Tesseract earns $1.25M contract to help Space Force, military ‘predict the future’

April 19, 2023  |  Startland News Staff

Industry-defining tools built by Kansas City’s Tesseract Ventures will help the U.S. Space Force accurately track machines, people and objects on base, and create a clearer understanding of launch conditions through next generation data visualization, said John Boucard.

John Boucard, Tesseract Ventures

Tesseract announced Tuesday that the company has been awarded a direct-to-Phase II Small Business Innovation (SBIR) contract by the Space Force through AFWERX. The $1,250,000 contract is designated for research and development at Space Launch Delta 45 at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, and at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

“At Tesseract Ventures, we are driven by a sense of duty and purpose to make a positive impact on the world through the development and deployment of cutting-edge technology — for exactly the right customer at exactly the right time,” said Boucard. “Our SBIR Phase 2 relationship with the United States Space Force is an incredible opportunity to leverage our innovation studio, For All Kind, to accelerate the development of advanced 21st century wearable robotics, data visualization in all dimensions, and digital twin technology. It is an honor to be part of this contract.”

RELATED: Tesseract deepens military ties with deal to develop smart space hub for US Air Force

Under the newly announced contract, Tesseract will further develop its Tesseract Smart Space, Prism hardware and Mosaic software to create a multi-dimensional common operating picture of the launch environment.

Click here to learn more about Tesseract Ventures’ technology and its portfolio of genre-smashing, industry-crossing studios.

Tesseract Venture’s PRISM technology

Prism’s real time location tracking hardware works with Mosaic’s data analysis software to collect and parse data from across the spaceport, detailed Boucard. These work to track inventory, equipment status, staff locations, environmental conditions and much more. This information can then be used to visualize a digital twin of objects such as rockets, or the entire space port. Armed with a data-enhanced picture that can be viewed from multiple vantage points in the Tesseract Smart Space, teams will get up-to-the-minute insights into a vast array of conditions that can enhance safety, increase efficiency and produce better outcomes.

Tesseract was founded in 2018 by John Boucard, a veteran inventor, engineer and technologist. It was named one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020 — later becoming a go-to tech powerhouse for military and national security applications.

The company — which now splits bases of operations between Overland Park, Kansas, and Tampa, Florida — enables businesses to defy the boundaries of space and time through next-generation technologies. Robots, smart spaces, wearables and radically connected platforms are just some of the tools created by Tesseract in its mission to make industries smarter, better connected and more efficient.

RELATED: Tesseract taps into KC’s sticky innovation culture with homegrown partnership to build IoT tools

Tagged , , ,
Featured Business
    Featured Founder
      [adinserter block="4"]

      2023 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        Chocolate maker (and coffee roaster) earns bean-to-bar accolades from his Grandview base

        By Tommy Felts | September 3, 2025

        Kansas City has plenty of confectioners, but it’s rare to find true bean-to-bar work, Mike King said. That distinction makes Encore Coffee and Chocolate’s process both resourceful and extraordinary. “There’s only a few of us that are making our own chocolate,” said King, founder of Grandview-built Encore Coffee and Chocolate. “I consider myself a chocolate…

        E-Scholars rebrands, extending Regnier legacy deeper into influential UMKC accelerator

        By Tommy Felts | September 3, 2025

        E-Scholars — the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s flagship accelerator program — isn’t going anywhere, Alex Matlack shared, but it is getting a rebrand. After listening to feedback from alumni, mentors, and community members, the program formally known as Entrepreneurship Scholars is now the Regnier Venture Accelerator, joining the likes of the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge…

        Plaza-based beauty influencer draws upon her own experience to launch signature brow line

        By Tommy Felts | September 3, 2025

        Bella Jimenez built a real-life following in the local beauty industry, perfecting brows across Kansas City for eight years (four on the Country Club Plaza). But with that influence, she realized, came a responsibility to be authentic and honest about brands — ultimately creating her own line of brow products. “I wanted a professional line from…

        KC Bier Co’s immersive biergarten set to open in Lenexa before thirsty World Cup visitors arrive

        By Tommy Felts | August 30, 2025

        A popular Kansas City brewery officially broke ground Friday on a highly anticipated, border-hopping expansion that will bring one of the nation’s largest authentic Bavarian-style biergartens to Johnson County. “This project has been a long time coming,” said Camille Christie, Vice President of Development and Leasing at West Star Development, which is adding KC Bier…