Well, seems the Europeans are getting super serious about investing in their defense. Yesterday, Sifted reported that Earlybird Ventures is teaming up with Paris-based AVP (the artist formerly known as AXA Venture Partners) to raise a €500M fund focused on defense. The reported raise comes just a few weeks after Earlybird announced that it’s closed […]
Compute is, like, so hot right now. Yesterday, teeny-tiny startup Anduril (they’ve had like, no news lately) unveiled the Voyager Gateway 1, a new “rugged, body-worn compute and communications system designed to fit within an operator’s kit.” The idea is to bring compute allll the way to the front without the heat and discomfort of […]
Well, a drone with the same name as some dude you hung out with in college is getting a buzzy upgrade. Yesterday, autonomy giant Shield AI announced that it’s been tapped by the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW R&E) to build its Hivemind autonomy software onto LUCAS—the Low-Cost […]
If you thought the dudes over at Anduril were done reimagining what the word “drone” can mean, think again. On Friday, the UK subsidiary of the not-so-little defense company announced that it’s officially been downselected for the British Army’s Project Nyx—the MoD’s effort to build an autonomous loyal wingman for Apache helicopters. “We think Nyx […]
You know what sucks? When you think you’ve got a drone flying good and straight over a target, but then it turns out you’re like, super off base. Well, luckily, one prime-new kid on the block partnership is here to help. This morning, Vantor (the artist formerly known as Maxar) announced that it’s teaming up […]
Well, so much for the defense tech bubble popping. This morning, defense tech giant Anduril announced that it’s raised a $5B—yes, billion with a B—Series H at a $61B valuation led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The round brings total funding raised by the megalith to over $11B over eight rounds. “Investors have […]
Well, looks like Saildrone’s $37M BPA from last summer is getting put to good use. Yesterday, the sailboat-drone company announced that it’s won a $15.5M contract with the US Coast Guard (USCG) to deploy 16 Saildrone Voyager vessels in the Great Lakes and off the US Northeast coast. “We’re augmenting the Coast Guard because they’ve […]
Well, folks, we’re starting the week off with a bang. (Forgive us.) This morning, munitions startup Heaviside came out of stealth with a $28M Series A in an exclusive release to Tectonic. The round was led by Interlagos Capital with participation from Menlo Ventures, Flume Ventures, Cantos Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Frank Finelli (senior advisor and […]
So, the fun thing about defense tech is that no matter how shiny, or fast, or go-boom it is, it doesn’t mean a whole lot if it doesn’t work hand in hand with everything else on the battlefield. Luckily, at least one service seems to be tackling the whole “make sure this stuff works when […]
Well, if anyone thought the software hype era was over, think again. In case you missed it, on Wednesday, the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) increased its enterprise agreement with AI integration and training giant Scale AI from $100M to $500M, supporting “the Department’s strategic imperative to accelerate the adoption of data, […]
