Alumnus’s drone tech company wins $1M state competition
Summary
Saïf-Deen Akanni ’90 is the founder, CEO and chief technology officer of Sentient Blue, an Italian company that develops hybrid microturbine engines to increase efficiency and flight endurance in drones and other applications in the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry. The GENIUS NY program offers incubator space, company resources and mentoring for award winners, who are required to operate their businesses in central New York for at least a year. “Suffice to say that it is like coming home, and I am very excited to be back.” Akanni said he will be focusing on growing the company in both Syracuse and Rome, New York, where they will be locating research and development, manufacturing and testing facilities. That was when it hit me just how special Cornell University was and remains to this day.” Four other competition finalists will receive $500,000 investments: EagleHawk from Buffalo, Vermeer from Brooklyn, Resilienx from Syracuse and Civdrone from Israel. As these teams advance their technologies and platforms, they are also supporting our goal to create a global hub for UAS in our region.” Previous GENIUS NY winners still have a presence in the region and have continued to grow.