The Oregon UAS Accelerator in Pendleton, Oregon, exists to move uncrewed systems startups — and counter drone startups and tangentially related startups — from prototype to pilots, partnerships, and capital. Now, it’s got its next class lined up to do exactly that. Meet the 17 companies in the Accelerator’s Fall 2026 cohort. Which includes founders from Oregon, around the US, and South Korea.
This cohort is one of the most geographically and technically diverse groups the Accelerator has assembled. Nine companies, just over half the cohort, are based right here in Oregon, with four more from other U.S. states and four joining from South Korea to build their U.S. and Oregon footprint. Together, they span nearly every major category in the unmanned systems industry: airframes and platforms, payloads and sensors, counter-UAS, flight and AI software, ground control and communications, and mission-critical services.
Participating startups include:
- AdvisorLauren — Seoul, South Korea. Developing TALON, trusted air-gapped AI and autonomy software for GPS-denied navigation, mission planning, and digital-twin simulation in defense and industrial settings.
- AIRA USA Inc. — Portland, OR. Deploys general-purpose mobile robots into live manufacturing environments for machine tending and material handling, offered as a managed “work as a service” model.
- Atlas AI — Tigard, OR. Building a supplemental computer-vision traffic awareness system that helps general aviation pilots see and avoid nearby aircraft without relying on other pilots’ equipment.
- Bantam Aero, LLC — Bingen, WA. Commercializing FormCor, a new plastic thermoforming process aimed at the low-cost mass manufacture of military UAS airframes.
- Datium Corp. — Seoul, South Korea (with a U.S. presence). Turning field maintenance records into AI that reasons over repair data, now extending its proven platform to UAS fleet maintenance and repair-or-reprint decisions.
- Empyrean Defense Inc. — Bend, OR. Builder of the Decision Dominance Engine, a multi-domain sensor fusion and command-and-control platform that gives operators one shared operational picture across air, ground, and maritime domains.
- EnCor Industries Inc. — Tulsa, OK. Manufacturing low-cost, NDAA-compliant quadcopters for dual-use inspection missions, filling the market gap left by the FCC’s ban on Chinese-made drones.
- HindSight VIP Inc. — Boardman, OR. Developer of LedgerScope, a platform that simplifies blockchain and operational data to support verification, traceability, and compliance across the UAS supply chain.
- Needltail — Portland, OR. Building a high-speed autonomous drone system capable of over 100 mph to deliver AEDs and other life-saving equipment in Drone-as-First-Responder missions for cardiac arrest and other emergencies.
- NuCode — Seoul, South Korea (Irvine, CA office). Manufacturer of ultra-low-power BLE 6.0 and Wi-Fi modules with on-module Edge AI, delivering sub-meter positioning for drones operating in GPS-denied environments.
- PerimeterAI Group — Haymarket, VA. Maker of the PerimeterAI Puck, a passive acoustic sensor node that detects and classifies small drone threats at the tactical edge without relying on the cloud.
- ReliaSystems LLC — Portland, OR. Developing WIEVLE, a low-cost spherical unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for inspection and reconnaissance in confined, GPS-denied maritime environments.
- SUPPORTY — Goyang-si, South Korea. Developing high-reliability cellular-based remote control modules that enable one-to-many operation of drones and unmanned ground vehicles.
- Tactical Laser Defense Systems Inc. — Seal Rock, OR. Designs handheld directed-energy systems that defeat drones using patent-pending rastered laser technology — a lightweight, individual-carry alternative to RF jamming.
- TAV Drones — Austin, TX. Building affordable, American-made quadcopters for law enforcement, using patented modular hardware and an in-house software stack to undercut drones that sell for over $15,000.
- TKG Security — Battle Ground, WA. Creator of CoreCommand, a sensor-fusion command-and-control platform with AI video analytics that integrates third-party radar, RF/DF, and EO/IR sensors into one operational system.
- Vexil Systems — Corvallis, OR. Building UAV-deployed radio repeaters that restore communications for search-and-rescue, wildland fire, and disaster response teams operating where radios fail.
Want to meet them meet them? There’s a Cohort Kickoff Reception on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at 6:00PM. It’s open to the public.
For more information or to RSVP for the reception, visit the Oregon UAS Accelerator.
