WASHINGTON — A technology accelerator program funded by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency has selected eight startups that will receive $100,000 grants, mentoring and coaching from government officials and venture investors.
The program organizers, the venture investment firm Capital Innovators and Missouri Technology Corp., announced the eight winners April 1.
The eight companies were selected from more than 350 applicants. This will be the first of two cohorts funded by NGA. The second is planned for late August and Capital Innovators will begin soliciting applications later this month.
NGA started the program last year to strengthen ties with entrepreneurs and build an ecosystem of startups. To make NGA more accessible to private firms, NGA is building a high-tech campus in St. Louis, Missouri, scheduled to open in 2025.
Of the eight startups selected, most are in the space data analytics and artificial intelligence business:
Anno.ai A machine learning, software and services company that works in the defense, intelligence and commercial markets.
Boston Geospatial A data analytics company uses space-based radar imagery and other data to develop insights for customers in the critical infrastructure sectors.
Granular.ai A data analytics company that developed an artificial intelligence platform for satellite imagery.
InfraLytiks An engineering and data analytics company that uses machine learning, artificial intelligence and computer vision to automate complex processes.
Kinnami A company that developed a data management and security platform to process data from satellites, drones, IoT, autonomous systems and personal computing devices.
Polysentry A software services company that automates the analysis of large datasets for intelligence, defense and private sector customers.
Stratodyne The company collects high-resolution imagery from aerial balloons and analyzes it to help users predict vegetation changes, monitor assets and detect threats.
Xona Space Systems is building a satellite navigation system using small satellites in low-Earth orbit.