The Startup Showdown is Back at AUVSI

The Startup Showdown is back this year at AUVSI’s Xponential 2017 – an event you can’t miss for the sheer “wow, really?” reactions that come from hearing about new technology from cutting-edge drone companies.

The sixteen semi-finalists will be narrowed down to the top 3, during a closed door Knockout Round when competitors will pitch their companies to the panel of judges.  The three finalists will each have six more minutes to pitch to the judges, before an open audience – and six minutes to answer the panel’s questions.  The finalists will compete for the $15,000 grand prize which is accompanied by an opportunity for one-on-one consulting and the publicity associated with winning .

The semi-finalist products range from an unmanned air cargo craft – with a 770 pound payload – by Dronamics to “the world’s smallest GPS-INS module for drones,” by Inertial Sense LLC, weighing less than 2 grams.  In between are companies developing alternative fuel drones, robots, AI, sensors, charging stations, imaging, and more.

The judges panel features investment professionals and drone experts from around the world, including representatives from Qualcomm Ventures, Westbury Group, Airware’s Commercial Drone Fund, Israel Aerospace Industries, and CenterState.

For conference attendees,the event takes place Wednesday, May 10 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in Ballroom C1/C2.  Doors will open at 4:15 p.m. and all XPONENTIAL attendees are invited to get a drink from the bar before the competition.