An entrepreneur program at Los Alamos National Laboratory first brought Srikanth Kodeboyina to New Mexico. A little over one year later, the technology founder is ready to invest dollars and create jobs in the Land of Enchantment.
Kodeboyina is in the process of tracking down a facility in Albuquerque. That facility would serve as a hub in New Mexico for Blue Space. The aerospace company is building an AI-backed model that can predict irregularities in satellites due to space weather events.
Blue Space spun out from Kodeboyina's original artificial intelligence company, Blue Eye Soft. Based in Greer, South Carolina, the company has 32 employees in the U.S. and over a dozen more internationally.
"We are like the poster kid," Kodeboyina said. "Coming up with an idea, no money and now we're just one inch away from being the idealistic company the [Air Force Research Laboratory] or Space Force wants to work with."
A few factors have put New Mexico on Kodeboyina's radar. The biggest factor is access to different labs in the state, including Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
In addition, some state incentives have helped. New Mexico awarded Blue Eye Soft over $125,000 to train four new employees at an average hourly wage of $58.25 through its Job Training Incentive Program. And representatives from the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance worked with Kodeboyina over the past few months to help connect his company with incentives like Local Economic Development Act Funding, AREA's Director of Marketing and Communications Sean Carpenter told Business First.
LEDA incentives are used as a closing fund to grow existing New Mexico businesses and recruit others to the state. Kodeboyina didn't say how much the company is seeking but that he's "mentally prepared" to set up shop in New Mexico without that extra support.
Blue Eye Soft's founder has run the gamut of accelerator and support programs in New Mexico, too. Besides being part of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program, Kodeboyina's company was selected for Albuquerque tech accelerator Q Station's 2022 Space Tech Cohort and New Space New Mexico's recent Ignitor program — not to mention the Air Force Research Laboratory's Soft Landing program in 2021.
NewSpace New Mexico CEO Casey Anglada DeRaad said she has supported Kodeboyina's efforts to set up a facility in the Land of Enchantment.
"What's cool about it is he said if he can do this, then NewSpace New Mexico can help manage it and set up some extra resources," DeRaad said about Kodeboyina's plans for the Albuquerque facility. "We have about four or five companies that wanted to partner with us, so that's where Sri — if he gets [the facility] — will bring in those same partners."
Austin Tidwell, the vice president of Resolut RE's New Mexico office, told Business First via an email that the firm is working with Kodeboyina to find a suitable building.
Kodeboyina is searching for a facility in Albuquerque between 15,000 and 25,000 square feet, which is close to 10 times larger than its South Carolina space. That facility could cost anywhere between $5 million and $15 million, depending on the location.
"We are looking to sublet for some of the other space companies. That is how you build the space ecosystem. We want to give some of the facility to other companies that are actually in need," Kodeboyina said. "It's so expensive for a small startup to get their own facilities. If I can share this with a few other companies because I know the problem, what it was and how hard it is, then it helps me build the ecosystem."
