KANA SYSTEMS ‘MAKES THINGS

Named for a legendary Hawaiian god who “makes things happen,” Kana Systems is headquartered in Lincoln and led by founder and CEO Mailani Veney. “We were recruited by the DoD in 2019 to help modernize nuclear weapons technology at Offutt Air Force Base using artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) solutions,” she says.

“Since then, we’ve developed our technology niche in empowering trusted decision-making through state-of-the-art data and software engineering,” Veney says. “And, we have been profitable since our first year.”

Kana Systems, which holds a Top Secret clearance, has formed several partnerships including with the U.S. Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), the Nuclear C3 (Command, Control and Communications) Enterprise Center, the Department of the Air Force Digital Transformation Office, USSTRATCOM, and the Nebraska Defense Research Corporation. The company provides data management, digital transformation of legacy data into AIready workflows to automate and improve existing processes, data-driven decision support, and real-time data streaming.

Veney, who also founded Startup Nebraska, has experience as an entrepreneur since her youth in Honolulu. She and her brother bought items from the commissary on the military base where her father was stationed and sold them to fellow passengers on the 40-minute ferry ride they had to take across Pearl Harbor to get to school every day.

Veney brought her “aloha spirit” and her spirit of entrepreneurship to Nebraska when she relocated with her husband and family to Lincoln.

She began Kana Systems as Nebraska’s first Platform One-trained company, delivering solutions to military and government customers using a DevSecOps (development, security, and operations) approach. Created as a Department of Defense team, Platform One is the official DevSecOps Enterprise Services team that builds and secures technology tools across the military.

Most recently, Kana Systems joined the Nebraska Defense Research Corporation (NDRC) and its Research, Engineering, and Architecture Collaboration Hub (REACH) Alliance. According to its website, the NRDC is “a bridge of trust between government, industry, and academia to support and promote technology discovery, facilitate knowledge transfer, and accelerate the transfer of command, control, and communications capabilities to customer operations.”

“NDRC is the ecosystem that brings together entities in support of the U.S. nuclear initiative,” Veney says. “Billions of dollars pass through Offutt Air Force Base, but only a small percentage goes to Nebraska businesses. We are helping to advance national security imperatives while strengthening Nebraska economic development.”

“We are stronger when we work together in an ecosystem,” she says. “Like we say in Hawaiian, “A`ohe hana nui ke alu`ia – No work is too big when shared by all.”

Kana Systems reflects those economic development efforts in several ways, Veney says. “The average age of our employees is 27,” she says. “Most are originally from

Nebraska, and the two we hired from out of state have moved here. We are working to keep very in-demand talent in the state.

“I am passionate about digital transformation issues and making this a hub for government defense entities, much like Colorado Springs and Ogden, Utah.”

Veney became aware of the Nebraska Business Development Center and its services through NBDC Executive Director Catherine Lang and their mutual membership in Downtown Lincoln Rotary Club #14, where Veney serves as past president of the organization.

She and Kana Systems staff have worked with NBDC Consultant Quentin Farley to obtain and maintain the federal registrations required for their initial Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant with the Air Force, one of three SBIRs Kana Systems received in its first year.

Farley also helped Veney and her team to achieve the Small Business Administration (SBA) Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) certification and continues to reach out for assistance with BidMatch and SBIR applications. The company, which also has MinorityOwned Small Business certification, has earned nearly $10 million in revenue since 2019.

“NBDC has been crucial in helping us navigate the processes,” Veney says. “We could not have accomplished the fast wins for our government and our company without the NBDC team.”

Veney’s team was honored by being named Government Contractor of the Year. Chris Burma says, “The award has given our team an incredible amount of validation.” Jimmy Erickson says, “To see our efforts recognized is so inspiring and helps us know we’re going in the right direction.” Andrew Monroe says, “At Kana Systems we are dedicated to bringing innovation and data excellence to DoD users and organizations. It’s awesome to see that our hard work is garnering additional recognition.”