It never hurts to have a few well-connected friends, especially one with a key to the White House. Late last week, Donald Trump Jr.-backed drone and drone component company Unusual Machines ($UMAC) announced that it has won a contract to supply the Army with 3,500 drone motors and other components. Business as (un)usual. Built different: […]
Shield AI’s been teasing a big upgrade to its catalog for a while, and we now know what the hype was all about. At a buzzy and smoke machine-heavy unveiling in DC on Tuesday night, Shield AI introduced the world to the X-BAT: A long-range, jet-powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) autonomous fighter jet. As […]
If you thought startups were running out of Lord of the Rings-themed names, think again. Last week, a startup called Valinor—led by former Palantir exec Julie Bush—emerged from stealth with guns blazing and a clear mission: to build the ultra-necessary “picks and shovels” of defense tech, rather than chasing flashier “moonshots.” We love a little […]
The small unmanned surface vessel (sUSV) scene may be pretty crowded, but Seasats is still diving right in. On Monday, the San Diego-based startup launched its second USV offering: A bigger, speedier sibling of its flagship Lightfish vessel called the Quickfish, which was unveiled at a recent Navy exercise in California. Gone fishing: Seasats’ first […]
It’s been a big week for everyone’s favorite defense tech darling. Just days after Anduril launched their buzzy AI-powered EagleEye helmet display for the Army, the service announced Wednesday that the company has won a DIU competition for a new counter-drone fire control solution. NGC2 concerns aside, it sure seems like Anduril’s still in good […]
Maritime autonomy on the surface has had its time in the sun—a startup out of this year’s Y Combinator class is taking the hype underwater. In an exclusive release to Tectonic, Albacore, a Philadelphia-based startup making long-range unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), announced it has raised a $6.5M seed round led by Outlander VC with participation […]
The great transatlantic team-up continues. On Tuesday, counter-drone big dog, Dedrone by Axon, and German startup TYTAN announced a partnership integrating Dedrone’s sensors and detection tech onto TYTAN’s autonomous Group 3 drone interceptors. Shoot ‘em down: Dedrone, which was snapped up by public safety tech company Axon (the Taser-maker) last year, is an OG in […]
Well, the defense tech money tap isn’t showing any signs of shutting off. On Friday, defense acquisition and sustainment software company Govini reported some pretty eye-watering numbers: They’ve officially raised $150M in new funding and reported $100M in annual recurring revenue (ARR) this fiscal year at a valuation of over $1B. Looks like the defense […]
Autonomous ATV? Cute. Autonomous ATV with Anduril sensors, electronic warfare capabilities, and a supporting drone? That’s a whole different ball game—and Overland AI just proved it’s possible. Today, in an exclusive release to Tectonic, the ground autonomy company announced that it teamed up with Anduril to successfully demo a version of Overland AI’s ULTRA autonomous […]
Looks like the prime-startup love-fest is in full swing. This morning, directed energy c-UAS startup Epirus announced that it’s teaming up with General Dynamics Land Systems to build a mobile, counter-drone robotic ground vehicle. The RGV will be equipped with Epirus’ signature Leonidas system, and will be called the Leonidas Autonomous Robotic (AR). A full […]
