The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) will launch its first Homeland Security Startup Studio in January, DHS announced December 10. The innovative program is a partnership with FedTech, aimed at commercializing federally funded breakthrough technologies to support homeland security missions.
The Homeland Security Startup Studio is designed to accelerate and deliver commercial applications of technologies to meet homeland security needs. This effort will focus initially on S&T-funded technologies, with plans to expand in the future to include technologies from other agencies and laboratories. The program will form teams of entrepreneurs and match them with innovative and ground-breaking technologies to assess their commercialization potential. They will work hand-in-hand with lab scientists and inventors, then explore forming companies around those technologies to solve the real-world problems of government and commercial customers.
“The goals of the Homeland Security Startup Studio are to build the foundational entrepreneurial knowledge and skillsets for teams to quickly assess the potential for DHS and commercial use cases and to build startups and spin off companies quickly so they can successfully license technology and directly impact the security posture of the U.S.” said Megan Mahle, director of S&T’s Office of Industry Partnerships. “This effort complements ongoing research and development programs by focusing on commercializing existing technologies that have potential homeland security applications.”
The launch event on January 7, 2021, is open to the public and will feature a DHS keynote speaker, fireside chats, and a venture spotlight company. For more information about Homeland Security Startup Studio and to register for the launch event, visit the S&T Events page.
The Homeland Security Startup Studio is powered by FedTech, a venture builder that intersects entrepreneurship and breakthrough technologies with mission-driven organizations such as the Department of Defense, NASA, Department of Energy, federal laboratories, and universities.
Source: DHS S&T
By Loren Blinde
December 14, 2020
