Infinity Labs is Innovating the Future of Defense Technology

For those serving in the military, innovative technology is mission-critical to plan safe and secure operations. Whether those operations are on the ground or exist in the digital world, mapping out the best course of action and removing vulnerabilities is imperative. Dayton startup Infinity Labs is rethinking traditional methods of operational planning, with cutting-edge technology and an innovative approach to answer the hardest questions facing the defense industry.

“We focus on modeling, simulation, and cyber,” CEO Ken Edge said. “You can think of modeling and simulation as ‘war-gaming’ for the Department of Defense. We look at different scenarios and build up infrastructure to answer their key questions, so they can make good decisions. On the cyber side, we look at the defense of non-traditional systems, such as planes, trains, and automobiles, what cyber vulnerabilities there are, and how we can fix them.”

Edge has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but his experience in the Air Force inspired him and his co-founders to start Infinity Labs. His firsthand knowledge of the typical solutions methodology in the defense market and its associated challenges was a useful tool in developing the startup’s approach to defense operations.

“I was in the Air Force for 20 years as a pilot and ended up in the Air Force Research Lab. I had a foot in both worlds, and I was like a translator between the capability providers and the people who needed solutions. Operators don’t always communicate very well back and forth with the research labs, so I’ve seen my role as someone who understands both sides and how to put them together.”

Part of bridging that gap is mitigating the most risk and honing in on the best outcome for individuals in the field. To achieve that goal, the company’s simulation technology designs and models potential warfare environments, and its cyber services analyze digital risk with an adversarial mindset to pinpoint a system’s weak points.

“We like to step back from the problem and not focus on one small part, but really look at it in a macro sense. We bring in different solutions from different domains that might apply to the domain we’re currently looking at. At the same time, we’re also looking at how we can apply solutions from the defense market into the commercial market by building up these dual-use technologies.”

A critical part of applying solutions to both markets is providing a variety of perspectives. The startup has heavily invested in its talent and actively works to foster an environment of innovation. For Edge, Ohio has played a key role in connecting the startup with a results-driven talent pool and in bringing up the next generation in STEM and entrepreneurship.

“We’ve really put effort into making our environment a place that our employees love to work and somewhere they can come up with innovative ideas that we can turn into different projects, proposals, or internal research. Because of that, we’re also focused on the STEM pipeline in Ohio and how to uplift that education in the region to grow our community. The defense industry here in Ohio is very strong.”