Cummings Research Park launching DefenseTech Accelerator
Two cohorts of five early stage companies each will participate in the 12-week program.
Leaning on the city’s defense base and the strength of small businesses, Cummings Research Park (CRP) is launching a DefenseTech Accelerator this fall.
That’s according to a report in 256 Today, which noted that the accelerator will provide the impetus to help grow the next generation of defense small businesses in the Huntsville area. Cummings Research Park is the second largest research park in the country and the fourth largest in the world.
And, to help fund the program, the accelerator will use the Innovate Alabama Tax Credit program, a statewide initiative where local companies and individuals with significant tax liability can allocate 50 percent of their taxes to stay local. State tax liabilities that can be used for this program are the Alabama income tax, state insurance premium tax, state public utility license tax and state portion of the financial institution excise tax.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to continue to grow the small business defense industrial base right here in Huntsville,” said CRP Executive Director Erin Koshut. “Donating 50 percent of your tax liability keeps your tax dollars in our community to directly benefit growth of the industrial base at home.”
The accelerator will have two cohorts in the 2024-2025 year. Each cohort has five early stage companies with innovative products who participate in a 12-week accelerator program designed to help grow and scale their products in the defense and commercial markets.
While the accelerator is technology agnostic, it is most interested in dual-use technologies. Companies will come from inside the state and companies outside Alabama will be recruited to Huntsville.
“We anticipate marketing for company participation in September and the first cohort will begin in early November,” Koshut said. “Our goal is for 75 percent of graduates to secure at least one prime contract with the federal government, secure at least one subcontract with a federal government prime contractor, partner with at least one prime contractor or OEM, or raise at least $100,000 in private capital funding within 12 months of their participation.”
The accelerator is partnered with the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber and Treble One.
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