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
