A winner of the UB Panasci competition. A member of both the Launch NY and Z80 Labs portfolios. And most recently, a recipient of seed funding led by the Jacobs Family (of Delaware North). Buffalo Automation has had several big wins in the WNY community since its founding in 2015. And with self-driving technology becoming an area of focus for automakers, it’s inevitable that we will soon see this technology widely implemented in the maritime industry. Self-navigating boats can improve safety on the water and identify more energy-efficient routes, saving money on fuel and lowering emissions.
Learn more about founder Thiru Vikram and why headquartering in Buffalo was the best move for Buffalo Automation in today’s Founder Friday!
How did your startup, well, start up?
What do you do? Your startup?
When was the ‘aha’ moment for your startup when you realized this could actually work?
What has been the biggest accomplishment for your startup to-date?
Goals for the next year? Three years?
Why Buffalo?
At Buffalo Automation, we pride ourselves to be the ultimate long-term thinkers, and have thought about our location plans very carefully and in great detail. We believe that Buffalo will once again be a major economic center in a few decades, and that it’s imperative for the company to remain headquartered here due to the following factors that also influence one another to create a positive synergy for the entire region:
- Affordable cost of living that is likely to remain so in the intermediate-term.
- Great access to partners with Great Lakes maritime companies and test prototypes.
- Close proximity to talent pools and universities in New York and Ontario.
- Great infrastructure that was originally created to support much larger economic activity; the thruways here hardly ever become parking lots and we have such beautiful parks in every neighborhood.
- Close proximity to the Canadian border, which allows us to relocate our staff if unmitigable work-visa related challenges ever arise for any of our diverse and talented teammates.
- Access to abundant freshwater, which is likely to become a major issue in a few decades as the world population continues to grow, and climate change-related events disrupt current precipitation patterns and dislocate existing reliable freshwater supply across the world.
- Relative immunity to the increasingly adverse effects of climate change, such as hurricanes, forest fires, and sea-level rise. Buffalo is also likely to be a safe haven from the climate change-induced northward migration of pathogen-carrying organisms and pests that typically thrive in warmer regions, such as mosquitos, that could strain health, quality of life, and agricultural yields. This will encourage more smart and talented people to move here as the years pass.
