Israeli defense giant launches Herndon aerospace accelerator

Herndon will soon have something in common with Tel Aviv — an aerospace accelerator and innovation center run by Israeli state-owned aerospace and defense company Israel Aerospace Industries, which helped design Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

IAI and IAI North America, its Herndon-based U.S. government contracting subsidiary, in cooperation with California- and Washington, D.C.-based Starburst Aerospace, a global startup accelerator and strategic advisory firm, are launching an accelerator and innovation center called IAI Catalyst.

IAI has an innovation center in Tel Aviv supporting Israeli startups. Starburst, which consults for NASA and NATO, has run similar programs in the United States and Europe, but this is the first time Starburst is partnering with IAI and IAI North America to run an accelerator. IAI has about 15,000 employees, about half of whom are engineers.

IAI Catalyst has recruited the first cohort of startups for its inaugural five-month accelerator program, supporting early-stage startups focused on sectors including artificial intelligence and autonomy; quantum science; sustainability and energy; and space tech.

Applications for the first cohort — one of two planned for the year — closed in March, and four to six participating companies are expected to be announced in April. The spring program is expected to start the same month, with a demo day planned for September. The Herndon accelerator is open to companies nationwide.

“Our job will be to open all the doors for the startups, not just with IAI, but everybody that they can provide value to,” says Noemie Alliel, Starburst’s managing director for Israel.

Over five months, the cohort will attend three in-person, weeklong gatherings; at the beginning, midway and during the final week, when the companies will pitch in front of stakeholders. The rest of the program will be virtual.

Each selected company receives a $100,000 investment in exchange for equity, and another $100,000 worth of in-kind benefits such as access to IAI and Starburst’s networks of clients and partners, mentoring from industry experts, access to technology and free office space.

Innovation is a key focus at IAI, which feels it’s important to stay relevant and competitive in the marketplace, Alliel says, which is why it wants to work with startups.

“It will be like win-win opportunities for both IAI and startups to work hand-in-hand,” she says.