Startups with products that could solve national security challenges now have access to resources and capital to get their business ideas in the hands of the U.S. military.
The Southwest Mission Acceleration Center opened March 15 in downtown Phoenix. It’s one of five U.S. Department of Defense innovation centers in the nation that acts as a “front door” to the agency, providing access to partnerships for rapid scaling of emerging technologies for the government.
The Southwest MAC, located in the U.S. Bank Center at 101 N. First St., intends to spur collaboration among the Department of Defense, startups, academia and venture capital firms, while providing entrepreneurs with funding and business resources.
“Our goal here is to create a vibrant ecosystem that puts the most advanced and effective technologies in the hands of our service members and keeps our military more adaptive and more effective than our adversaries,” U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly said at a MAC grand opening event Friday.
Kelly spearheaded bipartisan efforts to secure $50 million to fund the network of innovation hubs in Hawaii, Kansas, Ohio, Washington and Arizona, which is home to MAC satellite offices at Fort Huachuca and in Tucson, in addition to Phoenix.
Aside from furthering Arizona’s position as a defense industry leader, the Southwest MAC fills a funding gap that early-stage startups often face when attempting to get their business ideas off the ground, Kelly said.
“Companies have great ideas. Young scientists and engineers, business folks, entrepreneurs have something that the Defense Department needs and then, DOD can’t provide them any help and funding often for a year or two, Kelly said. “This organization is trying to help them get through that. So connecting them with other entrepreneurs, it's financing, just the support services they need to keep their companies around until they can get that first government contract.”
The Southwest MAC is focusing on emerging technology in 14 critical areas that include biotechnology, quantum science, advanced materials, microelectronics, artificial intelligence and hypersonics, according to the center’s website.
“This national network is going to enable DOD to leverage regional expertise to deliver solutions to our most pressing national security challenges,” Kelly said. “We've seen this with the use of unmanned drones and unmanned ships in Ukraine and also the use of drones by Iranian proxies. It’s a changing battlefield, and it's changing very quickly.”
Southwest MAC CEO Drew Trojanowski said the Southwest MAC will support companies of all stages with programming to include demo days and pitch events.
Kelly told the Business Journal that Phoenix is an ideal location for the Southwest MAC because of its larger population when compared to Tucson, which also has a thriving aerospace and defense industry.
“Tucson has Raytheon. After the University of Arizona, it’s the biggest employer," he said. "But when you talk about the concentration of defense companies, entrepreneurs and innovators, that's more heavily skewed towards Phoenix."
