The Veteran Fund Update: Q1 2024
The Veteran Fund Update: Q1 2024
The Veteran Fund made history last quarter through its portfolio company, Lonestar, by sending the Declaration of Independence to the moon as the first document transmitted to the lunar surface for storage.
Since our founding, The Veteran Fund’s core principles of leadership, purpose, and resilience have guided our investments in veteran leaders, building dual-use companies that are advancing America and her allies. We strongly believe the future of humanity is deeply rooted in liberty, which is the fundamental cornerstone of innovation. It is up to the builders of the world to ensure liberty continues to proliferate, not just in America, but throughout the world and into the cosmos.
In our Q1 update below, we are excited to share an invitation to LP Deepak Chopra’s premier global event, headlined by Sam Altman and Marc Benioff, and updates about our portfolio company highlights, new investments, and several important events.
As we sprint towards our Fund I final close on July 4th, we reflect on the incredible progress we have made and the invaluable community we have built to support the creation of veteran-technology leaders. We ask that you share our newsletter with the leaders in your network who deeply believe in our mission to advance America through venture capital.
Let’s go!
📈 Portfolio Highlights
On Thursday, February 22nd at 18:23 EST, the Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander named Odysseus landed on the Moon, carrying Lonestar Lunar’s Data Center Payload. This historic event is the first private lunar landing in human history. Lonestar successfully demonstrated the company’s ability to send, receive, and store data on the lunar surface.
Lonestar’s second mission to the moon is scheduled for later this year with customers purchasing all of its data storage capacity. The Veteran Fund participated in Lonestar’s Pre-Series A in January, doubling our investment in the company. We are now actively supporting Lonestar’s Series A. Please reach out for more details.
—————-
Cyberspatial secured a $3.1M contract with the US Space Force to map selected Space Mission System networks! Once complete, the team will have the opportunity to expand to other mission systems in an increased contract size. Additionally, Cyberspatial was also selected for a $1M Defense Innovation Unit Prototype OTA for USCYBERCOM that has the potential to move into a full production OTA upon successful completion.
—————
Firestorm closed their $12.5M Pre-Series A round led by Lockheed Martin Ventures. The Veteran Fund doubled our investment into the company and attended the ribbon cutting ceremony with Congresswoman Sara Jacobs for their new 15,000 square foot manufacturing facility in San Diego. Read the Forbes article on Firestorm here.
🚀 New Investments
We are thrilled to welcome the team at Vatn Systems to The Veteran Fund portfolio!
Vatn builds affordable, autonomous underwater vehicles that act in cooperative swarms, enabling a multitude of use cases for the military and law enforcement. At the core of Vatn's R&D efforts is advanced navigation software that is effective in GPS, vision, and comms compromised environments. Vatn’s modular building block structure allows its vehicles to be tailored to the ranges, accuracy, and sensors required for every mission at the lowest cost. In addition to previous SBIRs, the team was recently selected for Phase 3 of the Office of Naval Research’s Advanced Capabilities Experiment.
As the US Navy navigates “contested logistics” and “attritable mass”, we believe the team at Vatn is leading the way in building the future of autonomous underwater vehicles. Learn more about Vatn: www.vatnsystems.com
Foresight is the winner of our third annual $100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition, with keynote address from Brad Feld, cofounder of Techstars.
Led by Jannae Gammage, a former Army Intelligence Analyst and serial entrepreneur, Foresight is utilizing AI to reshape lending products. Foresight’s intelligent application software for financial institutions eliminates manual intake and application processes. Unlike incumbent digital application softwares that solely collect data, Foresight's AI driven intelligent application underwrites applicants before they even click apply, producing an accurate, verified, and de-risked application in less than 15 minutes.
With the tailwinds of their successful pre-seed round and support from Bank of America leadership, Foresight has 15 banks as customers and is quickly expanding to the 300+ in their pipeline. Learn more about Foresight: www.tryforesight.io
🇺🇸 Featured Limited Partner: Lieutenant Colonel Joshua “Cabo” Gunderson
Joshua “Cabo” Gunderson is a former combat pilot who started his career at the United States Air Force Academy. During F-15 pilot training, he received several awards including Distinguished Graduate and Top Gun.
Josh executed multiple combat deployments throughout the Middle East in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and earned the Raytheon Award, the Air Force’s top honor for aerial combat squadrons.
Since leaving active duty, Joshua serves in the Nevada Air National Guard as an F-22 Subject Matter Expert, works for a private company as a corporate pilot flying the Challenger 300 aircraft, and consults for aviation clients. Connect with Joshua on LinkedIn and Instagram.
📆 Q1 Event Highlights
The Veteran Fund Annual Summit in Las Vegas (February 2024)
The Veteran Fund hosted an incredible two day summit in Las Vegas with our Limited Partners and portfolio companies. We enjoyed intimate team building through dinners and an offsite event at Prairie Fire, where we had a special audience with retired 4-star General Scott Miller.
In addition to strategic fund updates and working sessions with our LPs, Dan Magy, CEO of portfolio company Firestorm, provided an inspiring & confidential presentation, leading into their now publicly announced $12.5M closed seed round, led by Lockheed Martin Ventures.
Lisa Spoke at SXSW For Women in Venture Panel (March 2024)
GP Lisa Song Sutton was invited by Dell for Startups to represent the fund on a Women in Venture at SxSW in Austin, Texas. She connected with young female investors and educated them on defense tech investing.
How to Build a Moonshot with Chris Stott, CEO of Lonestar (April 2024)
GP Ryan Micheletti and Lonestar CEO, Chris Stott, had a great conversation about the lunar landing and the future of space tech in front of a global audience. Watch the replay here.
📣 Upcoming Event Invites
FI Veteran and Military Family Accelerator Graduation with Kelly Perdew
General Partners, Ryan and Mike, are excited to host the graduation of the Founder Institute Startup Accelerator on May 21, 2024 at 10am PT.
Join us to see an inspiring keynote from Kelly Perdew, a military veteran and venture capital investor at Moonshots Capital, and watch several founders from the new graduating cohort pitch their startups. Register to watch here.
The Veteran Fund House Building Project in Mexico
To commemorate the upcoming close of Fund I, The Veteran Fund invites you to join us for an impactful team building experience, constructing a home for a deserving family in Mexico, July 26-28, 2024. GP Mike Sherbakov has been leading these impact trips over the past decade and we are excited to spend a weekend giving back alongside our community. All are invited; please indicate your interest here.
The Return of Deepak Chopra’s Acclaimed Sages & Scientists Symposium at Harvard University
Highlighting the Veteran Fund’s commitment to infuse mindfulness into the premier veteran-led teams we support, our LP Deepak Chopra is uniting global leaders in wellbeing and technology on September 14-15, 2024.
Headlined by Deepak, Sam Altman, and Marc Benioff, the symposium brings together thought leaders and experts who offer groundbreaking solutions to unlock the greatest human understanding and potential. Veteran Fund partners will have access to a private event with Deepak at the symposium. With limited spots available, please email our team if you’re interested in attending.
We are deeply appreciative of great individuals like you that have come alongside us to support The Veteran Fund.
We planted a flag in the ground to advance America through venture capital and will continue to use our platform to unite our community and build a brighter future for all.
Please join us before our final close on July 4th 2024, and forward our update to the leaders in your network who believe in our mission.
With gratitude,
Ryan, Lisa, Justin, and Mike | The Veteran Fund
The Veteran Fund: Lonestar’s Successful Moon Landing with SpaceX, NASA, & Intuitive Machines
The Veteran Fund: Successful Moon Landing with Lonestar Lunar, SpaceX, NASA, & Intuitive Machines
The eagle has landed!
Today marks a significant day for humanity. We are honored to share that through the incredible leadership of our portfolio company, Lonestar, The Veteran Fund is officially on the moon as part of the first American moon landing since 1972.
On Thursday, February 22nd at 18:23 EST, the Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander named Odysseus landed on the Moon, carrying Lonestar Lunar’s Data Center Payload.
This historic event is the first private lunar landing in human history; a monumental achievement that has officially unlocked the lunar economy as a new frontier for innovation, laying the foundation for humanity to become an interplanetary species.
Together with a group of Lonestar’s visionary investors, including IronGate Capital and Scout Ventures, The Veteran Fund proudly sent the Declaration of Independence to the moon lander as the first document to be transmitted for storage.
This successful transmission demonstrates Lonestar’s ability to send, receive, and store data in space. More significantly, this historical event represents the proliferation of liberty and American values into the cosmos.
The Lonestar team is led by CEO Chris Stott, whose vision and deep expertise have led us to this moment. The Veteran Fund community played a significant role in supporting the team at Lonestar, investing in and helping close their Seed and Pre-Series A rounds. According to Stott, “The Veteran Fund has been truly amazing to work with. They have put so much energy and focus into our mission, our team, and our success.”
Nearly 250 years ago, the American people declared their independence based on the principles of liberty, individual rights, and free markets. In that spirit, The Veteran Fund has planted the flag for the next generation of liberty-minded founders and investors who are building the frontier of American innovation to create an era of unprecedented prosperity for all humankind.
We dedicate our small part of the moon landing to those who believe a handful of mindful individuals can unite together to change the world.
We ask you to stand with us by sharing this update with anyone in your network aligned with our mission to advance America through venture capital.
Additionally, please join us for “Moonshot to Moon Landing: A Conversation with Chris Stott, CEO of Lonestar,” a global event on April 1st at 10 AM Pacific, which will be broadcast across 200 cities through our global network.
This is just the beginning of our journey together and we are incredibly grateful to have you alongside us.
- Ryan, Mike, Justin, and Lisa
The Veteran Fund Update: Q3 2023
The Veteran Fund Update: Q3 2023
As our country and allies continue to navigate unprecedented global turmoil, we remain steadfast in our mission to protect America through venture capital.
The unfolding events in Israel, including US-citizen casualties and hostages, is a heart-wrenching reminder that the complexion of global conflict continues to evolve. As such, the importance of proactively supporting our warfighters and national defense communities with premier technology is critical.
Despite these challenges, we believe the future of our country remains bright as we serve the leaders of tomorrow, building companies and technologies that will positively impact the world.
As we sprint towards the end of 2023, we are excited to welcome a new portfolio company, introduce our featured Limited Partner, highlight our participation in several high-profile events, and share portfolio company updates.
Let’s go!
🚀 New Investment
We are proud to welcome Haiku to The Veteran Fund portfolio! Led by accomplished founder and Navy SEAL, Eric Basu, Haiku is transforming cybersecurity training for businesses and individuals by teaching real-world cybersecurity skills through a gamified learning platform.
Developed in partnership with the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Haiku has unlocked a fast and effective cybersecurity training process that helps facilitate job opportunities across various demographics. Haiku’s impressive early traction includes over 37,000 users, 100,000 YouTube followers, and several Fortune 500 companies and major universities as customers. Haiku is racking up awards, one award for Cybersecurity Stewardship and another Fast Company award, as it closed its seed capital round in September 2023.
The battlefield of the future is digital, yet there is an alarming shortage of cybersecurity professionals according to the latest studies showing 700,000 unfilled CS jobs in the United States. Haiku streamlines the creation of new cybersecurity professionals who will work to protect America and our allies from online threats.
Ask: Haiku welcomes warm referrals to 1) organizations seeking to cost-efficiently level up their cybersecurity training 2) cybersecurity certifications organizations such as ISC2 to create custom training paths for their certifications and 3) K-12 education partners to teach actionable job skills to students who are passionate about gaming.
🇺🇸 Featured Limited Partner: Chris Kelly
Chris Kelly is a highly-accomplished attorney, investor, and business leader.
Chris was Facebook’s first General Counsel, Head of Global Policy and Chief Privacy Officer, helping lead the company’s unparalleled global growth.
He is a sought-after investor, advisor, and strategist who is passionate about national defense, cybersecurity, and privacy.
Chris is an owner of the Sacramento Kings and recently launched Kelly Ventures to continue supporting transformational technology companies like portfolio company Haiku.
📣 Announcements
Investor Dinner with Four Star General Stanley McChrystal
We were honored to have one of our early Limited Partners and supporters, Four Star General Stanley McChrystal, host an intimate BBQ at his home in the DC area.
To help amplify our mission, we were joined by various family offices, business leaders like Robert Kiyosaki, retired senior military officials, and several members of Congress who all share our deep commitment to protect America through venture capital.
Meaningful connections were made among our guests and we received great feedback about the importance of our mission. Thank you to General McChrystal, guests, and the new Limited Partners who have joined us after learning about our work.
$100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition
The Veteran Fund & the Founder Institute are excited to host our third annual $100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition!
Brad Feld, co-founder of Techstars, will join the event for a live interactive keynote with the audience. Join hundreds of angel investors, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs from the military community to watch the next generation of military-connected entrepreneurs pitch their startups.
Please forward this email to any veteran entrepreneur or investor who may be interested in attending the competition.
Register here: veteran.fund/pitch
The Veteran Fund Sponsors Swim to Support SOF Community
GP Justin Nahama joined nearly 100 SEALs, special operations veterans, and representatives from national defense leaders like Anduril in swimming over 3 miles from Coronado to the USS Midway to support The Honor Foundation’s third annual Swim for SOF.
The Honor Foundation is the world’s premier transition program for our special operators and their families. The Veteran Fund and LP Lucas Rotter helped THF raise over $400,000 for the special operations community and programs.
LP Dr. Provencher Leads Wellbeing Panel to Support Veteran Business Leaders
General Partner Justin Nahama and former head team doctor for the New England Patriots, retired Navy Captain, and LP Dr. Matt Provencher led a panel of accomplished SEALs and wellbeing leaders to discuss the future of human performance and health for business leaders.
The event was well attended and graciously hosted by O’Gara Coach at their La Jolla McLaren, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and Lamborghini dealership.
📈 Portfolio Company Updates
Proteus Space is leading a transformative revolution in the satellite industry with novel satellite design and production advancements. Proteus uses powerful AI software to design and build ESPA-class satellites & space “buses” for commercial and government customers to help America win the new space race.
Proteus closed its $4.2M seed round and opened its first facility for Automated Satellite Design and Rapid Manufacturing
Ask: Proteus would love to meet with anyone interested in designing and building satellites and potential advisors who are subject matter experts in the following areas: a) Satellite industrial design software and architecture b) ESPA class satellite design and build c) MEO orbital aspects d) Satellite manufacturing legal and insurance aspects
Firestorm Labs has built a new category of 3D printed, fixed-wing unmanned aerial systems (UAS), which can be manufactured from base materials and deployed within 24 hours – delivering capability when and where it is needed.
Firestorm Labs was selected as part of the industry team on the $46B Eglin Wide Agile Acquisition contract to deliver next-generation munitions technologies in support of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base. Read more here.
Secured a $1.6M direct-to-phase 2 contract through AFWERX with AFSOC and the Air National Guard as customer
Ask: Firestorm is actively working with top leaders in the DoD ecosystem. Please connect The Veteran Fund to leaders in the military who should know about Firestorm’s capabilities.
Cyberspatial is a cybersecurity company who helps cyber practitioners save hundreds of hours of manual processes to quickly visualize and analyze the networks they serve, which can increase work efficiency by 10-100x.
Cyberspatial is starting two pilots with the US Space Force and US Army, to provide advanced network mapping and discovery capabilities for defensive cyber operations.
Cyberspatial is working on several promising commercial enterprise deals in the OT security and critical infrastructure space.
Ask: Please forward this information to any cyber practitioner in your network who may be interested in an enterprise pilot.
Lonestar is a space tech company that is building data centers and communication infrastructure on the lunar surface.
The "Independence Mission” to the moon scheduled for the week of November 15th. The “Freedom Mission” is scheduled for February 15th 2024.
The Veteran Fund is sponsoring the first document to be sent to the moon for storage; the Declaration of Independence.
Lonestar successfully closed an additional round of funding in a “Pre A” round.
Ask: Stay tuned for mission details.
Stitch3D (formerly Candelytics) is an enterprise 3D data company that delivers best-in-class 3D data analytics, workflows, and collaboration tools through its cloud-based 3D data management platform.
Completed US Air Force SBIR and STTR Phase Two R&D obligations, successfully hitting every milestone for the $1.6M award.
Launched their public beta and signed 21 organizations who are actively using their product.
Made several key hires including a 3D engineer and former lead software developer, an R&D lead for Stitch3D's mobile scanning application and senior product designer to UI/UX across web and mobile platforms.
Selected as 1) recipient for this year's MassVentures SBIR START "Stage 1" $100K award and 2) NSA cybersecurity services program which will help bolster their data security and system infrastructure.
Ask: Intros to police or other law enforcement officers. Law enforcement can benefit greatly from 3D digital scanning (traffic accident, crime scene documentation, building inspection, etc) and the team is always looking for introductions to surveyors as well. If any relationships come to mind, please contact: admin@stitch3d.io
Pixly is a Software as a Service (SaaS) technology platform for construction sites and facilities that leverages smart device photo collaboration and AI-enabled organizational tools to document project progress and mitigate risk from conflicts, delays, and safety issues.
Pixly is graduating the PenFed Veteran Entrepreneur Investment Program (VEIP), which will help open up doors to new customers and investors. The demo day is on November 3rd in Bentonville, AR.
USC LA Coliseum is testing Pixly as a pilot customer for facilities management.
Pixly formed a new partnership with Kyocera Mobile to integrate Pixly’s solution into their rugged, built for work devices.
Ask: Pixly is seeking introductions to building owners, architects, construction companies, and facility managers to use their solution. If you have any contacts in these areas, please reply back.
Clusiv is the leading technology platform that empowers blind and partially sighted people to obtain meaningful careers through digital training and employment opportunities.
Clusiv secured four significant statewide service contracts in NV, TX, IA, and MN, unseating legacy providers within a year of launch, a pace unparalleled in government sales.
The company set a record of new student enrollments in Q3 2023, demonstrating robust growth and market acceptance.
Ask: Clusiv is putting together an upcoming impact report, that will unveil comprehensive insights into their progress and strategic advancements. We will be sharing this in the next update.
Instant Teams is the leading military spouse community and talent marketplace that leverages innovative technology and a focus on skills-based hiring to create dynamic talent and outsourcing solutions for employers and remote careers for military spouses.
Scaled and deployed a team of 75 in 3 weeks for enterprise customer, Alight
Expansion of existing enterprise customers (AFLAC and Alight) serves as a strong testimonial of value proposition
Closed two partnership deals for 12M+ with Prudential and Talkspace
Ask: Want to hire a military spouse? Join Instant Teams here.
📆 Upcoming Events
Founder Institute Veteran and Military Family Accelerator:
The next cohort of our Veteran Startup Accelerator begins February 6, 2024 with final applications due January 28th.
Interested veteran and military spouse founders can apply and join for free through our Veteran Fund scholarships. Learn more here: fi.co/veteran
USAA Pitch Competition Powered By Bunker Labs: USAA and Bunker Labs are teaming up again to support the most innovative military connected entrepreneurs. Participants will compete for cash prizes and registration is free to join the pitch competition on October 19, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Vets in Tech Gala: Join Vets in Tech on Friday, November 3, 2023, at the Marines’ Memorial Club in San Francisco to celebrate Veterans’ Day at their 8th Annual Fall Gala. The evening will include an exquisite dinner with entertainment, awards, and a live auction.
Military Influencer Conference: MIC is for leaders, entrepreneurs, content creators, creatives and brands who shape and support the military community. The conference will be held at Resorts World in Las Vegas, November 7-10, 2023.
MilVet Conference: Mark your calendars for February 8-9, 2024 in San Francisco, CA for the “must-go” to event for any founder or investor in the veteran startup ecosystem. Tickets will sell out next year, so make sure you sign up early to attend the Military Veteran Startup 2024 Conference.
In closing, we are honored to be stewards of this great community and look forward to the journey ahead.
We will continue to build this tribe, one individual at a time, and make strategic investments to safeguard our nation's future.
If this resonates with you, please forward this to someone in your network or share our one pager with anyone who is aligned with our mission.
With gratitude,
Mike, Justin, Lisa, and Ryan | The Veteran Fund
