Written by: Laura Dempsey
Rob Klees, Strategic Partnership Manager at Wright Brothers Institute, was invited to be one of the judges evaluating 14 startup pitches by Small Business Innovation Research Phase I awardees in a new and highly competitive challenge designed to evaluate innovative technology that will accelerate commercial advances to support warfighter needs.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) relationship with MassChallenge is contracted through the Griffiss Institute and is a partnership between MassChallenge, a network of zero-equity startup accelerators; the Digital Directorate; the Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks Directorate; and the Cyber Resiliency Office for Weapons Systems.
Mr. Klees was part of a panel that evaluated 14 out of 60-plus applicants, spending a full day of judging (seven in the morning, seven in the afternoon). The event took place in Boston during the height of the COVID-19 shutdown, so the program was run virtually.
According SBIR.gov, Phase I awardees are eligible for Phase II awards, which are typically $1 million or less in total costs over two years. The Phase II objective is to continue research and development efforts started in Phase I and funding is based on a startup’s results achieved in Phase I, as well as the scientific and technical merit and commercial potential of the project proposed in Phase II.
Cait Brumme, the managing director of MassChallenge Boston, expressed her congratulations to the 10 startups selected for the program.
“MassChallenge’s startup-centered approach to acceleration will ensure that these companies are more effectively and efficiently able to bridge the ‘valley of death’ between Phase I and Phase II awards,” she said in an interview with 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs. “Additionally, partnering with key defense stakeholders will validate early-stage startups while helping to de-risk the development of these applications.”
As for Mr. Klees, he found value in the “Collaborative aspect that connected pitch companies to AFRL components at Wright Patterson,” he said. “This continues our solid relationships with the Defense Innovation Ecosystem in the Greater Boston region with WBI. “