A chance meeting of two young immigrants fueled not only a lifelong friendship, but a deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit. 

Oleksandr Gorpynich and Matan Kedar immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine and Israel, respectively, as 10-year-olds. They met in middle school and bonded over their shared backgrounds and passion for science and technology. 

As they began exploring the world of innovation together, they discovered a challenge that both of their home countries faced: drone identification on the battlefield. This realization led to the creation of Skymark Systems. 

Skymark Systems is developing a handheld device that helps soldiers determine whether a drone is friendly or foe. By using advanced radio frequency technology and military-grade encryption, their device can accurately identify small and medium-sized drones in real time, addressing a critical need in modern warfare. 

The idea for their startup was born out of Gorpynich and Kedar’s personal experiences and deep understanding of the conflicts in their home countries. 

“We looked into the wars in both of our homes and discovered that soldiers often can’t identify drones. We believed we could engineer something to fix this,” Kedar explained. 

Gorpynich and Kedar’s unique backgrounds have proven invaluable to their startup’s development, they said. 

“We’re already talking to soldiers on the ground through our connections about the prototype. Ultimately, this will tell us if the tool is useful,” Gorpynich said. 

Their internal connections have played a significant role in Skymark’s progress, but equally critical is the wide variety of skills each team member brings to the table. 

Kedar, a computer engineering junior at San Jose State University, serves as the CEO of Skymark Systems. Before this, he spent a year and a half working in embedded systems for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 

Gorpynich, a computer science junior at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), is the CTO of Skymark Systems and brings over a year of experience as a software engineer for Amazon. 

Joining Gorpynich and Kedar is Vasanth Pugalenthi, a computer science junior at Cal Poly who works as Skymark’s Business Lead.

Pugalenthi has founded several apps, worked as a software developer on various projects and is currently a generative artificial intelligence (AI) intern for Ryght. 

“I decided to join Skymark because I believe in the team and their vision. They are committed to making this happen,” Pugalenthi said. “It ensures that they aren’t going to give up; to me, the team is more important than the idea.” 

The team recognized that they needed more resources to bring Skymark to life, which led them to apply for the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) Summer Accelerator program, an intensive 12-week program that provides Cal Poly students and recent graduates with the resources necessary to turn their innovative ideas into full-fledged startups. 

Participants receive $10,000 in seed funding, as well as access to expert mentorship, entrepreneurial workshops and a dedicated workspace in the HotHouse, the CIE’s office located in downtown San Luis Obispo.

“We realized we desperately needed the resources to get a working prototype that we can ship to people,” Gorpynich said. “I talked to a few previous participants who also encouraged us to apply.” 

According to the U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Michael Pruden, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been mistakenly shooting down nearly half of their own drones — a problem that Skymark aims to solve with their innovative technology.  

“There are currently some existing solutions to the problem we are tackling, but none of them, at least how we look at it, look as good as ours,” Kedar explained. “We have patent-pending status on both of our devices, and we believe what makes us special is the device, the solution and our team.”

Skymark is set to begin testing their product in Ukraine. Eventually, they hope to make their device universal and integrable for potential sale to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). 

From their shared history of immigration to their collaboration as startup founders, Gorpynich and Kedar are using their skills to address a critical issue close to home.