TEMPE, Ariz., Sept. 8, 2025 Startup Central, Inc., the nation’s first fully integrated startup manufacturing hub and technical venture accelerator, today announced the expansion of its engineering team.

Startup Central is designed to equip builders with tools, space, and systems to take hardware from prototype to production; combining communal prototyping areas, private industrial suites, and amenities for growing teams. The new Tempe site is strategically positioned to scale alongside Arizona’s manufacturing and defense innovation corridors.

In preparation for its launch, Startup Central has strengthened its technical capabilities with the addition of five key engineering hires:

Dr. Badri Tiwari – R & D expert and principal product electrical engineer with deep semiconductor, RF and photonics expertise from Intel Corporation and onsemi, and a passion for physics and AI model development.
Norbu Snow-Shiva – Technical product manager and senior software developer with a track record at Equinix and Amazon, specializing in leading teams using agile development and building enterprise products that scale to millions of customers.
Duke Jones – Senior software engineer and privacy expert with past roles at Sony, Amazon and PGP Corporation, most recently Head of Blockchain at Good Money.
Cody Brown – Mechanical engineer with extensive manufacturing and product design experience, and a deep passion for automation and robotics.
Andrew Deros – Mechanical engineer with a strong background in prototyping and industrial product design, from ASU’s award-winning Luminosity Lab.

CEO Blake Spurgin added:
“This team represents the very best of engineering and product development. Their combined knowledge and industry experience will be a massive asset to the entrepreneurs who will be building the future right here in Arizona. By pairing this level of engineering expertise with our state-of-the-art facility, we will truly reindustrialize America.”

Memberships, leasing inquiries, and apprenticeship applications are now open. Interested founders, engineers, and product developers can learn more at www.startupcentral.build, or follow @startupcentral.build on Instagram,@1startupcentral on X, and Startup Central on Linkedin.

About Startup Central, Inc.
Startup Central is the nation’s first fully integrated startup manufacturing hub and technical venture accelerator, dedicated to reindustrializing America by providing hard-tech entrepreneurs with the tools, space, systems, and expertise to take hardware from prototype to production.

Media Contact:
Mary Elizabeth Elkordy
[email protected]