A Launchpad to Careers in Space and Semiconductor Manufacturing

MAVIS transforms untapped talent into credentialed advanced manufacturing professionals.

The MAVIS Foundation builds career connected credential pathways that prepare high school students and transitioning veterans for high demand careers in advanced manufacturing across the Texas Triangle.

See How the Pipeline Works For Schools and Districts
68%
of Texas high school graduates do not earn a postsecondary credential of any kind within six years.
THECB 8th Grade Cohort Data
70%
of Texas jobs will require a postsecondary credential.
Texas 2036
$40B+
invested in semiconductor manufacturing at Samsung Taylor, creating an estimated 21,500 jobs in our region.
Samsung Austin Semiconductor

Our pilot cohort launches with the class of 2027. The pathway is built. The partners are at the table. The students are next.

The Gap

Texas is building the future of manufacturing. Most of our students cannot reach it.

Students in a manufacturing lab

Aerospace and semiconductor manufacturing are booming across the Texas Triangle, yet only 32% of Texas high school graduates earn a postsecondary credential within six years, while 70% of Texas jobs will require one. That gap should not determine the ceiling of a student's career, but the ceiling is real.

A student who goes straight from the classroom to the shop floor without credentials hits that ceiling fast. As AI is incorporated into manufacturing, entry level work without upskilling will not provide a good living. Employers feel the same gap from the other side: high demand roles going unfilled while an experienced workforce transitions out.

MAVIS closes the gap from both ends, giving students industry recognized credentials before they graduate and giving employers the skilled workforce they urgently need.

68%

of Texas high school graduates do not earn a postsecondary credential of any kind within six years.

THECB 8th Grade Cohort Data
$35,980$51,180

Median wage for credentialed semiconductor processing technicians versus entry level. Credentials change the trajectory.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024
Spark to Credential to Career

One pipeline, from first spark to first paycheck and beyond.

We build a sustainable talent pipeline that meets students where they are and keeps rising with them, from first spark through credential to career.

Grades 5 to 8

Spark

Students discover what advanced manufacturing careers look like, and that these careers are within their reach.

Grades 9 to 10

Awareness

Students build early exposure to career and technical education pathways aligned to the TEA Manufacturing program of study.

Grades 11 to 12

CTE Pathway

Dual credit coursework with our academic partners connects classroom learning to a direct industry internship after 11th grade, and students earn industry recognized credentials before graduation, at no cost to their families.

After Graduation

Career and Upskilling

Graduates bridge into high demand roles, with our academic partners carrying them into continued upskilling on a path that keeps rising.

Our pilot pathway is built as a replicable model for communities across the Texas Triangle. Districts supply the students, our academic partners deliver the credential, employers open the door, and MAVIS connects all three. The same pipeline architecture extends to transitioning veterans entering through accelerated credential tracks.

Who We Serve

Two doors into one rising pathway.

High school students working with circuit boards in a MAVIS Foundation classroom Transitioning veteran in advanced manufacturing

High School Students

Every student deserves an answer to the question that follows graduation: now what? MAVIS removes the cost barrier so students graduate with credentials in hand, careers in sight, and genuine excitement about their future.

Transitioning Veterans

Veterans leave service with discipline, technical aptitude, and leadership. MAVIS gives them a new mission: powering the aerospace and semiconductor industries driving Texas's manufacturing future, backed by industry recognized credentials and employers who are actively hiring.

For Districts and Academic Partners

Where your institution plugs into the pipeline.

Districts and academic partners keep doing what they do best. MAVIS is the implementation partner that connects the classroom to the credential to the employer, across the Texas Triangle.

School Districts

Credentials your students earn before they walk the stage.

MAVIS brings career awareness into your middle schools and industry recognized credentials into your CTE pathways, aligned to the TEA Manufacturing program of study. Students graduate with credentials in hand at no cost to their families, and your district earns College, Career, and Military Readiness credit for outcomes those students were already capable of reaching.

Bring MAVIS to Your District →
Academic Partners

A prepared pipeline, delivered to your door.

Community and technical colleges deliver the credential. MAVIS delivers the students, the employer connections, and the support that keeps them enrolled through completion. That means a steady enrollment pipeline into your high demand programs and completion outcomes that count where your funding is measured.

Explore a Partnership →
Hosted by MAVIS • September 2, 2026 • Q Branch, Austin

Texas to Orbit: A Space and Semiconductor Manufacturing Forum

MAVIS convened industry leaders, educators, and the regional workforce community for a day focused on the technologies and the talent powering manufacturing in space.

The room included Dr. Tom Markusic of Firefly Aerospace and Frontera Space, former International Space Station commander Tim Kopra of Voyager Technologies, Troy Eastin of Ad Astra Rocket Company, Matt Ondler of Aegis Aerospace, Dr. Paul Allison of Baylor University, COL Jon Strizzi of the United States Space Force, and leaders from the Texas Space Commission and the Texas CHIPS Office.

Convening the people who are hiring is how MAVIS keeps the pipeline pointed at real jobs. The next forum is already taking shape.

Partner on What Comes Next
Panel discussion at the Texas to Orbit forum, Q Branch, Austin
Texas to Orbit, Q Branch, Austin, September 2, 2026
Students on stage at the Texas to Orbit forum Panel discussion on aerospace manufacturing at the Texas to Orbit forum Speaker presenting on the skilled technical workforce gap
Our Partners

Employers and institutions building this pipeline with us.

MAVIS partners with employers, academic institutions, and financial partners across the Texas Triangle to connect students directly to the industry that will hire them.

ASSET Solutions, Inc.
Precision Manufacturing Partner
Citizens National Bank
Financial Partner
ProShop
Industry Partner
Governance

Board of Directors

Practitioners from the shop floor, the flight line, and the classroom, governing MAVIS with the same discipline the industry demands.

Nikki Krishnadatt
Nikki Krishnadatt, MBA
Executive Director, Non Voting
Business development leader with over two decades in semiconductor manufacturing and space industry collaboration, founder of The MAVIS Foundation.
Curt Schoen
Curt Schoen
Vice President • Director of R&D and Operations, ASSET Solutions, Inc.
Engineering and operations executive with over two decades in mechanical design, automotive safety, and industrial manufacturing.
Phil DePrado
Phil DePrado
Treasurer • Retired Semiconductor Engineer
Over 40 years of semiconductor manufacturing experience, beginning at IBM where he earned a patent for thick film deposition.
Karl Yoder
Karl Yoder
Secretary
Direct semiconductor industry experience and insight into the hiring needs, credential requirements, and workforce standards of advanced manufacturing.
Eric McManus
Eric McManus
Board Member • Founder, Texas Space Alliance
Leader with over 20 years across military, defense and space, product development, and entrepreneurship.
Ryan Gupta
Ryan Gupta, Ph.D.
Board Member • Program Operations and Applications Lead, AIVE Systems
Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, working in the autonomous drone space.
Robert Quinn
Robert Quinn
Board Member • CEO, QuinnsMedia • Semiconductor Industry Ambassador
The Semiconductor Industry Ambassador on LinkedIn, reaching over 12 million semiconductor professionals annually.
Matt Achimon
Matt Achimon
Board Member • Texas Instruments
Bio coming soon.
Get Involved

Three ways to give students and veterans direct access to industry.

Volunteer

Support MAVIS events, lab days, and our industry forums. Volunteers help run activities, greet students and families, and keep the pipeline moving on the ground.

Sign Up to Volunteer →

Become a Mentor

Industry professionals guide a student or transitioning veteran through the credential pathway, offering real world insight from the shop floor and the flight line.

Apply to Mentor →

Join the Advisory Board

Industry and academic leaders shape MAVIS strategy, credential standards, and employer alignment as members of the MAVIS Advisory Board.

Learn More →
Nikki Krishnadatt, Founder
From the Floor Up

Built by someone who has done the work.

MAVIS was founded by Nikki Krishnadatt, who brings over two decades of semiconductor manufacturing and space industry experience through her leadership at ASSET Solutions, Inc., a precision manufacturing company serving aerospace and semiconductor customers.

That experience shapes everything about how MAVIS works: the credentials we anchor to are the ones employers actually hire against, the pathways we build reflect how the industry really promotes, and the partnerships we form put students in front of the people doing the hiring.

We envision a future where the students of the Texas Triangle do not watch the manufacturing boom from the outside. They power it.

Texas to Orbit Campaign

The Hands That Will Build the Future

For many students, what stands between high school and a high demand career is not ability. It is cost. MAVIS removes that barrier so students graduate with industry recognized credentials already earned, and walk straight into the aerospace and semiconductor companies hiring across the Texas Triangle.

Entry level semiconductor processing work pays $35,980. A credentialed technician earns a median of $51,180. Your gift is what carries a student across that line, and it follows them for the rest of their career.

Support the Movement
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The MAVIS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Partner With Us

We are building the hands of the future. Build them with us.

The pipeline is being built now. Whether you lead a district, run a production floor, or fund workforce innovation, there is a place for you in this mission.

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