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Microsoft launches Project AirSim, an end-to-end platform to accelerate autonomous flight
July 18, 2022
Josh Riedy knew it wasn’t real – that he wasn’t actually hovering near the top of a wind turbine in North Dakota, hundreds of feet off the ground. But it didn’t matter when he looked down. His stomach still dropped as if he were on a rollercoaster.
2022 Best Tech Startups in North Dakota
July 15, 2022
The Tech Tribune staff has compiled the very best tech startups in North Dakota. In doing our research, we considered several factors including but not limited to:
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Revenue potential
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Leadership team
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Brand/product traction
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Competitive landscape
Software Automation Company Wins GENIUS NY Accelerator Competition
October 29, 2021
Phoebe Grinter | Unmanned Systems Technology
Software Automation Company Wins GENIUS NY Accelerator Competition
Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that Airtonomy, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, is the $1 million grand prize winner of round five of the GENIUS NY accelerator competition.
Governor Hochul Announces Winner of Nation-Leading GENIUS NY Business Competition
AUGUST 26, 2021
GENIUS NY
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Airtonomy, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, is the $1 million grand prize winner of round five of the GENIUS NY accelerator competition. The year-long GENIUS NY program is the world's largest business competition focused on unmanned systems, cross-connected platforms and other technology-based sectors.
GENIUS NY Announces Round Five Finalists
AUGUST 17, 2021
GENIUS NY
Five Teams from Around World to Receive a Total of $3 Million in Investments and Participate in Year-Long Accelerator in CNY
Grand Forks company Airtonomy named one of five finalists in worldwide GENIUS NY competition
AUGUST 17, 2021
JACOB HOLLEY - GRAND FORKS HERALD
Airtonomy is the only company from the Midwest to be chosen as a finalist, and it is one of only two finalists from the United States, the other being based in New York. The other three finalists are from Germany, Poland and Switzerland.
Empire State Development Announces Genius NY Round Five Finalists
AUGUST 17, 2021
NEW YORK STATE
Empire State Development (ESD) today announced the five teams selected to take part in round five of the innovative GENIUS NY business accelerator program. Supported by the CNY Rising Upstate Revitalization Initiative and administered by CenterState CEO at the Tech Garden in downtown Syracuse, these startup, unmanned systems industry companies will participate in a yearlong program.
GENIUS NY Announces 13 Semi-Finalists
June 29, 2021
GENIUS NY
GENIUS NY, a business accelerator program at CenterState CEO’s Tech Garden, announced 13 teams as semi-finalists in the competition’s fifth round. The companies, which are developing innovations in the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), internet of things (IoT) and big data industries, were selected from a highly competitive pool of nearly 600 submissions from more than 50 countries. Of the 13 semi-finalists, five are international teams representing Germany, Israel, Poland, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Five teams are from New York state.
Grand Forks-based Airtonomy faces growth and challenges, while tech hub prepares to move forward
April 18, 2021
Adam Kurtz | Grand Forks Herald
Airtonomy is growing and looking to hire new employees--computer scientists and engineers--while at the same time looking to expand its footprint on the Herald building’s second floor. It’s the most advanced tech company in the building, which the city will soon be upgrading.
Qualcomm Launches World’s First 5G and AI-Enabled Robotics Platform
June 17, 2020
San Diego | Qualcomm
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., today announced the Qualcomm® Robotics RB5 platform – the Company’s most advanced, integrated, comprehensive offering designed specifically for robotics.
A spark to light technology: How a software giant is helping tech in Grand Forks and beyond through TechSpark grants
April 20, 2020
Andrew Weeks | Grand Forks Herald
Joshua Riedy doesn’t consider himself a drone guy – and yet it is his work with unmanned aerial systems that has caught the attention of the world’s software giant.
Riedy is building a reusable platform for sensor data, particularly aerial imagery, so that unmanned systems can be operated remotely.
UND, Airtonomy receive state’s first Microsoft AI for Earth Grant
March 12, 2020
Patrick C. MilIer | UND Today
In partnership with UND, Grand Forks, N.D., startup company Airtonomy has been awarded North Dakota’s first Microsoft AI for Earth grant and a Research ND grant to develop monitoring protocols of bird and bat mortalities at wind energy sites through the use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
Grand Forks Mayor Gives State Of The City Address
February 21, 2020
Paola Belloso | KVRR
The mayor also spoke about how Grand Forks is already becoming the next Mecca for technology.
“When you think of things like robotics and cybersecurity, those technologies are changing the world as we know it today, and that spreads to areas such as agriculture, health care, public safety, and energy production. And we’re just proud to be part of that,” Josh Riedy, the CEO of Airtonomy says.
Mayor Mike Brown calls for Grand Forks to be a ‘Destination City 3.0’
February 21, 2020
Joe Bowen | Grand Forks Herald
During his annual State of the City address Friday at the Alerus Center, Brown called for a “Destination City 3.0” initiative designed to boost the city’s flagging retail sector.
“There are no easy paths to success. No silver bullets,” he intoned in front of a large crowd. “But there are solid business plans.”
LIFT Committee awards $5 million in first round of funding
February 19, 2020
ND.Gov News
The Innovation Technology Loan Fund (LIFT) Committee awarded the first round of funding for the loan program last week.
Turning Out the Lights
January 15, 2020
Capt. Edward Lundquist | Wind Systems Magazine
Xcel Energy’s Foxtail Wind Farm in Dickey County, North Dakota, will soon be operational, bringing with it a convergence of technologies that will have far-reaching implications beyond Foxtail’s 75 turbines.
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North Dakota Wind Farm Leverages Obstruction Lighting Control Radar to Operate Drones
November - December
Edward Lundquist | Unmanned System Magazine
North Dakota appropriately celebrated American Wind Week 2019 at a wind farm, Xcel Energy’s soon-to-open Foxtail Wind Farm in Dickey County. But Foxtail represents more than a typical wind farm — it has become a convergence of technologies that will have far-reaching implications for the state and beyond.
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TechSpark Fargo: Grand Farm project will create the farm of the future
October 17, 2019
Kate Behncken | Microsoft
For generations, farmers throughout North Dakota have traditionally hired seasonal farmhands to help with planting, harvesting and other jobs. Digital technologies and big data are transforming agriculture. Today, those same farmers need to hire technologists, programmers and data scientists to improve productivity to meet food demands, boost yields to increase profitability, environmentally sustain the land and improve safety.
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Here’s why Microsoft just invested $1.5M in a North Dakota high-tech farm project
October 17, 2019
Taylor Soper | GeekWire
Microsoft is headed to the farm.
The Redmond, Wash. tech giant today announced a $1.5 million investment in Grand Farm, a project in North Dakota designed to spur innovation around farming and agriculture. Microsoft will provide its technology such as FarmBeats, as well as its own employees that will help with Grand Farm initiatives.
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One pilot, multiple drones
September 10, 2019
Patrick C. Miller | UND Today
Josh Riedy, CEO of Airtonomy, foresees a day when there won’t be one pilot flying one drone on one day to accomplish one mission. Instead, it will be one pilot flying multiple drones to accomplish thousands of missions over the course of a year.
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Intern pioneers new UAS technology
September 10, 2019
Connor Murphy | UND Today
What started as a simple search for summer work now has Connor Propp on the cutting edge of unmanned aircraft system applications.
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Microsoft TechSpark initiative invests in UND to propel US drone industry innovation
April 23, 2019
Microsoft News Center
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — April 23, 2019 — Microsoft Corp. and the University of North Dakota (UND) Aerospace Foundation announced Tuesday that Microsoft has granted $100,000 in project funding that will drive investment and boost North Dakota’s ambitions to be the epicenter of U.S. drone innovation and entrepreneurism.
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Microsoft TechSpark grants $100K to North Dakota’s Airtonomy drone startup
April 23, 2019
Alan Boyle | GeekWire
Microsoft has awarded a $100,000 TechSpark grant to support Airtonomy, a startup that’s partnering with the University of North Dakota Aerospace Foundation to blaze a trail for drone applications in North Dakota’s “Silidrone Valley.”
The seed money unlocks nearly $570,000 in additional funding for Airtonomy from local investors, Microsoft said today in a news release.
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Local startup seeks Microsoft grant to make data more available
December 8, 2018
Bonnie Meibers | Grand Forks Herald
Evolve Analytics and the UND Aerospace Foundation have applied for a $100,000 grant from Microsoft's TechSpark program, the philanthropic arm of Microsoft. Microsoft TechSpark sponsored Regional Aerial Imagery Grant Competition, which Evolve and the UND Aerospace Foundation have applied to jointly.
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Grand Forks start-up to receive $50,000 from city growth fund
December 3, 2018
Emily Allen | Grand Forks Herald
Local drone startup Evolve Analytics touted its partnerships with the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corp. and the UND Aerospace Foundation Monday night, as they sought yet another relationship with the city of Grand Forks.