ROME, N.Y. — EMPEQ of Ithaca will use a $150,000 investment after it won the grand prize in the HUSTLE Defense Accelerator at the Griffiss Institute in Rome.

EMPEQ, which is short for Empower Equity, Inc., was among the participants in HUSTLE’s Demo Day. HUSTLE stands for Helping Upstate Science and Technology Leaders and Entrepreneurs.

Per its website, “EMPEQ’S Fast Site Survey makes detailed, accurate on-site building data capture as easy as a click of your smartphone’s camera.”

Fast Site Survey’s “underlying artificial intelligence (AI) technology, known as Instant Equipment Insights, was recognized for its potential to help the U.S. Department of Defense ensure security within its hardware supply chain,” per a blog post on the EMPEQ website.

Having begun his career in the U.S. Marine Corps as a National Security Agency (NSA)-tasked cryptanalyst, the award has “special meaning” for EMPEQ co-founder and CEO Herbert Dwyer.

“This is an incredibly important moment for America’s military, and I was thrilled that the Department of Defense was able to attract such high value solutions to this accelerator,” Dwyer said. “For our company to be chosen as the most promising technology out of such a competitive field is truly a humbling reality.”

Besides EMPEQ, Paterson Aerospace Systems and BosonQ Psi were both awarded $100,000, and Accessible Automation and Drone City each secured $50,000 investments, according to a Griffiss Institute news release.

Accessible Automation is located in Verona. Drone City has a lab in Haverstraw in Rockland County and a mailing address in New York City, per its website.

Paterson Aerospace Systems is located in Wilmington, Delaware, per its LinkedIn page. BosonQ Psi is headquartered in Buffalo. 

They were among eight tech companies that completed the HUSTLE Defense Accelerator. The Demo Day was held Aug. 17.

Griffiss Institute’s HUSTLE Defense Accelerator is a 12-week training academy for seed-stage tech startups focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, quantum science, and unmanned aircraft system products. Eight startups were chosen to pitch for HUSTLE Demo Day because of their “validated potential to elevate U.S. national security and economic competitiveness,” the release stated.

The program has the support of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), New York State’s Empire State Development (ESD), and National Grid. 

“I am thrilled to congratulate the eight diverse and extraordinary teams who have built dynamic tech companies developing national security solutions, and who worked hard to complete the HUSTLE program with us this summer,” Heather Hage, president and CEO of Griffiss Institute, said. “We look forward to continuing to support their journeys to grow strong and healthy companies in the Mohawk Valley and believe they will all go on to accomplish great things.”