If you took top Trump officials, Silicon Valley elite, some of the world’s wealthiest investors and executives, and a whole bunch of defense tech founders and stuck them in a room, what would you get? The Hill and Valley Forum, apparently. Yesterday, as budget negotiations continued overhead, tech and policy big guns (pun intended) gathered […]
The drone companies are joining forces, and fast. On Friday, Israeli-American hydrogen-powered drone company Heven said it had acquired Zepher Flight Labs, which makes vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone systems, as well as hydrogen drones. “Zepher brings deep expertise in lightweight airframes, avionics, and modular payload integration—all of which enhance Heven’s mission of building […]
The future is here, apparently, and it’s electric. On Tuesday, aircraft company Electra announced a $115M Series B, led by Prysm Capital. Jay Park, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Prysm, has also joined Electra’s board of directors. Marc Allen, CEO of Electra, told Tectonic that the money will help the company work toward pre-production and […]
Looks like Astro Mechanica is really speeding things up. This morning, the supersonic engine and aircraft manufacturing company announced that it has raised $27.1M in funding, co-led by a16z, Lowercarbon, and Giant Step, with significant participation from Alumni and Voyager. Astro Mechanica CEO Ian Brooke told Tectonic in an exclusive interview that the funding will […]
Looks like Saronic really is trying to build the shipyard of the future. Yesterday, the unmanned surface vessel (USV) company and 8VC darling announced that it’s acquired Gulf Craft, a shipbuilder on the Louisiana coast. The company also unveiled a new 150-foot medium USV (MUSV) called Marauder, which will be prototyped out of Gulf Craft’s […]
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Maritime autonomy is all the rage. Late last week, autonomous shipbuilder Blue Water Autonomy emerged from stealth and announced $14M in seed funding led by Eclipse, Riot, and Impatient Ventures. The company is building a larger-profile, fully autonomous warship for the US Navy that can stay […]
Many of the hardest things about warfare are the things that seem the simplest. Like getting the right supplies to the right place at the right time. It’s super tough to know what fighters need and to get it to them before it’s too late, especially in far-flung places like the Indo-Pacific. (US military leaders […]
The manufacturing hype continues. On Tuesday, serial entrepreneur Jai Malik and former SpaceX engineering lead Eli Giovanetti launched The Advanced Manufacturing Company of America, or Amca, which they say will better build the “human-machine interface products.” Those are things like sensors, power units, and flight-control computers that enable a person to run something like an […]
Big week for C-UAS systems. Yesterday, directed energy weapons company Epirus announced a $250M Series D, led by 8VC and Washington Harbour Partners LP. CEO Andy Lowery told Tectonic that the funding will be used to ramp up production of the company’s Leonidas™ system and build a facility in Oklahoma that would enable the company […]
Let’s play a game. What company is less than three years old, builds unmanned vessels, and is worth $4B? Saronic, as it turns out. The Texas-based USV company announced today that it has raised a $600M Series C, quadrupling its valuation from last summer. The round was led by Elad Gil, with participation from General […]
