View Press Releases
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.
​
VIEW MORE
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.
​
VIEW MORE
​
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.
​
VIEW MORE
​
​
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.
​
VIEW MORE
​
​
_JPG.jpg)
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.
​
VIEW MORE
​
​
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.
​
VIEW MORE
​
​
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.
​
VIEW MORE
​
​
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.
​
VIEW MORE
​
​
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.
​
VIEW MORE
​
​
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.