Slingshot Aerospace Gets Air Force SBIR Contract, Venture Capital Funds for AI-Based Tech

Slingshot Aerospace has received a $1.5M Small Business Innovation Research contract from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and another $1.5M in funds from venture capital firms ATX Venture Partners and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund to accelerate the development and deployment of an artificial intelligence-based platform.

Slingshot EDGE is designed to help warfighters glean insights from data using AI and provide them situational awareness capability in order to facilitate the decision-making process on the battlefield, the company said Thursday.

“This partnership is a groundbreaking testament to the power of government working with technical and financial innovators,” said Melanie Stricklan, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Slingshot Aerospace. “Our team looks forward to focusing our advanced EDGE development on meeting the high standards set by the U.S. Air Force.”

Slingshot will receive the matching funding from its venture capital partners as part of the Department of Defense’s RAPID Innovation Fund, which seeks to expedite the deployment of technology platforms into military systems.

“The company’s mission is to help government and commercial customers predict the unexpected and optimize their situational awareness, and this capital will help to bring that to fruition,” said Steve Case, founding partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.