El Segundo, CA (January 6, 2025) — Global aerospace and defense startup accelerator and innovation services leader Starburst and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), America’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black college community, today announced the launch of SEISMIC (Startup & Entrepreneurship Initiative Supporting Minority Institutions & Communities), a new initiative designed to empower defense technology entrepreneurs from minority serving institutions (MSIs).
SEISMIC represents a strategic partnership between private industry, academia, and government stakeholders. Funded by the Small Business Administration 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, SEISMIC is an accelerator program built to support founders and innovators, originating from MSIs, who are developing technologies critical to the United States’ National Security.
While historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and MSIs produce more than a quarter of African American STEM graduates, they receive only 1.6% of federal obligations for R&D funding – representing countless missed opportunities for innovative defense startups. SEISMIC aims to bridge together agile startup innovation with established industry expertise, while bringing fresh perspectives from underrepresented communities to defense challenges.
Powered by Starburst in partnership with TMCF, the six-week accelerator program is structured around direct interactions with defense and intelligence agencies, mentorship from founders and technical experts, investor, partner, and potential customer introductions, and the opportunity to pitch to defense industry leaders and funders.
“SEISMIC addresses a critical gap in the defense innovation ecosystem,” said Jacob Squire, SEISMIC Program Manager and Head of Innovation Services at Starburst. “By connecting talented entrepreneurs from MSIs with defense customers, technical resources, and growth capital, we’re building new pathways for diverse founders to succeed in the defense technology sector.”
“This is an outstanding opportunity for our students in a wide range of fields,” Dr. Harry L. Williams, President and CEO of TMCF, said. “We look forward to this partnership with Starburst as we prepare the next generation of workforce talent.”
The primary technology focus areas for the inaugural year of the program are explicitly stated needs from the Defense Innovation Unit, National Reconnaissance Office Commercial Systems Programs Office, Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory, and SpaceWERX, including:
- Cybersecurity & Secure Telecommunications (Cyber)
- Electricity Generation from Embedded or Coating Materials
- Geospatial Intelligence Platforms & Analytics (GEOINT)
- Human-Machine Integration & Teaming (HMI or HMT)
- Mission Autonomy
- Multi-Asset Data Coordination & Collection
- Power Generation & Storage for Autonomous Systems
- Remote Sensing Technologies
- Resilient GPS/PNT
- Space Domain Awareness / Space Situational Awareness (SDA / SSA)
- Unmanned Aerial Systems & Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS & C-UAS)
- Very Low Earth Orbit Operations (VLEO)
Applications for SEISMIC are now open, with the program set to kick off in April of 2025. The SEISMIC organizers invite MSI students, faculty, and alumni entrepreneurs to learn more and apply for the program at seismicaccelerator.com.
About Starburst
Founded in 2012, Starburst is an innovation catalyst in the global Aerospace and Defense (A&D) industry. Combining three complementary activities–startup accelerators, strategy consulting, and venture investments–they help A&D stakeholders innovate, navigate and invest in the dynamic ecosystem. With offices in Los Angeles, Paris, Munich, Singapore, Seoul, Tel Aviv, Madrid, Washington D.C., and London, the team has built a robust community with 60+ partners and a portfolio of 150 startups. Starburst’s leading Flagship Accelerator program helps startups scale their business in aviation, space, and defense, as well as enabling technologies, with access to one of the largest groups of corporate representatives, government stakeholders, and private investors in the world to help startups win their first contracts.
More information about Starburst can be found at www.starburst.aero.
About Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black college community. TMCF member schools include publicly supported historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), predominantly Black institutions (PBIs) and historically Black community colleges (HBCCs), which enroll over 80% of all students attending HBCUs. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and higher education space. The organization is also the source of top employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good jobs. TMCF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization. For more information about TMCF, visit: tmcf.org.
