One of Startup Central‘s first spinouts, Defense Company One, has earned a spot at a highly competitive international defense technology challenge centered on advanced drone tactics, hosted in Canada.
Defense Company One is collaborating with North American Signal Ops (NASO) and other established defense technology partners to develop next-gen capabilities and integrations powering autonomous control systems. Defense Company One is developing a line of AI-powered and sensor-fused EW (electronic warfare) pods to address the modern needs of responsive security systems and the battlefield.
“The rocket is on the platform and fueling up,” said Blake Spurgin, CEO and co-founder of Startup Central. “We are just getting started.”
The announcement comes as Startup Central continues to build momentum across its portfolio. In addition to multiple hardware startups in stealth and pre-launch stages, Startup Central has joined a major international consortium and is developing plans for new site developments as part of its national and global expansion strategy for 2026.
Founded and run by engineers, Startup Central offers hard-tech founders a fully integrated platform for building, prototyping, and scaling real-world products. Its flagship Tempe facility, opening September 2025, combines state-of-the-art prototyping tools, private industrial suites, and a technical venture accelerator.
