Happenings @ H4XLabs

September 2023

Sep 05, 2023

Announcements

H4XLabs has partnered with iTIC Incubator in India to provide tailored go-to-market strategies and access to investors and defense stakeholders. We are excited to help Indian defense startups begin to access the United States government and commercial markets.
Read more in the iTIC Press Release!

Shout Outs

Accern

Accern, a portfolio company, has been recognized in Gartner(R) 2023 Hype Cycle(TM) for Data Science, Machine Learning, and Emerging Technologies in Banking - congratulations!

“Today, Accern, a leading provider of no-code Generative AI for Financial Services, announced that it has been recognized as a Sample Vendor in not one, but two of Gartner's prestigious 2023 Hype Cycles: Hype Cycle for Data Science and Machine Learning, 2023 (1); Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies in Banking, 2023 (2). Accern has been specifically acknowledged for its capabilities in Adaptive Machine Learning (ML).

"We are honored and thrilled to be recognized by Gartner in these two critical areas," said Kumesh Aroomoogan, Co-founder and CEO of Accern. "Our focus has always been on pushing the boundaries of what's possible in data science and these recognitions validate the transformative impact that Adaptive ML, as utilized by Accern, can have on industries that are data-rich and insight-hungry, such as banking.” Read more!

Alva Industries

2020 H4Allies Norway company Alva Industries has signed a partnership agreement to use their Electric Propulsion system on Field Group’s UAV fleet. Alva Industries is now the sole provider for ALTUS X60 large UAV platforms. “Alva Industries JXrgen Selnes: "The collaboration with Field has given us the opportunity to iterate and improve our products based on real-flight data and customer input from one of the leading UAV operators worldwide. The result is a propulsion system superior in terms of reliability and cost-efficiency for multicopters in this size-class.” Fantastic news for them! More details here.

Funding Opportunities

DIU’s Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) - Submissions Due September 9th, 2023

Most of you who are interested are already working on this new DIU/Space Force opportunity. For those of you on the Orbital Prime Slack, there have been a few folks dialoguing about the opportunity- helping each other digest the solicitation.

The Department of Defense (DoD) must continuously improve its ability to respond quickly and dynamically to threats in space (adversarial or natural) or other on-orbit needs (i.e., servicing) necessary to execute force protection and sustainment operations during peacetime, contingencies, and conflict. DoD’s access to space vehicles capable of agile maneuvering and the ability to conduct rendezvous , proximity operations, and docking (RPOD) with other spacecraft to perform assessment, assisted maneuver, or sustainment activities is integral to this responsiveness.
https://www.diu.mil/work-with-us/submit-solution/PROJ00511

Ask-me-anything webinars (AMAs) are scheduled throughout the submission period to provide support.

Kick-off & Overview | August 24, 2023 at 12PM PT | RECORDING | password: ^wp6Yw+2
Focus Areas | September 5, 2023 at 12PM PT | REGISTER
General Q&A | September 18, 2023 at 12PM PT | REGISTER

SBIR/STTR BAA: 23.3 - Submissions Due October 18, 2023

The Department of Defense has released their SBIR/STTR call for submissions. Applications due October 18 2023, questions can be asked to the topic authors until September 20 2023. Check them out at the link below.

https://www.sbir.gov/node/2447887

DARPA’s Artificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) August 17 – September 19, 2023.

DARPA’s Artificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) will bring together the best and brightest in AI and cybersecurity to defend the software on which all Americans rely. AIxCC will have two tracks for participation: an Open Track and funded Track. While most participants will register to compete in AIxCC through Open Track, DARPA will fund up to seven small businesses to compete in AIxCC. Open Track Competitors will register with DARPA from

November 1 – December 15, 2023. Funded Track Competitors will be selected from proposals submitted to a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) solicitation. Up to seven small businesses will receive funding to participate.

https://aicyberchallenge.com/

501vc Investment Fund

Evergreen Climate Innovations' 501vc Investment Fund invests $200k - $300k in early-stage climate tech startups in the Greater Midwest region of the United States.

Investment Criteria:

Stage: Pre-seed and Seed
Sector: Evergreen Climate Innovations invests in climate tech businesses that have a positive impact on the world. This includes businesses in advanced materials, renewable energy, energy storage, building efficiency, water, agriculture technologies, and advanced mobility.
Must be based in the Greater Midwest region of the United States (IA, IL, IN, WI, MI, MN, KS, MO, OH, TN, KY, ND, SD, CO, NE, and western PA).

https://evergreeninno.org/apply

Elemental’s Innovation Challenge

Climate tech companies looking to receive up to $2M in funding and a chance to pilot their technologies with Amazon and Technip Energies can apply through September 15, 2023.

https://elementalexcelerator.com/navigator/innovation-challenges/DataTribe Challenge - Submissions Due September 23rd, 2023

Until Sept. 23, founders of pre-Series A tech startups can apply to win a portion of $20,000 and up to $2 million in investment capital to grow their startup. Companies that are interested in competing must be pre-Series A with maximum funding to date not exceeding more than $1.2M. The competition is open to cybersecurity and data science companies that have a solid concept or have begun developing a minimum viable product. Founders with cyber experience from national security, defense tech, national labs, research and development and other commercial firms are eligible to apply. To qualify, founders must have raised under $1.2 million, be suitable for future funding and not be in violation of any intellectual property rights. You must have an Enterprise, Big Data or Cyber Security product, beta, MVP or concept to present.Great opportunity for early-stage cyber founders!

https://datatribe.com/challenge/

Our Events + Where Will H4XLabs Be?

Sept 21, 2023 at 12:00pm Pacific: H4XLabs Zoominars: Legal Considerations in Fundraising and Financing Trends

This talk will cover the legal aspects of fundraising, the terms of investments, what matters to investors, what matters to companies. We’ll delve into the latest financing trends and valuations. Where we have time and interest, we will also cover the process, timing, and documentation that can be expected for pre-seed, seed and series A financings.

Sept 21, 2023 at 12:00pm Pacific: H4XLabs Zoominars: Legal Considerations in Fundraising and Financing Trends

Investment in Emerging Critical Technologies Grows

A new report from the Public Spend Forum has found that investment in emerging critical technologies is growing rapidly. The report, which analyzed data from government spending contracts from 2018-2022, found that spending on these technologies has increased from $2.8 billion in 2018 to $3.7 billion in 2023. Link

Public Spend Forum says that the growth in investment in these technologies is driven by a number of factors, including the increasing importance of these technologies to national security and economic competitiveness. They also note that the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in the development and commercialization of these technologies.

The report's findings highlight the importance of government investment in emerging critical technologies. However, the report also warns that there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed in order to ensure that this investment is successful. These challenges include the need to improve the measurement of the outcomes of these investments, and the need to find ways to better collaborate between government agencies as well as the government and the private sector.

These confirmatory findings are not surprising, but do enable us to say with confidence that US reinvestment in shoring up our lead, in shoring up US capabilities in these areas is growing. Raj Sharma continues to dig into the data to better pinpoint over and under investment. This is not an easy task given that words used for the same tech area vary, and definitions for a technology area vary.

What’s the take away, especially for those in the innovation space? Funding is pouring into deep critical technology areas. In fact, the DoD SBIR cycle is currently open (scroll up for the links) . Jump into the opportunity!

If interested, here is a link to the Zoominar we ran. It was with Jason Kessler, NASA’s Innovation lead. There are nuggets of insights on how NASA views its efforts in Innovation, even as it launches new programs to leverage commercial trends (NASA SBIR Ignite being one of those programs).

Thanks for reading - catch you next time! As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to contact@h4xlabs.com if you have any comments, questions, or concerns.

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