NNV Portfolio Companies, Pitch Us, Fundings: Apex Space & Perygee
26 October 2022 - A Weekly Publication by New North Ventures
New North Ventures is proud to back 8 amazing portfolio companies.
Fermata Discovery: AI-driven platform designed to automate and scale routine processes involved with investigative workflows.
Anno.Ai: Multi-Modal Sensor Fusion, an artificial intelligence-based platform designed to curate training data for machine learning.
Hawkeye360: Space-based radio frequency (RF) mapping and analytics system designed to provide geospatial data analytics.
Efabless: Community-powered semiconductor company designed to improve electronics through better integration, power utilization, and IP protection.
Reality Defender: Deepfake-detection platform built to identify and assess risks associated with false media content.
Cybera: Global fraud complaints and real-time cybercrime data sharing platform.
Prelude: Cybersecurity education platform.
Beacon.Ai: AI assistance for the flight crew to enable the future of flight safety and efficiency for commercial and private fleets.
Are you a Seed/Series A stage company that is looking to pitch? Fill out our new pitch submission form on our website. We commit to reviewing every submission and look forward to learning more about your company.
Founded: 2022
Key People: Co-founded by Ian Cinnamon and Maximilian Benassi
Elevator Pitch: Spacecraft manufacturing for government and commercial customers.
Funding: The company raised $7.75 million of seed funding from a16z, Lux Capital, J2 Ventures, and others.
Founded: 2020
Key People: Co-founded by Mollie Breen and Mark Watabe.
Elevator Pitch: Cyber-physical security platform that improves operational efficiency.
Funding: The company raised $4.75 million of seed funding led by Ballistic Ventures, as well as BBG Ventures, and cybersecurity angels.
Big Tech Goes to War: To Help Ukraine, Washington and Silicon Valley Must Work Together
Big tech companies like Microsoft as well as young startups have been providing, “cyberdefense, surveillance, and reconnaissance services” to Ukraine by their own initiative.
The current administration needs to find ways to foster public/private relationships with the companies that are making the initiative to get involved in the current conflict. Partnerships have existed in previous times of conflict, like Ford Motor Company repurposing its assembly lines during WWII.
Microsoft has been most involved by defending against “an onslaught of cyberwarfare”, protecting critical infrastructure that runs on its platform.
The possibility for private/public partnerships formed from this conflict is significant. Relationships could include frequent high level exchanges, coordination in the midst of crisis, and anticipating the engagement of a corporation in a conflict.
What Happened When the U.S. Military Played ‘Shark Tank’
CENTCOM hosted an event, “Innovation Oasis” that allowed soldiers like Sgt. Reeves (MAARNG) to pitch a system he coded that could improve the training soldiers get on C-UAS, to Gen. Kurilla (commander of CENTCOM).
Innovation Oasis is CENTCOM’s version of Shark Tank, and with hundreds of applicants, the event flattens the chain of command to allow innovation to come from all levels.
Executives from Google, Microsoft, NASA and Blue Origin attended the event and reviewed pitches from soldiers as well.
Gen. Kurilla drew inspiration for Innovation Oasis from his time as commander of the 18th Airborne Corps and implemented the program not long after his assumption of command at CENTCOM; submissions were open to all DoD.
Look for a new episode of Securing the Future Podcasts wherever you listen, later this week. We are excited to have guest Laura Thomas of ColdQuanta, sit down with General Partner Brett Davis for an engaging conversation on the future of quantum and national security. Listen to the latest episode below on Spotify.
