IAI CATALYST Innovation Showcase Highlights the Journey from Startup Innovation to Mission Impact
The IAI CATALYST Innovation Showcase brought together the aerospace and defence innovation community at the New York Stock Exchange to highlight emerging technologies and explore how breakthrough ideas can transition from early-stage innovation to real-world mission impact.
Powered by Starburst in partnership with IAI – Israel Aerospace Industries, IAI CATALYST connects promising technology companies with IAI’s industrial expertise, helping accelerate the development, validation, and adoption of next-generation capabilities.
Bringing Together Industry Leaders and Innovators
The event featured insights from leading voices across the aerospace, defence, and investment communities, including Boaz Levy, Chairman of the Board of IAI, Eytan Eshel, Executive Vice President of R&D, Technology and Innovation at IAI, and Byron Callan, Managing Director at Capital Alpha Partners.
A dedicated panel discussion, “Winning at Mission Speed: From Startup Innovation to Mission Impact,” explored how emerging technologies can move beyond promising concepts and become operational solutions. The discussion brought together perspectives from industry, investors, and entrepreneurs on the key factors enabling successful technology adoption in defence.
Celebrating IAI CATALYST Cohort 4
The Showcase also marked the Demo Day of IAI CATALYST Cohort 4, where participating companies presented their progress, achievements, and next milestones.
The cohort featured:
The event also included a startup success story from Uri Oron, CEO of NovaLink Space, sharing insights from the company’s entrepreneurial journey.
Showcasing the Next Generation of Aerospace and Defence Startups
Beyond the Demo Day, the event showcased technologies from 12 startups from the IAI CATALYST and ASTRA accelerator programmes, highlighting innovations across aerospace, defence, space, and deep-tech.
Participating companies included:
- FibrX
- BQP
- Kytyra
- AugSense
- Rhea Space Activity
- NovaLink Space
- PYRRHUS
- Uncrewed Aerospace
- Codective
- Vaxon Space
- QDIR
- Sentaya AI
The Innovation Showcase demonstrated the strength of the ecosystem built around IAI CATALYST, connecting startups with industry leaders, investors, and strategic partners to accelerate the transition from innovation to operational impact.
