplayer has grown to more than 500 employees and been ranked amongst New York State’s 50 best employers and Fortune.com’s top 100 companies for women in the U.S.

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Kelly Wypych, CEO at Cryomech
Kelly is a leader, strategist, and problem solver with over 25 years of experience innovating technology products for industries including ultra-low temperature research, aerospace, manufacturing and air traffic management.
Her roots are in technology and engineering and her experience includes diverse roles within fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and small start-ups.  Kelly has led projects in dozens of countries and has a passion for managing change and helping people in transition.

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10/13/2021

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Meet Airtonomy - Q/A with GENIUS NY 2021 Finalist

 
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A Q&A with Josh Reidy, CEO at Airtonomy

Company HQ: Headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota
Team Size: 25 – 30 employees
Focus: Drone Data Management
Website: www.airtonomy.ai
Tell us about your company:
 
Airtonomy enables its customers to collect data uniformly using autonomous vehicles, in particular drones. We do that by making complex flight possible with push the button. In doing do so it is a matter of hours to train a Part 107 certified individual, such as a wind technician or a security guard or a power lineman to operate drones safely and also operate them consistently. Meaning, that regardless of who operates the drone, the outcome, the sensor data is highly uniform. By doing that on the front end, not only do we allow anyone to be able to capture the information, we also enable that data to be processed automatically using machine learning. By putting those two pieces together, there is an end-to-end workflow that is literally push button easy, fully automated that generates a large volume of data which is in turn actionable intelligence for an organization.

When and how did Airtonomy start?
 
I quit my day job in 2018 to begin building this company and we’ve been going strong every since. We were fortunate enough to be the first technology startup funded by Microsoft’s TechSpark program. I was fortunate enough to meet their leadership team and not only was their support instrumental but it gave me inspiration to keep going after leaving my day job and seeing this reality come true.

Where did the idea for your startup come from?
 
My co-founder and I all worked at the University of North Dakota in various capacities. One co-founder was a faculty member in computer science, another co-founder was chair of the aviation department and I was the University’s Chief Information Officer and oversaw research computing. The three of us have various skill-sets with a common focus and we worked together on a prior project so this was natural for us to go down this pathway. We were awarded a grant called The UAS Data Lifecycle as part of the University of North Dakota regional data hub which conceptually morphed into what Airtonomy is today.

Who is your ideal customer?
 
We work predominately with utilities, starting with publicly traded and also working with cooperatives for the more rural areas. We also work with energy companies and then we have some technology partners that have assisted us, such as Microsoft and Excel Energy, a regional energy company that we’ve worked with. Finding those types of partners, like National Grid would be amazing.
What can we expect from your company in the near future?
 
We believe there is a point at which drones and autonomous vehicles can really take off and scale, but we also believe the industry hasn’t found that point yet. We feel like if we haven’t found that point yet, we’ve found something very close to that, where the next contracts we’ll be signing are to take our methodology that is in practice with one application such as wind turbine inspections or oil tank inspections, customers who have seen the process and scalability, repeatability, adaptability, will look to expand that across their enterprise. Meaning there is a common software framework for all autonomous vehicle operations. What would be considered success is to see large energy and utility companies that have adopted Airtonomy moving across their enterprise and are connecting various drone hardware, sensor hardware and various analysis routines for literally any purpose that you can imagine.

Why are you excited about GENIUS NY?
 
We are very proud of where we are from and what we’ve accomplished, but we also realize that there is a next step. We feel like GENIUS NY and this area constitutes that next step to provide great access to capital, greater access to people, not only job candidates but expertise that can help us become a better company and serve our customers better. If we want to operate on the national and international stage, this is the type of next step we need.

What are you most looking forward to while staying in Syracuse?
 
We look forward to branching out into the community. We have a trip planned to the New York UAS Test Site which we are looking forward to and learning more about the role of Central New York in unmanned aircraft systems.
 
What will you do with the one million grand prize?
 
The easiest answer to that is to focus on our growth and our customers and acquiring talent. We are at a point that for us to grow, we have to add employees, predominantly computer scientist, software developers and roboticist.
 
Check out Aironomy’s career page for job opportunities.
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9/28/2021

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GENIUS NY Companies Visit Local Startups and See Growing Entrepreneurship Community

 
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Last month the new GENIUS NY companies had the opportunity to tour and speak with some of CNY’s top founders. Teams visited Jeff Rubin at Sidearm Sports, Jeff Knauss at Digital Hyve, Devin Daly at Spincar and Raymond Moore at TCG Player. These companies reflect the startup growth Syracuse has been seeing over the past few years and is proof that founders can build a successful startup in Syracuse instead of a popular tech hub like the Silicon Valley. The founders talked about success in the area with top talent coming from Syracuse University, Cornell and Clarkson, investment with now two local VC firms, as well as community resources and support.
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Chief Innovation Officer, Ray Moore, hosted the GENIUS NY finalists the at TCGplayer Headquarters where he discussed the company’s history, recent growth, and their deep Syracuse, NY roots.

Jeffrey Rubin, CEO and Founder of SIDEARM Sports, shared an inspiring story of how he grew their Syracuse based technology platform from an idea to now more than 1,400 collegiate athletic partners across the nation.
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Our tour wouldn’t be complete without meeting with Jeff Knauss, founder of Digital Hyve where we learned how him and Jacob Tanner grew their business in Downtown Syracuse to a second location in Rochester NY. We're very lucky to have these two entrepreneurial ambassadors in our city.
Did you know the two co-founders met at a Tech Garden networking event?
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9/20/2021

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Meet Airial Robotics - Q/A with GENIUS NY 2021 Finalist

 
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A Q&A with Jörg Schamuhn, CEO at Airial Robotics
Company HQ: Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany R&D and Production in Hungary, Air Fleet Training in London, Development office in Spain
Team Size: 27
Focus: A tech ori­en­tat­ed aviation company
Website: airialrobotics.com
Tell us about your company?
We have developed an aircraft that is safer and performs better than existing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) by merging a helicopter with a gyrocopter. What this does is allow the aircraft to act like a helicopter at low speeds, when it goes to gyrocopter mode, the aircraft flies like a fixed wing airplane so it can move fast and it can go for long distance. Our main rotor diameter is 2.6 meters (8.5ft). The version that is ready to go to market now has a maximum takeoff weight of 2kg (4.4lbs).
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What are your drones used for?
We are addressing very specifically 3 use cases:
  1. Use case number one is agriculture where you use a special version of the drone for spraying and seeding.
  2. The second vertical we are looking at is transportation of goods which includes heavy lift capacity that can also be used at high altitude and medical transportation such as drugs and samples from hospitals.
  3. The third is surveillance where we focus mainly on mapping, search and rescue and disaster response. The benefit is that we can carry much heavier sensors than an average drone can do today.
Who is your ideal customer?
Our ideal customers are private companies, government agencies such as police, firefighters, military, medical. Ideally our customer is someone flying drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) long distance over highly populated areas.
Where did the idea for your Startup come from?
Our CTO is an aviation nerd. He was involved in multi-copters and also fixed wing vertical takeoff and landing. When he analyzed (current drones in the market) what he was asked to do, he realized it was not the safest or the best way to design the drone. He wanted to build the safest drone that can carry the biggest amount of payload. On November 7, 2017 is when he started on the basic development of our technology.
What can we expect from Airial Robotics in the near future?
We plan to develop a truly international global business, with manufacturing in Europe and the United States. We will be able to scale the expansion of logistics services with our transportation drone and make a big impact within the agriculture sector. Currently, our agricultural drone has 25kg (55.1lbs) takeoff weight (the first of its kind). We are planning on building a 100 – 200kg (220.4 - 440.9lbs) drone. A 200kg (440.9lbs) drone can carry more than 100kg (220.4lbs) of liquid so we can spray large areas very efficiently.

It’s our goal to grow this company to 150 employees by 2024 and expand our product range to a drone from 4kg (8.8lbs) takeoff weight which is agile and can be used for police and response forces all the way up to 600kg (1,322.7lbs) which will be a two seated air taxi.
Why are you excited about GENIUS NY?
When we see what’s happening here, we have never seen anything like it in the world. The infrastructure, the people behind it all, the amount of support that is given to us, the effort to make us feel good and successful is just an amazing experience.

With GENIUS NY on our side, we feel we are getting accelerated and we feel with this infrastructure and people together, we can make this successful. And it’s motivating. Our whole team in Europe waits every week on my report in anticipation of what’s new and what we are doing.

What are you most looking forward to while staying in Syracuse?
We want to understand what makes this area special. We’ve never been to Central NY. It’s an exciting cultural site we want to explore. Long term, we would like to become members of the community and build friendships and partnerships.

What will you do with the $1 Million grand prize?
Very simple, invest it into staff. Invest it into development projects and generate a solid U.S. business. A business that is sustainable, growing and also giving back to the community that has invested into us.

GENIUS NY Finals Night will include all five finalists pitching for the grand prize of $1M. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!
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8/17/2021

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GENIUS NY Announces Round Five Finalists

 
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Five Teams from Around World to Receive a Total of $3 Million in Investments and Participate in Year-Long Accelerator in CNY
 
Syracuse – GENIUS NY, a business accelerator program at CenterState CEO’s Tech Garden, today announced the five finalists companies selected for its fifth round. These startup unmanned systems and robotics companies will participate in the year-long program and will compete for a total of $3 million in direct investment, with one grand prize of up to $1 million and four $500,000 awards. The companies were selected from a pool of more than 600 submissions. Finalists include teams with international and New York state representation.
 
The five companies will move into The Tech Garden, in Syracuse, this month and will begin to refine work on their business cases and pitch before Pitch Finals which will be held on October 20 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown. 
 
“We look forward to welcoming these teams from around the world to our community so we can support their growth and integrate them into the thriving ecosystem we have developed for the unmanned systems industry,’ said Kara Jones, director of GENIUS NY. “Over the next year, they will receive targeted business development resources and mentoring, that coupled with the state’s high-value investment will ensure their success. It has been incredibly rewarding to see the growth of the teams from previous rounds of the competition and I know this new cohort will join with them to further establish The Tech Garden as the leading place to grow your UAS company.” 
 
The five finalists selected for GENIUS NY 5 are:
 
Airial Robotics (Hamburg, Germany): Airial Robotics develops commercial UAVs for surveillance, logistics and agriculture modeled after gyrocopter/helicopter hybrid that are challenging industry performance limits for safety, payload, range and speed.
 
Airtonomy (Grand Forks, ND): Airtonomy's push-button software automates uniform collection, packaging and analysis of data acquired by autonomous vehicles and sensors, specifically targeting critical energy infrastructure. Airtonomy's rules-based drone data management methodology increases customer return on investment.
 
CarScanner (Krakow, Poland): CarScanner develops a used car inspection robot that autonomously navigates around a car and automatically detects scratches, dents, repainted body surfaces, and other damages with structured light, thermography and machine learning algorithms.
 
Circle Optics (Rochester, NY): Circle Optics develops high-resolution, wide field-of-view imaging systems that enable real-time capture without the time and expense of post-processing required by other multicamera systems. Paired to a UAS this technology can enable immersive telepresence, better autonomy and a platform to run edge applications such as self-localization, object recognition/tracking, as well as volumetric data capture.
 
WindShape (Geneva, Switzerland): WindShape develops indoor weather simulation technology to test and certify drones under controllable and repeatable flight conditions to enable autonomous and scalable drone applications.
 
The year-long competition is the largest business accelerator competition for the UAS industry in the world. Recent announcements by GENIUS NY teams demonstrate the quality of the program, which is funded by Empire State Development. Teams from GENIUS NY continue to hit growth milestones and have attracted outside investments, made connections and established partnerships with local businesses, and have made hires or currently have openings.
 
“These companies were selected from the most competitive pool of applications we have ever seen,” said Jeff Fuchsberg, vice president of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at CenterState CEO. “This year’s applicant pool and high-growth finalists highlight the program’s ability to drive success and impact the rapid growth of participating teams. As round five teams join the innovation ecosystem we have created at The Tech Garden, they too will benefit from a network of resources we’ve established to support startup companies.”  
 
“The success of this program can be seen in the companies that participated in rounds one through four and continue to grow and create jobs in our community,” said Rob Simpson, president of CenterState CEO. “Their continued success supports regional efforts to be a global leader in the unmanned systems industry.”  
 
Since 2017, GENIUS NY has invested $12 million in 22 companies from around the world and brought them to Central New York to participate in the yearlong in-residence accelerator where they receive assistance with product development, business development, as well as networking opportunities with investors and business leaders. Since 2017, GENIUS NY companies have raised more than $40 million in follow-on funding and have created over 50 jobs in New York.
 
Beyond the grand prize investments, participants benefit from access to some of the region's premier startup programming, including business planning, industry specific mentorship, and access to vetted service providers offering startup friendly terms. Participants are also integrated into the larger regional effort to grow unmanned aerial systems in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, and will have access to world-leading infrastructure and testing assets. Participants also have opportunities to connect with investors for follow on funding.
 
The advancement of the GENIUS NY program builds on the progress of CNY Rising, the region’s award-winning strategic plan to generate robust economic growth and community development.
 
Throughout the program, teams will engage with community leaders, mentors, and advisors from leading companies in Central New York while also participating in tourism activities. The goal is to encourage all participants to put down roots and stay in the region following the conclusion of the program.
 
To learn more about GENIUS NY visit www.geniusny.com.
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