The NSIN Defense Innovation Accelerator (DIA) matches breakthrough Department of Defense (DoD) lab technology with teams of entrepreneurs to solve the real-world problems of DoD and commercial customers. Entrepreneurs work with DoD lab inventors, mentors and subject matter experts from the Government and private sectors, and world class instructors to assess the market viability and the potential to commercialize DoD lab technologies.
DIA is an intensive 4-month cohort-based program executed in two phases: customer discovery and early company formation. Successful teams have gone on to form companies, license the technology from the labs and pursue various funding opportunities.
The NSIN Defense Innovation Accelerator (DIA) matches breakthrough Department of Defense (DoD) lab technology with teams of entrepreneurs to solve the real-world problems of DoD and commercial customers. Entrepreneurs work with DoD lab inventors, mentors and subject matter experts from the Government and private sectors, and world class instructors to assess the market viability and the potential to commercialize DoD lab technologies.
DIA is an intensive 4-month cohort-based program executed in two phases: customer discovery and early company formation. Successful teams have gone on to form companies, license the technology from the labs and pursue various funding opportunities.


Homeland Security Startup Studio 21
Converge
A culmination of the inaugural Homeland Security Startup Studio 21 program featuring finalist pitches, our keynote speaker, and interactive networking sessions.
Thursday, August 26th, 2021
1:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET
About Homeland Security Startup Studio 21
The Startup Studio program pairs teams of entrepreneurs with scientists and technologists to commercialize lab technologies, and solve real-world problems.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate partnered with FedTech to run the Startup Studio program to help teams of entrepreneurs realize the commercial potential of these inventions. The technological areas represented range from Cybersecurity to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
The Homeland Security Startup Studio 21: Converge Event is an opportunity for these startup teams to pitch in front of a panel of experts, and for the rest of the community to come together to learn, network, and celebrate.
Host

Agenda
1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET
Opening
Welcome Remarks by FedTech
Remarks by Kathryn Coulter Mitchell
2-min Live intro from Team
6-min Pre-Recorded Team Pitches
5-min Q&A
Audience Vote
Networking Sessions
Closing Remarks
Keynote Speaker

Kathryn Coulter Mitchell
Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology (S&T), Department of Homeland Security
Kathryn Coulter Mitchell was appointed the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology (S&T) on May 5, 2021. As the science advisor to the Homeland Security Secretary, Ms. Coulter Mitchell heads the research, development, innovation and testing and evaluation activities in support of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) operational Components and first responders across the nation.
The Science and Technology Directorate is responsible for identifying operational gaps, conceptualizing art-of-the-possible solutions, and delivering operational results that improve the security and resilience of the nation.
Ms. Coulter Mitchell holds a Master of Arts in Communications from Johns Hopkins University, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a professional certification in Executive Coaching from the University of Cambridge, U.K.
Phase II Teams
Name
Charisma Cyber

Charisma Cyber
Charisma Cyber's vulnerability prioritization tool uses machine learning to think like a world-class hacker penetrating your enterprise network. Its insights supercharge the efficiency of your IT team by telling you which vulnerabilities to resolve first. Using trusted open source data, the tool links vulnerabilities across multiple nodes to identify previously-unknown attack paths, allowing you to focus on running your business.
Sector
Cybersecurity
FedTech
Program
Homeland Security Startup Studio 21
Name
Dynasec

Dynasec
Cyber attacks are increasing by the day, in spite of existing technologies to protect IT infrastructure. Infrastructure is static and vulnerable to hackers, with repeated attempts to breach security. By randomly rotating user access requests between servers, Dynasec’s technology adopts the 'moving target defense' mechanism to make infrastructure access dynamic, thereby forcing hackers to repeat attempts to breach the security.
Sector
Cybersecurity
FedTech
Program
Homeland Security Startup Studio 21
Name
Axle Technologies
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Axle
Axle is building an API that allows organizations to securely monitor and upgrade commercial, industrial, and military vehicles. The competitive advantage of Axle is that it is OEM agnostic, does not require extra hardware, and is a universal, secure API. Axle allows users to improve vehicle uptime, upgrade vehicle capabilities, and secure critical vehicle functions. It does this by letting users connect to almost any vehicle enabling access to aftermarket hardware.
Sector
Software, Automotive, Transportation
FedTech
Program
Homeland Security Startup Studio 21
Name
ESA

ESA
Electrum Smart Alerts (ESA) relies on technology developed by the Army Research Lab focused on night time facial recognition. This technology has been developed with hardware that allows our system to be deployed in a small all in one easy to use package that is deployable on any roadside. Our technology will give the authorities real time updates when a possible missing child or adult is identified. Allowing users to act instantly gives authorities the best chance for a positive outcome.
Sector
AI/ML Facial Recognition
FedTech
Program
Homeland Security Startup Studio 21
Name
Hawk NQR Detection Systems

Hawk NQR Detection Systems
Nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) is a radio frequency spectroscopic technique that can be used to detect solid-state compounds containing quadrupolar nuclei, a requirement fulfilled by most high explosives (and narcotics). NQR works by applying an external electrical field which is easy to generate thereby making our device considerably more portable than any magnetic technology equivalent.