Fourteen companies were named semi-finalists in the GENIUS NY program’s sixth round. These companies will now compete to see which five are selected to the business accelerator program at CenterState CEO’s Tech Garden. The companies, which are developing innovations in the uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), internet of things (IoT) and robotics industries, were selected from a highly competitive pool of more than 200 submissions from more than 50 countries. Of the 14 semi-finalists, nine are international teams representing Germany, Israel, Poland, the Netherlands and United Kingdom. Three teams are from New York state.

Semi-finalists:
Archangel Imaging Ltd (Oxford, United Kingdom)
Aveopt (Rochester, Michigan)
AVSS – Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions (New Brunswick, Canada)
DroneHub (Warsaw, Poland)
Fusion Engineering (Delft, Netherlands)
LeVanta (Monett, Missouri)
Manifold Robotics (New York, New York)
Neuron Innovations (London, United Kingdom)
OrthoDrone (Bremen, Germany)
Outfield Technologies (Cambridge, United Kingdom)
Prisam (Rochester, New York)
SkyCutter (Loughborough, United Kingdom)
Voltela (New York, New York)
Wonder Robotics (Hod Hasharon, Israel)

Semi-finalists must present their technologies and business plans to a panel of executive advisers. Advisors are looking for companies that will stay in the Central New York area; participate in and contribute to the region’s ecosystem; will scale and be successful; and represent diversity of technology focus and team makeup. Finalists will be announced in July. In August, the winners will arrive in Central New York to begin the program. Pitch Finals will be held on November 3, and teams will pitch their technologies live before a panel of judges and audience. One team will be awarded a $1 million grand prize investment. The remaining four teams will each receive a $500,000 investment.

“The geographic diversity, as well as the advancement of technology and businesses represented in these semi-finalists makes selecting five participants challenging but also highlights the strength of this program,” said Kara Jones, director of GENIUS NY. “I am excited to learn more about these teams to determine which are the best fit for this round of the program. We will also continue to work with the teams that do not make the next round to determine if there are other growth opportunities for them at The Tech Garden and in Central New York.”

Since 2017, GENIUS NY has invested $15 million in 26 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. In addition, GENIUS NY companies have raised more than $100 million in follow-on funding and have created more than 70 jobs in Upstate New York.

Beyond the grand prize investments, participants benefit from access to the region’s premier startup programming, including business planning, industry specific mentorship and access to vetted service providers offering startup friendly terms. Participants are integrated into the larger regional effort to grow uncrewed aerial systems in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, gain access to world-leading infrastructure and testing assets, and have opportunities to connect with investors for follow on funding.