Istari

Istari Digital, founded in 2022 by CEO Dr. Will Roper and CTO Chris Benson, operates as a digital engineering software company with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The firm is developing a platform to create an "engineering metaverse," where technologies can be designed, tested, and certified entirely through modeling and simulation. This approach aims to reduce the time, cost, and environmental impact associated with traditional physical prototyping.

The company's vision is rooted in the founders' direct experiences with the complexities of integrating digital systems. Dr. Roper previously served as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, where he championed digital transformation, while Benson is a digital engineering expert with a Ph.D. from MIT. Their goal is to replicate the agility of software development for physical hardware by creating a collaborative, model-based environment. Istari's platform facilitates the creation of "digital threads," which are integrated, authoritative digital models that connect every aspect of a system's lifecycle.

Istari targets a range of industries, including aerospace, defense, and agriculture, enabling them to turn physical assets into digital twins for virtualized testing and development. The business model appears to be centered on providing this specialized platform and its associated services to both government and commercial clients. A significant milestone was a $19.1 million contract awarded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in September 2023 for the "Flyer Øne" program. This project aims to achieve the world's first airworthiness certification for an aircraft using purely digital engineering methods, demonstrating the platform's capabilities. More recently, the company received a $15 million AFWERX contract to connect models and simulations across the Air Force.

Financially, Istari is venture-backed, having emerged from stealth mode in February 2023 after raising a $13 million seed round from investors including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The company has since secured a total of $40 million over two funding rounds, including a Series A round of approximately $27 million. This capital is intended to accelerate technology development, expand its team, and broaden its market reach. Keywords: digital twin, engineering metaverse, digital engineering, modeling and simulation, Will Roper, digital thread, aerospace, defense systems, virtual certification, Industry 4.0, simulation software, model-based engineering, physical systems collaboration, hardware development, Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX, Chris Benson, virtual prototyping, systems engineering, defense technology, autonomous systems