Draft v6
Buildmo / R&D & academia

Great research dies at TRL 3. Yours doesn't have to.

We partner with universities, research institutes, national labs, and corporate R&D teams. You bring a proof of concept. We turn it into tested hardware and a path to the customer who funds the next step.

R&D 01 / The ladder

Where we take you on the TRL scale

Getting from proof of concept to a tested prototype takes a shop, engineers, and access to the field. Labs are not built for that. We are.

1Basic principles
2Concept formed
3Proof of concept
4Lab validated
5Relevant environment
6Prototype demo

Say you arrive at TRL 3 with a bench-top proof of concept, a paper, or a patent. We turn it into real hardware. We test it in the lab (TRL 4), then in a realistic setting like the range or the field (TRL 5). Then we demonstrate a working prototype to the people who matter (TRL 6).

From there we hand off: demos for end users and defense customers, manufacturing partners from our network, or your own path to market. You get documentation, test data, and trained operators.

SDR and electronics bench in the Buildmo lab
FIG · SDR bench, integration pass
You bring
TRL 2–4 research — paper, patent, or bench-top proof
We build
TRL 4–6 hardware — engineered, ruggedized, demo-ready
Validation
Relevant-environment testing — shop, range, flight, and field access
Exit
Transition path — end-user demos, defense customers, manufacturing partners
R&D 02 / Who we work with

Built for the missing middle

Research institutions are built to discover. Programs of record are built to buy. We're built for everything in between.

Partner 01

Universities & academic labs

Your grad students proved it works. We make it work outside the lab and put it in front of the sponsors who fund the next phase.

Partner 02

Applied research institutes & FFRDCs

We are the build-and-field arm for institutes moving government-funded research toward real use. Prototyping, integration, and end-user demos on real timelines.

Partner 03

National labs & corporate R&D

Deep science and long timelines often leave good projects sitting on the shelf. We turn selected ones into working hardware fast enough to matter.

R&D 03 / Why it works

The shop, the operators, the customer

Asset 1 / The shop

Full fabrication under one roof

3D printing, CNC, welding, an electronics and radio lab, and flight testing. The distance from CAD to hardware is a walk across the floor.

Asset 2 / The operators

Field reality on staff

Engineers who deploy. Your technology gets tested against the environment it's actually for, not a conference demo.

Asset 3 / The customer

A decade of end-user trust

More than 8,500 trained operators and defense customers on four continents. The exact audience your demo needs in the room.

R&D 04 / Beyond the prototype

Commercialization support, built in

A working prototype is not a transition. Someone still has to sell it. We help your technology leave the building, so your lab does not have to become a marketing shop.

Demo media
Video and photography of your system doing its job in a real environment — the asset every sponsor briefing needs
Market development
Use-case expansion and market research through our defense and industry networks — including applications your team hasn't considered
Collateral
Spec sheets, one-pagers, and briefing decks written for the program office, not the journal
Customer access
Demos in front of end users — the operators and program offices we've spent a decade building trust with

Send us your TRL 3.

Tell us what the research does, where it's stuck, and who needs to see it working. We'll come back with a maturation plan and a timeline.

Start the conversation