GENIUS NY
AcceleratorSyracuse · Pre-Seed–Seed · 15 people tracked
Investment thesis
GENIUS NY runs the world's leading drone and robotics accelerator, investing $3M annually into seed-stage startups focused on uncrewed aerial systems, automation, and advanced air mobility. Selected teams join a 12-month in-residence program in Syracuse, New York, competing for grand-prize investments of up to $1 million. Beyond funding, participants receive business development support including customer discovery, legal advice, and marketing strategy, along with industry networking across the portfolio, investor relations guidance, and access to events and programming. The accelerator is anchored in Central New York's decade-long buildout of a concentrated ecosystem for drone, robotics, and autonomous systems companies.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 15 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 34 of 41 portfolio companiesHardware ×19Robotics ×18AI & Machine Learning ×11Deep Tech ×11Defense Tech ×9Mobility & Transportation ×6AgTech ×4GovTech ×4
HQs:United States×15Switzerland×2Ecuador×1United Kingdom×1Norway×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 17 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×82 founders×53 founders×34+ founders×1
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Portfolio companies · 41 tracked
alumni founders can tell you what the program is really like
Aerialoop develops drone technology for urban logistics, surveillance, and delivery operations across multiple countries using a Hardware-as-a-Service business model.
HardwareLogistics & Supply ChainMobility & TransportationRoboticsQuito, EC
Pedro Meneses(Co-Founder & CEO)inAndreas Antener(Co-Founder & CTO)inSantiago Barrera(Co-Founder & COO)in
Co-investors640 OxfordCapria VenturesSalkantay VenturesTechstarsUP Partners
Aloft operates an FAA-approved airspace and fleet management platform for drone operations, offering LAANC authorizations, airspace advisories, mission planning, and fleet tracking.
GovTechIoTMobility & TransportationSaaSSeattle, US
Yongxing Deng(Executive Officer)Joshua Ziering(Founder)inJon Hegranes(Founder)inTravis Soukup(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Co-investorsBonfire VenturesDecisive PointKluz VenturesFifth Wall
Archangel Autonomy develops edge AI systems and intelligent sensor arrays for autonomous machines and small UAS operating in high-risk environments, with applications including threat detection and infrastructure-independent navigation.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechRoboticsOxford, GB
Ascent AeroSystems develops unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), ranging from compact UAVs to heavy-lift unmanned helicopters, for missions across defense, agriculture, logistics, and industrial inspection.
Defense TechHardwareRoboticsTorrance, US
Co-investorsDreamit Ventures
Aviant operates autonomous drone logistics services in Scandinavia, transporting medical items such as blood, COVID, water, and milk samples as well as windmill farm equipment for healthcare and industrial customers.
HardwareHealthtechLogistics & Supply ChainRoboticsTrondheim, NO
Lars Erik
Co-investorsBring VenturesLuminar VenturesInnovation Norway
Co-investorsDRONE FUND
Blueflite develops electric drones for logistics and package delivery, with vertical take-off and landing capabilities designed for last-mile deliveries, emergency medical transport, and industrial supply missions.
HardwareLogistics & Supply ChainRoboticsAustin, US
Frank Noppel(CEO)inJames McClearen(CTO)in
Co-investorsBoot64 VenturesCroc PitchMichigan RiseTechstars
CenterState CEO is a regional economic development and business membership organization serving Central New York, which recognizes corporate "Legacy Investors" that fund its work.
Impact & Social Good
Circle Optics develops 360-degree multi-camera imaging systems, including its Hydra product, which uses a patented method of aligning fields-of-view to eliminate image stitching.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense TechHardware
Zakariya Niazi(Chief Executive Officer / Chief Technology Officer)inZak Niazi(Founder)inIan Gauger(Chief Operating Officer / Chief Financial Officer)inAndrew Kurtz(Chief Research Officer)in
Civ Robotics manufactures autonomous marking robots (CivDot+/CivDot) that use laser precision to stake construction points on job sites.
CleantechConstruction TechRobotics
Tom Yeshurun(Founder)inLiav Muler(Founder)in
Co-investorsAlleyCorpConvergeFf Venture CapitalID8 InvestmentsNewfund CapitalParameter Ventures+2 more
Dronehub builds autonomous drone infrastructure — charging stations, docking, and mission logistics — and licenses this IP while partnering on AI drone projects for defense, energy, rail, and sovereign logistics operators.
Defense TechHardwareRoboticsResearch Triangle Park, US
Vadym Melnyk(Founder & CEO)in
Dropcopter operates in agricultural drone technology and is seeking investment from individuals and private equity groups to support upcoming projects.
AgTechHardwareRobotics
Matt Koball
EagleHawk operates a facilities intelligence platform that combines aerial imaging, expert analysis, and data management tools to help organizations monitor building conditions and manage assets.
Construction TechEnergyPropTechBuffalo, US
Jonathan Byrd(Executive Officer, Director)inPatrick Walsh(Executive Officer, Director)inWillard Schulmeister(Executive Officer)
BoardJoseph Weiss(Director)
Co-investorsLaunch NY
Mountain View, US
Robin Woodby(Founder)inTushar Dave(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Ashok Belani(Director)Chung-Kao Hsieh(Director)Parmod Kumar Gupta(Director)Akihiko Maeda(Director)
Co-investorsAcorn Pacific VenturesNautilus Ventures Management Company (Us), LlcReshape
Flox provides reproducible development environments built on Nix, letting developers bundle the tools and frameworks they need across the software lifecycle.
Cloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
Ron Efroni(CEO)inMichael Brantley(CTO)in
Co-investorsHetz VenturesNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)Angel Collective Opportunity FundFirestreak VenturesAdditionD.E. Shaw+4 more
Flox Intelligence uses AI to decode animal communication and guide wildlife away from danger, preventing collisions between animals and infrastructure without harming them.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningClimate TechDeep TechHardwareSyracuse, US
Sara Nozkova(Co-founder)inTomas Becklin(Co-founder)in
Co-investorsSatganaAlmi InvestTilia Impact PartnersTilia Impact VenturesUnconventional Ventures
Flyhound develops drone-mounted technology that uses radio signals to rapidly locate missing persons at a distance in challenging environments, along with software for tracking inter-agency resources during deployments.
GovTechHardwareRobotics
Antonio Albanese(Founder)in
Co-investorsEntrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA)
Fotokite makes actively tethered drone systems (Fotokite Sigma) with thermal and color cameras and native operating software that provide public safety teams with aerial situational awareness through automated, push-button launch and landing.
GovTechHardwareRobotics
Co-investorsSICTICSony Ventures CorporationXTX Markets
Fusion Engineering develops flight controller hardware and software for multirotor drones, focused on safety and reliability to enable certified drone flights over urban areas and in offshore conditions.
Deep TechHardwareRobotics
Co-investorsMITHRILY Combinator
Geopipe uses AI and machine learning to process sensor data such as photos and laser scans to create digital twins of cities at multiple levels of detail.
AI & Machine LearningDeep Tech
Co-investorsGreat Oaks Venture Capital
INVOLI provides an air traffic awareness platform that tracks both manned aircraft and unmanned drones so their positions are known and collisions can be avoided.
Deep TechHardwareIoTMobility & Transportation
Manu Lubrano(Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder)Cristina Mihalachioiu(Chief Legal Officer and Co-Founder)Raphael Zaugg(Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder)Roxanne Ayotte(Chief Financial Officer)
Lamarr.AI provides automated building envelope diagnostics using drones, detecting thermal inefficiencies, water intrusion risks, and visual defects to inform retrofitting, new construction, and capital planning.
AI & Machine LearningConstruction TechPropTechAtlanta, US
Co-investorsHazelview VenturesNewLab
Lighthouse Avionics develops passive, dual-use air domain awareness systems through its VICTOR product line, which provides Counter-UAS detection, remote tower surveillance, and BVLOS/DFR enablement using optical detect-and-avoid technology, ADS-B receivers, and laser rangefinding.
Deep TechDefense TechHardware
Mast combines forest restoration with biomass burial to remove carbon and restore wildfire-affected landscapes.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningCircular EconomyCleantechClimate TechFintechImpact & Social GoodSeattle, US
Grant Canary(Founder)in
Co-investorsAsymmetry VenturesDcode CapitalKeiki CapitalPulse FundSpero VenturesTechstars+7 more
Modovolo designs modular, payload-centric drones with a central payload bay and swappable universal carriers for missions in defense, delivery, and agriculture.
Advanced ManufacturingDefense TechHardwareRoboticsUtica, US
Justin Call(Executive Officer, Director)Arion Mangio(Executive Officer, Director)
Quantifly uses aerial imagery from drones/UAS and manned aircraft to automatically observe, measure, and analyze change at city scale.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureHardwarePropTechSyracuse, US
Daniel Brooks(Co-founder)inAdrianna Jordan(Co-founder)Zac Halberd(Co-founder)Javad Roostaei(Co-founder)
ResilienX is a systems integrator for uncrewed aviation ecosystems, connecting multi-vendor technologies into a single coherent, safe, and scalable system for agencies and operators.
Deep TechGovTechMobility & TransportationSpace TechSyracuse, US
Ryan Pleskach(Co-Founder & COO)inAndrew Carter(Co-Founder & CEO)inMatthew Synborski(CTO)inSean Calhoun(Executive Officer, Director)
SkyfireAI develops autonomous drone systems with AI-powered threat detection for first responders and security applications, reducing response times and false alarms in emergency situations.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechRobotics
Matt Sloane(Founder)inDon Mathisin
Co-investorsAI FundBDev VenturesHalogen Ventures Management Company LlcNew York Angels
Co-investorsRosecliff Ventures
TruWeather Solutions provides a SaaS weather intelligence platform that integrates weather data into operational decision workflows for weather-sensitive industries, with a focus on commercial drones, advanced air mobility, aviation, and logistics.
AI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply ChainMobility & TransportationSaaS
Don Berchoff(CEO)in
Co-investorsKluz Ventures
Vermeer develops vision-based positioning technology for aerial platforms and drones that operates without GPS in contested, spoofed, or GPS-denied environments.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechHardwareRoboticsQueens, US
Brian Streem(CEO)Suresh Kumar(CTO)
Co-investorsDraper AssociatesTechstarsTenon VenturesAero X VenturesRockaway VenturesSuper Ventures
Wonder Robotics develops autonomous guidance software for drones, providing AI-based navigation, target tracking, precision maneuvering, and real-time obstacle avoidance that reduces dependence on communication links and GPS in complex environments.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechRobotics
Co-investorsAlphaDriveElron Ventures
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioAscent AeroSystemacq. by Robinson Helicopter Company
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesSkyy · espn.com · Aug 25, 2026
Modovolo · za.investing.com · Aug 5, 2026
Fusion · techtimes.com · Jul 31, 2026
Aerialoop · citybiz.co · Jul 13, 2026
Dronehub · dronehub.ai · Jun 12, 2026
Lamarr · lamarr-institute.org · May 15, 2026
Flox · geniusny.com · Feb 25, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has GENIUS NY made?
- GENIUS NY has 41 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO, including 1 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does GENIUS NY invest at?
- GENIUS NY invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is GENIUS NY's typical check size?
- GENIUS NY typically writes checks of $500K – $1M.
- What sectors does GENIUS NY focus on?
- GENIUS NY focuses on Deep Tech, Hardware, IoT, Mobility & Transportation, Robotics, Space Tech.
- Where is GENIUS NY located?
- GENIUS NY is headquartered in Syracuse, US.
- Does GENIUS NY lead rounds?
- GENIUS NY typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does GENIUS NY co-invest with?
- GENIUS NY most often shares deals with Techstars, Kluz Ventures, AlleyCorp, among 48 tracked co-investors.
Images
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