Investment

HavocAI Raises $85M to Scale 

Remember when we said maritime autonomy is all the rage? Well, some heavy-hitting investors have just proved our point.  Yesterday, USV company HavocAI announced that they’ve raised $85M in new capital from B Capital, In-Q-Tel, Lockheed Martin, Hanwha, Taiwania, Vanderbilt University, Up Partners, Island Green Capital, and Zero Infinity Partners—all new investors. Scout Ventures and […]

Investment

Exclusive: Forterra Acquires goTenna

Remember when we said it had been a big week for Forterra? Well, it just got bigger.  This morning, the ground autonomy company announced in an exclusive release to Tectonic that they have fully acquired networking and secure comms company goTenna for an undisclosed amount. “By integrating goTenna technology into our platform, we’re improving user […]

InvestmentTech

Helsing Buys Australian Underwater Drone-Maker Blue Ocean

The much-anticipated defense tech rollup era is in full swing, even on the other side of the pond.  This morning, German defense tech darling Helsing, one of Europe’s most valuable startups, announced that it has acquired Blue Ocean, an Australian underwater drone company, to accelerate the development of its unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) program.  Looks […]

InvestmentPentagon

DoD Invests $43M in Critical Minerals Mine

Well, it seems the DoD, sorry, DoW, has really gotten a taste for critical minerals. Yesterday, Australian-American mining company Nova Minerals ($NVA) announced that it’s scored a $43.4M investment from the Pentagon to build out a production plant for a critical mineral called antimony in Alaska. The funding was awarded under the Defense Production Act […]

EuropeInvestment

Firehawk Secures $60M Funding Round and a New European Partner

Two Firehawk stories in a week? We promise we’re not hawking Firehawk (bada bing), but the 3D-printed propellant and hybrid and solid rocket motor startup is kinda on fire.  On Wednesday, Firehawk announced a $60M Series C funding round, led by 1789 Capital with participation from Presto Tech Horizons—a joint venture between Czech VC Presto […]

InvestmentPentagon

Rune’s Triple-Header: USMC, Army, and In-Q-Tel, oh my!

Rune is on quite a run. On Wednesday, the military logistics and sustainment software company announced it won a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Army, partnered with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, and secured investment from In-Q-Tel. No mid-week slump here.  Sustainment star: Rune, which raised a $24M Series A back in […]

InvestmentTech

Picogrid and Northrop Grumman Team Up on c-UAS 

Once upon a time, the big primes didn’t pay much attention to the lowly startup scene. Now, things have seriously changed, as evidenced by this morning’s announcement from Picogrid. As of today, the integration startup is officially partnering with Northrop Grumman to integrate Picogrid’s Legion software into Northrop’s AiON counter-drone command-and-control (C2) platform. Friends in […]

Investment

Auterion Raises $130M for Swarming and Autonomy

Well, for anyone who thought that we’d have a chill autumn here in defense tech world, sorry. The money moves continue.  This morning, autonomy software company Auterion announced that they’ve raised a $130M Series B led by Bessemer Ventures, with participation from existing investors Lakestar, Mosaic Ventures, and Costanoa Ventures.  The company says it will […]

Investment

ICYMI: Ursa Major Lands $34.9M Defense Contract for Draper

Well, we told you that everyone was into making things go fast these days. Yesterday, as first reported by Axios, propulsion company Ursa Major announced that they’ve landed a $34.9M contract to sell their signature Draper engines to “an undisclosed U.S. aerospace and defense company.” Coy.  The company seems to see the contract as a […]

Investment

Exclusive: YC-backed Perseus Defense Closes $6M Seed Round

Remember when Y Combinator startups made food delivery and crypto apps? Well, how times have changed. Perseus Defense, which launched out of this year’s YC cohort, is definitely not the next DoorDash. The startup is building 15in mini-missiles capable of detecting, identifying, and destroying hostile drones. And, this morning, the team announced in an exclusive […]