Strayos, a company that provides below-the-surface information for mining and construction companies, claimed the $1 million grand prize in Wednesday's 43North business plan competition.

Strayos will move its headquarters to Buffalo from St. Louis, Mo.

The business was likened to Google Maps for below the surface – using technology and imagery to create safer work sites where drilling or blasting is involved.

The founder, Ravi Sahu, said his company will apply the $1 million prize toward hiring more people, including geoscience engineers, to scale up sales and marketing and accelerate the company's growth around the country.

The company will relocate most of its eight employees here, and plans to hire 12 more people, he said.

"What it means personally and for my team is that what we are doing is impacting in not only in the current industry, but there is a future where this technology can lead to," Sahu said. The company has about 40 customers in eight countries, including civil engineering, mining, drilling and excavation companies.

One of the judges, Marissa Campise, said the judges were impressed with the technical solution Strayos presented – providing for safety on job sites – and the Buffalo tie-in he laid out.