Herndon, VA, April 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology ( CIT) today announced that Senior Investment Director, Marco Rubin, will participate as a judge during the Startup Showdown at AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019 in Chicago. XPONENTIAL is the largest trade show for unmanned and autonomous systems, bringing together the entire community to share ideas, collaborate across markets, and capitalize on emerging trends. The Startup Showdown, scheduled for Wednesday, May 1, is a competition for disruptive, early-stage companies who are creating, innovating or enhancing unmanned systems technologies and applications.

Rubin, who began his career as an engineer at NASA Johnson Space Center where he trained and certified astronauts and flight controllers to operate spacecraft, will join industry panelists Buddy Arnheim, Partner, Perkins Cole; Beckett Jackson, Investing Director, Portfolio Strategy, Boeing HorizonX; Sean Murphy, Senior Engineer and UAS Program Director, T-Mobile; and Betsy Ziegler, CEO, 1871. The Startup Showcase offers a platform for up-and-coming, investment-worthy startups to share their innovations with investors looking to form profitable connections with the next generation of game-changers in the unmanned systems industry. The competition’s five finalists, Cuberg, Hionos, Horizon, Internest and PreVision will each have ten minutes to pitch their business to the panel, followed by a question and answer session with the judges.

“I am honored to be included by AUVSI on the Startup Showdown judging panel, and to take part in this opportunity to support startups looking to progress the standards of unmanned systems technology,” said Rubin. “The industry is rapidly growing, and is in need of entrepreneurs and innovators who will lead both the general public and private businesses into an era of further education, regulation, and safety for unmanned systems.”

Rubin leads seed and early stage investments in the aerospace/UAS, energy, and software sectors for CIT, and serves as a board representative and mentor to numerous portfolio companies. Recently, CIT GAP Funds invested in DroneUp, the creator of a patent pending platform that organizes drone pilots into a network serving commercial markets, government agencies, and public safety organizations. Throughout his career, Rubin has invested in over 200 early-stage technology companies and has held leadership roles with funds recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Annual VC 100 list.


For more information about AUVSI XPONENTIAL, please visit: https://www.xponential.org/xponential2019/public/Enter.aspx


About The Center for Innovative Technology  The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), a nonprofit corporation, has been Virginia’s primary driver of innovation and entrepreneurship since 1985. CIT accelerates the next generation of technology and technology companies through commercialization, capital formation, market development and revenue generation services. To facilitate national innovation leadership and accelerate the rate of technology adoption, CIT creates partnerships between innovative technology start-up companies and advanced technology consumers. To learn more, please visit  www.cit.org. You can also follow CIT on  Twitter,  LinkedIn and  Facebook.

Marco Rubin Senior Investment Director CIT GAP Funds | Virginia AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019, the largest, most comprehensive trade show for unmanned and autonomous systems. XPONENTIAL is the one event that brings together the entire unmanned systems community to share ideas, collaborate across markets, capitalize on best practices and emerging trends and harness the power of unmanned technology for business - https://www.xponential.org/xponential2019/public/enter.aspx

Attachments

• Marco Rubin CIT Gap Funds
• AUVSI Xponential_Website Homepage

Taylor Hadley
LaunchTech Communications
978-877-2113
Taylor@goLaunchTech.com

Sara Poole
Center for Innovative Technologies
sara.poole@cit.org