While businesses in the greater Washington region are closely watching major potential cuts in funding in the federal budget, local startups in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence keep growing.

Tandem National Security Innovations, a network of more than 5,000 innovators and entrepreneurs, has worked to connect many of these startups with opportunities for funding from the local investor community and government agencies.

Michael Hoffman, executive editor at TandemNSI, joined What’s Working in Washington to talk about the growth he’s seen in emerging technology startups in the D.C. region and how TandemNSI is launching Tandem Innovation Alliance to spur growth for these companies.

Hoffman said many small businesses in D.C. are oriented towards providing services such as consulting. “What we’re looking at now is trying to focus even more on developing great product companies,” he said.

“That’s an area where the greater Washington region can improve,” Hoffman said.

Tandem Innovation Alliance will be “focused more on local, emerging technology startups and small businesses — helping them grow,” said Hoffman.

It will launch on April 6 at a cybersecurity event it’s hosting with The MITRE Corporation at MITRE’s headquarters in Virginia.

The event will feature a panel of cybersecurity founders and venture capital leaders tackling some of the challenges that budding entrepreneurs might face in the area. Afterwards, five cybersecurity startups will have the opportunity to make short pitches to attendees including government officials, investors, and other entrepreneurs.

These cybersecurity startups are the ones Tandem Innovation Alliance is hoping to help build a strong cybersecurity industry in the region.

TandemNSI completed a census last year of the area’s cybersecurity agencies, finding almost 1,000 companies working in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia region. The census also found that among these companies, a small percentage were focused solely on building products, Hoffman said. It was in this disparity that he found an opportunity to spur growth.

A business oriented towards products “[is] less dependent on what’s going on with the federal budget,” said Hoffman. “Having that diversification as a product company gives them less flexibility on what’s going on in the federal government.”

Tandem Innovation Alliance hopes to work with startups building these emerging technology products and make the greater Washington region less reliant on federal spending.

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