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Albuquerque Startups to Watch in 2027: 10 Verified Companies in Space, Defense, Health AI, Clean Energy and Biotech, Local Support and What Changed

Albuquerque Startups to Watch in 2027: Verified Companies in Space, Defense, Health AI, Clean Energy and Biotech

Albuquerque has something most mid-sized US cities do not: Sandia National Laboratories, Kirtland Air Force Base and the University of New Mexico within a few miles of each other. Many of the city's startups were founded by lab engineers or built on lab and university research, which is why so many of them work in space, defense, energy and biotech. The 2026 version of this article listed ten companies, but several are based in Santa Fe or elsewhere, one website no longer loads, and its growth figures had no source. For this 2027 edition we checked every company again in November 2026 on its own website: that it still operates, that it gives an Albuquerque-area address or dateline, what it actually sells and what it announced itself. Four old names passed and stay, with corrected descriptions, and six verified companies are new.
Quick answer: the Albuquerque startups to watch in 2027 are X-Bow Systems (solid rocket motors), mPower Technology (solar cells for satellites), Sceye (stratospheric platforms, just outside the city in Moriarty), Indica Labs (AI software for pathology), Pajarito Powder (catalysts for fuel cells and electrolyzers), RS21 (data science and AI), Hoonify (high-performance computing and private AI), BioFlyte (airborne biothreat detection), Breezy Med (room disinfection) and NTx (RNA manufacturing, in Rio Rancho). Founders get support from UNM Rainforest Innovations, the New Mexico Small Business Assistance programme with Sandia and Los Alamos, state technology grants and New Mexico Angels.
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Why Albuquerque Matters for Founders in 2027

Look at where the companies below come from. mPower's solar cells were first developed at Sandia, Hoonify was founded by a former Sandia and Cray supercomputing engineer, Pajarito Powder came out of UNM, and BioFlyte works from the Sandia Science and Technology Park next to Kirtland Air Force Base. Deep tech is slow and expensive, and the city's advantage is access to the people, test facilities and government customers that this kind of company needs. Larger rounds often come from elsewhere: several companies on this list raised their larger rounds from investors outside New Mexico, such as Lockheed Martin for X-Bow and SoftBank, which announced an investment in Sceye.
To compare Albuquerque with other places, read our guide to the best startup cities in North America, and see the neighbouring scenes in Tucson and El Paso.

Albuquerque Startups to Watch in 2027 Compared

StartupWhat it doesCustomersLatest fact we citeAlbuquerque base checked
X-Bow SystemsSolid rocket motors and launch servicesDefense and launch customersOver $105M Series B (company), led by Lockheed Martin (Washington Technology)Yes, corporate HQ in Albuquerque (contact page)
mPower TechnologyUltra-light silicon solar cells for spaceSatellite and space companiesDragonSCALES on nine satellites in orbit (company)Yes, 5901 Indian School Road NE (about page)
SceyeStratospheric platforms for connectivity and Earth observationTelecom operators, climate and disaster agenciesFive-year SoftBank agreement, November 2026 (company)Moriarty, "outside of Albuquerque" (about page)
Indica LabsHALO AI software for digital pathologyPharma companies and pathology labsExpanded NeoGenomics partnership, October 2026 (company)Yes, Albuquerque dateline (company release)
Pajarito PowderCatalysts for fuel cells and electrolyzersFuel cell and electrolyzer makersFourfold production increase, October 2026 (company)Yes, Albuquerque dateline (company release)
RS21Data science, AI and softwarePublic agencies and companiesAWS Select Tier Services partner (company)Yes, 2100 Louisiana Blvd NE (contact page)
Hoonify TechnologiesHPC platform and private AI infrastructureEngineering, aerospace and defense teamsTurbOS platform; founded 2021 (company)Yes, headquartered in Albuquerque (about page)
BioFlyteAerosol mass spectrometers for biothreat detectionAirports, mail centres, critical sitesAir Force SBIR Phase II, September 2025 (company)Yes, Sandia Science and Technology Park (company release)
Breezy MedHydrogen peroxide room disinfection systemsEMS, hospitals, schools, airportsBreezy Blue Dry Fogger and Breezy Cloud (company)Yes, 317 Commercial St NE (website)
NTxAutomated RNA manufacturingRNA researchers and developersNTxscribe on-demand RNA system (company)Rio Rancho, 7701 Innovation Way NE (contact page)
Sources: each company's official website, its contact, about or terms pages and its own press releases, checked 6 November 2026; X-Bow's lead investor as reported by Washington Technology.

The Albuquerque Startups to Watch in 2027

1. X-Bow Systems: solid rocket motors from New Mexico

X-Bow Systems calls itself the leading non-traditional producer of solid rocket motors. It makes traditional motors, prints solid propellant with additive manufacturing, and offers design, testing, launch and flight test services with its BOLT modular boost platforms. Its homepage promotes an oversubscribed $105 million Series B and a CMMC Level 2 cybersecurity certification. According to Washington Technology, the round was led by Lockheed Martin and announced in May 2025, together with a partnership that makes X-Bow an independent supplier of solid rocket motors for Lockheed programmes. Its contact page lists its corporate headquarters in Albuquerque, with further sites in Socorro, New Mexico and Luling, Texas.
Lesson for founders: X-Bow sells into a market with very few suppliers, and its Series B came with a deal to become an independent motor supplier to its lead investor. A supply gap in a critical industry can be a better opening than a crowded consumer market.

2. mPower Technology: solar cells for satellites

mPower Technology makes DragonSCALES, ultra-light and flexible silicon solar cells for space, and says they are deployed on nine satellites in orbit. The technology was originally developed at Sandia National Laboratories, where founder and CTO Murat Okandan worked for 16 years. mPower serves satellite constellations, lunar and deep space missions, space logistics and space-based solar power, and builds modules and assemblies with manufacturing partners in New York and the Netherlands. Its corporate headquarters is at 5901 Indian School Road NE in Albuquerque, with a regional office in Carlsbad, California.
Lesson for founders: mPower took a lab technology and found the one market, space, where light weight matters more than anything else. Pick the customer for whom your advantage is worth the most.

3. Sceye: platforms in the stratosphere

Sceye builds high-altitude platform systems (HAPS) that fly in the stratosphere for long periods, offering direct-to-phone connectivity and Earth observation such as wildfire and greenhouse gas monitoring. It was founded in 2014 by Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, and its about page says its headquarters is outside of Albuquerque, in Moriarty. On 3 November 2026 it announced a five-year agreement with SoftBank Corp. for a fleet of stratospheric platforms aimed at nationwide coverage in Japan, after test flights from New Mexico to Japan in September 2026. Its wildfire detection platform won in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas Awards.
Lesson for founders: Sceye proved its platform with a demanding partner before signing a long contract. One serious customer that tests your product in public is worth more than many pilots nobody hears about.
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4. Indica Labs: AI for pathologists

Indica Labs builds the HALO software suite for digital pathology, from image analysis for research to HALO AP Dx, an FDA-cleared platform for primary diagnosis. Its homepage says its software is deployed at all top 20 pharma companies and that it has employees in 12 countries. On 15 October 2026 it announced, with an Albuquerque dateline, a significant expansion of its partnership with the oncology diagnostics company NeoGenomics.
Lesson for founders: Indica Labs serves both drug researchers and clinical pathologists with one software suite. A research market can help fund the long road to a regulated diagnostic product.

5. Pajarito Powder: catalysts for the hydrogen economy

Pajarito Powder develops and manufactures catalysts for fuel cells and electrolyzers, including supported platinum catalysts, Engineered Catalyst Supports and an iridium oxide catalyst for PEM water electrolysis made at kilogram scale. On 1 October 2026 it announced from Albuquerque that it is increasing production capacity fourfold to supply a new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. It is a UNM startup: UNM Rainforest Innovations reported its $9.4 million investment in June 2021.
Lesson for founders: Pajarito sells an ingredient, not a finished product, so it grows when its customers' products launch. Selling picks and shovels into a new industry spreads your risk across many players.
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6. RS21: data science with a purpose

RS21 is a data science company that uses AI, data engineering, user experience design and software development to help organisations make decisions with data. It is an AWS Select Tier Services partner and describes itself as an Inc. 500 fastest-growing company and a Fast Company Best Workplace for Innovators. Its office is at 2100 Louisiana Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. The old article's claim that RS21 cut city inefficiencies by 30% had no source and is removed.
Lesson for founders: RS21 combines data science with design, so its tools are used by people who are not analysts. Insight only creates value when someone can act on it.

7. Hoonify Technologies: supercomputing without the year-long setup

Hoonify Technologies builds TurbOS, a full-stack platform for high-performance computing that runs simulation and AI workloads on premises, in a private cloud or in air-gapped facilities, and now sells fully managed sovereign AI infrastructure too. Victor Kuhns founded it in 2021 after 27 years as a supercomputing engineer with Cray Research and Sandia National Laboratories, and its about page says it is headquartered in Albuquerque. The old article described Hoonify as a low-code app builder that saves developers 40% of coding time; neither claim matches its own site.
Lesson for founders: Hoonify sells to teams that cannot send their data to a public cloud. Strict security rules shut out big vendors and open doors for specialists.

8. BioFlyte: detecting airborne threats in minutes

BioFlyte makes fieldable aerosol mass spectrometers, led by the BioTOF z200, that detect bacteria, spores, viruses, bio-toxins and fentanyl in the air within five minutes, without expensive reagents. Its site quotes Pittsburgh International Airport and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. In 2025 it announced a US Air Force SBIR Phase II contract, a Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and a partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Its own March 2023 press release, datelined Albuquerque, announced its move to a 5,300 square foot facility in the Sandia Science and Technology Park.
Lesson for founders: BioFlyte collects validation data from real airports and buildings and puts its customers' words on its homepage. In security, proof from a named user sells better than any spec sheet.

9. Breezy Med: disinfecting a room at the push of a button

Breezy Med, the trade name of Build With Robots, sells automated hydrogen peroxide fogging systems for whole-room disinfection, led by the Breezy Blue Dry Fogger, with Breezy Cloud tracking and its own disinfectants. Its site shows testimonials from Albuquerque Ambulance Service, Rio Rancho Fire Rescue, Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center, Houston's Hobby Airport and UNM Men's Basketball. Its address is 317 Commercial Street NE in Albuquerque.
Lesson for founders: Breezy Med's testimonials start close to home, from the city's ambulance service to the university basketball team, and reach as far as a Houston airport. Your home market can be your first case study.

10. NTx: RNA made on demand

NTx makes RNA, including mRNA and self-amplifying RNA, with an automated, cell-free, continuous-flow platform. Its NTxscribe system lets labs produce their own RNA on demand instead of outsourcing it, and it also sells single-use cartridges, reagents and services. Its contact page gives an address at 7701 Innovation Way NE in Rio Rancho, a city in the Albuquerque metro area.
Lesson for founders: NTx turns a service that labs used to buy from outside suppliers into a machine they can run themselves. Putting control back in the customer's hands is a strong selling point.
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Where Albuquerque Startups Get Support

  • UNM Rainforest Innovations: the University of New Mexico's technology transfer and startup office. Its Rainforest Accelerator runs two cohorts a year of up to 10 teams of UNM researchers, each receiving $3,000 to explore the market for a UNM technology, and it also runs the Cecchi VentureLab and a Pitch Deck Competition.
  • New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA): gives New Mexico small businesses free technical help from Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories. Its site says the labs have provided $80.6 million in technical assistance to 3,267 businesses since 2000. It does not give cash.
  • Sandia Science and Technology Park: a technology park of more than 300 acres next to Sandia and Kirtland Air Force Base, home to companies such as BioFlyte. Sandia also licenses its technology and signs research agreements with companies.
  • Los Alamos Feynman Center for Innovation: the lab's technology transfer office, with a technology engagement and entrepreneurship team that works with startups and investors.
  • New Mexico Economic Development Department: its Technology and Innovation Office runs a Science and Technology Business Startup Grant of $25,000 to $50,000 for early-stage New Mexico tech companies (applications closed when we checked) and an SBIR/STTR Matching Grant whose current round was set to close on 17 November 2026.
  • New Mexico Angels: the state's main angel group, which says its members have invested over $40 million in New Mexico companies since 1999.
  • FatPipe ABQ: coworking space in Albuquerque and the East Mountains, with daily and weekly rates and events.
  • Creative Startups: founded in Albuquerque as an accelerator for creative entrepreneurs, it now works mainly on creative economy strategy and programmes such as Libraries as Launchpads and an NM Climate Justice Program.
ABQid, the accelerator named in many older guides, no longer has a working website, so we left it out. Women founders can also look at the grants for female entrepreneurs in North America and the deep tech grants in North America in our guides.

What Changed Since the 2026 List

Six of the ten companies from the old list are gone from this edition, because we could not confirm them as Albuquerque startups that still operate:
  • Addmi: still operates, now as an event ticketing and point-of-sale platform, but its website gives no Albuquerque address.
  • Solstar Space Company: its contact page lists its headquarters in Santa Fe; only its product development lab is in Albuquerque.
  • BabyQuip: the baby gear rental marketplace still operates, but its terms of service give an address in Santa Fe.
  • WaveFront Dynamics: its website no longer loads.
  • Karoo Health: now works on value-based cardiology care for health systems and plans, and its site gives no Albuquerque address.
  • ADACEN: its site still shows an Albuquerque data centre address, but its newest date is 2024, and the old "$335 million in private funding" could not be confirmed.
  • Corrected descriptions: Hoonify builds high-performance computing and private AI platforms, not low-code tools; BioFlyte's FEMA and airline pilot claim could not be found on its site.
  • Statistics removed: the old figures "30%" for RS21, "20%" for Karoo Health, "40%" for Hoonify and Sceye's "four continents" had no source.

Which Albuquerque Startup Should You Learn From?

  • You are spinning out lab research: study mPower and Hoonify, both built by former Sandia engineers.
  • You sell to defense or government: study X-Bow, BioFlyte and RS21, and how they combine federal contracts with private customers.
  • You build hardware for space or the stratosphere: study mPower and Sceye, and how they proved their technology in flight.
  • You work in health or life sciences: study Indica Labs, NTx and Breezy Med.
  • You work in clean energy: study Pajarito Powder and its role as a supplier to fuel cell makers.

How Founders Use Albuquerque's Startup Scene

Most companies on this list raised money from outside New Mexico as they grew. If you are raising, compare the funds in our guides to early-stage VCs in North America and angel investor groups in North America, and look for prizes in the deep tech startup competitions in North America.
For this list's two big sectors, meet buyers and investors at the space tech startup events and the deep tech startup events. Comparing cities? Other scenes in our series are Oklahoma City startups to watch and, to the north, Boulder startups to watch.
Before you copy any of these business models, test them with real customers, and start marketing early: list your startup in the F/MS marketing directories, publish your startup press release, and write about your product with the F/MS AI SEO Tool or the AI SEO Blog so customers, investors and AI assistants can find you.

FAQ About Albuquerque Startups to Watch in 2027

Which Albuquerque startups should I watch in 2027?

Our verified list: X-Bow Systems, mPower Technology, Sceye, Indica Labs, Pajarito Powder, RS21, Hoonify Technologies, BioFlyte, Breezy Med and NTx. Each still operates and gives an Albuquerque-area address or dateline on its own website or in its own press release, checked in November 2026.

Which Albuquerque startups work in space?

X-Bow Systems makes solid rocket motors, mPower Technology makes solar cells for satellites, and Sceye builds stratospheric platforms near Albuquerque in Moriarty.

Which Albuquerque startup raised the most money?

Of the rounds the companies state themselves, X-Bow Systems' Series B of over $105 million is the largest. According to Washington Technology, Lockheed Martin led the round, announced in May 2025.

Which startups in Albuquerque came out of Sandia National Laboratories?

mPower's DragonSCALES solar cells were developed at Sandia, and Hoonify was founded by a former Sandia and Cray supercomputing engineer. BioFlyte is based in the Sandia Science and Technology Park.

Is Solstar Space an Albuquerque startup?

Solstar's contact page lists its headquarters in Santa Fe and a product development lab in Albuquerque, so it left this list.

Why did six companies from the old list disappear?

Their websites are gone, they are based in Santa Fe or elsewhere, or they show no recent activity. Details are in the "What changed" section above.

Where can startups get support in Albuquerque?

UNM Rainforest Innovations, the New Mexico Small Business Assistance programme with Sandia and Los Alamos, the Sandia Science and Technology Park, state technology grants from the Economic Development Department, New Mexico Angels and FatPipe ABQ.

Does New Mexico give grants to startups?

Yes. The Economic Development Department's Science and Technology Business Startup Grant awards $25,000 to $50,000 to early-stage tech companies headquartered in New Mexico, and an SBIR/STTR Matching Grant helps companies with federal research awards.

What can founders learn from Albuquerque startups?

Turn lab research into a product for the customer who values it most, find a supply gap in a critical industry, and prove your technology with demanding partners before you scale.

Where can I get a backlink by writing about my startup?

You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
2026-11-06 03:03 Best Startups