🇺🇸 The Veteran Fund Update: Q3 2024
The Veteran Fund Update: Q3 2024
We are excited to announce that The Veteran Fund has officially oversubscribed its debut fund!
Since the founding of The Veteran Fund, our mission has been to invest in exceptional veteran-led startups building critical technologies that would advance America towards a more prosperous future.
Today, our thesis has been validated and our resolve has only been strengthened by the performance of our portfolio companies and the community we have built.
By elevating and uniting the best leaders our country has to offer, we will help usher in a new generation of American leadership while driving great returns for our investors.
As we close Q3, we are proud to report:
We have nearly 100 partners supporting our mission including senior military leaders, highly-accomplished exited founders, and global wellbeing experts. Learn more about our partners here.
We have reviewed over 3000 startups, leading to 16 portfolio companies that have collectively raised $130M+ in investment capital and continue to secure lucrative government contracts. Learn more about our current portfolio here.
In our update below, we are excited to share our recent investments, big wins (that we can publicly share), our $100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition with Jason Calacanis, and other great events we are proud to support.
Let’s go!
🚀 New Investments
HavocAI is pioneering ultra-low cost autonomous uncrewed surface vessel technology that allows a single operator to control thousands of unmanned assets. HavocAI is poised to field thousands of autonomous multi-mission maritime assets in domains of pressing need, providing genuinely affordable mass efficiently and expeditiously for a wide range of applications, from defense missions to commercial ventures.
The team is led by several accomplished veterans. CEO Paul Lwin is a Naval Academy and Yale graduate, first generation immigrant, and Naval Aviator. Joe Turner is a Naval Surface Officer (nuclear) and an autonomous systems manufacturer expert. Andrew Gregg is a US Air Force Special Operations Instructor Pilot and highly technical senior systems engineer.
The Veteran Fund invested in Havoc’s recent $11M seed round led by Scout Ventures, with participation from Trousdale Ventures, Outlander VC, BV.VC, Decisive Point, Alumni Ventures, and New North Ventures.
One Range is an AI-powered employee upskilling marketplace that allows companies to seamlessly manage their employees’ professional development by automating budgets, connecting them to world-class learning resources, and intelligently managing their growth trajectory. Customers love One Range’s B2B SaaS and pay-per-use pricing, which has allowed the company to serve over 5,000 learners and surpass $1M in ARR.
The team is led by CEO Steve Gilman, a Naval Reserve Officer, Yale University and Columbia Business School graduate, and former professional baseball player for the Detroit Tigers. The company’s CTO, Houtan Fanisalek, is a world-class entrepreneur and software engineer who has worked on cutting-edge R&D projects for Lockheed Martin, among other initiatives.
The Veteran Fund invested in One Range’s oversubscribed seed round, led by our friends at Context Ventures. The company was recently named one of the fastest-growing Veteran-founded startups by Harmonic.ai.
📈 Portfolio Highlights
Vatn Systems Series A Round: We are excited to announce that The Veteran Fund made its second investment into Vatn Systems $15M Series A to help build the future of underwater autonomous vehicles. Led by CEO Nelson Mills, and Army Special Forces Veteran Dan Hendrix, Vatn’s affordable vehicles act in cooperative swarms that enable a multitude of use cases for the military, law enforcement and commercial markets. At the core of Vatn's R&D efforts is advanced navigation software that is effective in GPS, vision, and communication-compromised environments. Additionally, Vatn’s modular building block structure allows its vehicles to be tailored to the ranges, accuracy, and sensors required for every mission at low cost. In addition to previous SBIRs, the team was selected for Phase 3 of the Office of Naval Research’s Advanced Capabilities Experiment and participated in an Advanced Capabilities Experiment with the Marine Corps where they trained Marines to use their vehicles within 30 minutes.
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Proteus Space Pre-Series A Round: The Veteran Fund made its second investment into Proteus Space’s Pre-Series A alongside co-investors and new strategics. Led by highly-accomplished Marine Corps Veteran David Kervin, Proteus previously raised $4.2M to build the world’s first AI-designed ESPA-class satellite through their “Mercury” AI software that can rapidly design custom satellite buses in minutes, not months. To date, Proteus has secured over $3M in government contracts and is poised for even more success with their cutting edge satellite design and quick production times in the fast-evolving space industry.
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Lonestar and Imagine Dragons Collaboration: The Veteran Fund is thrilled to have facilitated a once in a lifetime collaboration between portfolio company Lonestar Lunar and the Grammy award winning band, Imagine Dragons, to transmit the first song in history from the lunar surface back to earth. Imagine Dragons is set to debut their song "Children Of The Sky" live at the Hollywood Bowl on October 27. The song will then be transmitted from the Moon in early 2025 as part of Lonestar's Freedom Mission. The band hopes to inspire a new generation's interest in space and technology through this historic broadcast, and we are honored to be part of the monumental occasion. Read more details and get tickets to the Hollywood Bowl concert here.
🇺🇸 Featured Limited Partner: IronGate Capital Advisors
IronGate Capital Advisors is a Fund of Funds and direct investor into companies and venture capital firms who support dual-use technologies that strengthen the national security of the United States and our allies.
IronGate forges long term relationships with, and makes commitments to, best-in-class managers with investment theses that are congruent with their mission.
The firm is managed by an exceptional multidisciplinary team of experts in finance, national security, and technology, whose extensive relationships and collective experience enables IronGate to identify direct investment opportunities in leading early-stage technology companies while supporting fund managers with capital commitments, unique government connectivity, and uncommon perspectives.
🇺🇸 Featured Portfolio Company Veteran: Chad McCoy
Chad McCoy and rescued hostage, Captain Phillips
Chad McCoy is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Firestorm Labs. A retired Chief Master Sergeant with 23 years in Air Force Special Operations as a pararescueman, Chad completed dozens of combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya, and played a key role in the high-profile rescue of Captain Phillips.
Chad joined Firestorm because he believes their technology will change combat fundamentally. In an interview with The Veteran Fund, Chad would like to share the following leadership lessons with our community:
Military service prepared him for entrepreneurship by teaching him resiliency, tenacity, and demanding high standards for himself and those around him, underscoring The Veteran Fund’s core belief that veterans’ resilience and unwavering commitment to service is critical to advance America.
Start-up life is tough and will always include setbacks and failures, however, it is how you deal with those challenges that is critical. Building industry-leading technology is a marathon at a sprinter's pace.
Good leaders can self-reflect, recognize weaknesses and surround themselves with people who are better than they are and just as driven. If you don't have people around you that challenge your assumptions, you will fail and not realize it. The ego is your enemy, and constant reminders are healthy lessons.
Chad embodies the core values of The Veteran Fund: leadership, resilience, and purpose. His unique experience as a veteran leader positions him to play a pivotal role in advancing the reach and impact of our nation’s premier dual-use technologies. We believe leaders like Chad are essential in driving innovation and scaling solutions that make a lasting difference for our great nation.
📆 Q3 Event Highlights
Annual Dinner at LP General Stanley McChrystal’s Home
Early LP and supporter General Stanley McChrystal once again graciously opened his home in Virginia to The Veteran Fund tribe for an evening of camaraderie, fund updates and discussion of the future of veteran entrepreneurship. A big thank you to his team and The Veteran Fund partners who joined us in DC for the dinner.
The Veteran Fund GPs with LP Gen. McChrystal and Dr. Oz
Sages and Scientists at Harvard University
The Veteran Fund led a panel on how veteran leadership is critical to innovation and liberty at Deepak Chopra’s prestigious Sages & Scientists Symposium at Harvard University. Justin moderated a panel with Ryan, General McChrystal, Dr. Matt Provencher, and David Metcalf. The symposium included global technology and business leaders such as Dr. Oz, Sam Altman, Gary Vaynerchuk and Kenneth Cole. The event was a resounding success and is slated to be hosted in New York City in 2025.
In addition to the highlights above, it was a busy quarter filled with great people, collaborative events, and meaningful conversations. From top left to bottom right: 1. Mike, Kelly Perdew and Craig Cummings (Moonshots Capital), Ikram and Katherine (VetsinTech) at VetVC in New York hosted by JPMorganChase. 2. Mike guest-lecturing at Stanford University with Rebeca Hwang (Kalei Ventures) and Alex Cohen (creator of the earliest search engine). 3. Mike, Deepak Chopra, and Justin at Ameyalli Resort groundbreaking in Park City, Utah. 4. Mike presenting the future of The Veteran Fund at Bunker Labs Ambassador Summit at IVMF, Syracuse University. 5. Mike and Steve Forbes (Forbes Media) at Principled Business Summit in New York City 6. Mike with Sean Drake (Stoney Lonesome) and Tyler Johnson (eMerge) for private investor dinner with Erik Prince (Blackwater) in Washington, DC. 7. Mike and JR Gibbens (Office of Strategic Capital) at private family office event in Washington, DC 8. Mike, Julie, Liz, and Heidi signing the charter as co-founders of the Veterans Society at The Battery in San Francisco. 9. The Veteran Fund partners join for a private tour of the EEOB and White House in Washington, DC.
📣 Announcements and Events
$100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition feat. Jason Calacanis (Nov 14)
We are excited to host our annual $100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition. During this live online event, you can watch promising veteran-led startups pitch to a group of investors for a chance to secure a $100,000 investment from The Veteran Fund.
Jason Calacanis, angel investor and host of All-In Podcast, will join as a guest judge to help select the winner. Join hundreds of angel investors, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs to watch the next generation of military-connected entrepreneurs pitch their startups. Register to watch and view pitch details here: http://veteran.fund/100k
Apply to the FI Veteran and Military Family Accelerator (Spring 2025)
The FI Veteran and Military Family Startup Accelerator kicked off in August with 100 enrolled founders!
The Spring 2025 cohort begins on February 18, 2025. Any US veteran or military spouse building a technology startup can apply and join the accelerator for free through our JPMorganChase scholarship. View the application and program details here: http://fi.co/veteran
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MCON 2024, held from October 24-27 in Las Vegas, was created by veterans to unite the military community for an epic celebration. It features dynamic workshops, hands-on experiences, health and wellness initiatives, and a Military Impact Summit to support veteran entrepreneurship and career development. The MCON team has generously offered The Veteran Fund community complimentary general admission wristbands using the code “MCONTEAM” when buying tickets at MCON.Live.
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Our friends at VetsinTech are hosting their annual gala on November 8, 2024. The annual Fall Gala will be held at the Marines' Memorial Club in San Francisco. Join a great community for a cocktail reception, silent and live auctions, a sit-down dinner as well and networking opportunities with technology leaders, partners, and military leaders. RSVP to kwebster@vetsintech.co
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Warrior Rising is hosting an incredible event, Saluting Her Service, on December 12th, featuring Martha Stewart. This gathering celebrates the rising stars of women veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs, honoring their achievements and raising critical funds to support Warrior Rising’s mission of empowering veteran business owners. The evening will feature fireside chats with Martha Stewart and culminate with an announcement of the Pitch Champion, who will be awarded a grant to launch her business to new heights. If you’re interested in attending, please email alyssa@warriorrising.org
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We are thrilled to invite our LPs to The Veteran Fund Annual LP Summit in Las Vegas, January 30 - February 1, 2025. This marks our third LP Summit, and each year we see the profound impact of gathering our mission-aligned community in person. These summits not only foster strong camaraderie but also spark unique collaborations that only happen when we come together. For our investors, we’ll share registration details privately and look forward to having you join us for two days of exclusive fund updates, off-site excursions, and team building dinners.
We are incredibly proud of the community that has come together around our mission to advance America through venture capital. Thank you for your continued support and contribution toward the closing of an oversubscribed Fund I. It is an honor to be stewards of this great community.
As always, if you know of a strong company led by an exceptional veteran founder, please share this with them.
With gratitude,
Justin, Lisa, Ryan, Mike
The Veteran Fund General Partners: Justin Nahama, Lisa Song Sutton, Ryan Micheletti, Mike Sherbakov
🇺🇸 The Veteran Fund Update: Q2 2024
The Veteran Fund Update: Q2 2024
The Veteran Fund proudly initiated our final close of Fund I on Independence Day 2024, a symbol of our commitment to proliferate liberty and advance America through venture capital.
With tensions rising from recent global events, now more than ever, we need strong, liberty-minded leadership to foster unity. This is the time to come together with a shared purpose behind what it means to be an American and ensure the preservation of liberty, democracy, and justice for all.
We believe unparalleled American leadership begins by empowering those who have graduated from the greatest leadership academy in the world, the United States Military. Combined with deep domain expertise and mindfulness practices, veteran founders are uniquely positioned to build technology companies that will positively impact the world. Anchored by our elite partners in the military, business and mindfulness communities, our team is launching the next phase of deployment into exceptional veteran-led companies who share our strong sense of purpose and heartfelt conviction toward improving our country and the world for the benefit of all humanity.
In our Q2 update below, we have some exciting announcements and updates about our portfolio companies, new investments, and important events. 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!
🚀 New Investments
The Veteran Fund is excited to announce our investment into Tern AI. Led by co-founders Shaun Moore and Navy Veteran Brett Harrison, Tern is providing an alternative to GPS, which is a single point of failure for the entire US economy due to increased threats from foreign adversaries who have shown capabilities to jam, destroy, and spoof the signals of GPS.
Tern formally closed their $4.4M seed round in May, which was featured in TechCrunch. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the US Department of Transportation, wrote an article in Forbes about how Tern is solving a key problem at the Department of Transportation (DOT). Tern was also selected for the award for the DOT’s Complimentary “PNT” (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) Challenge, signaling strong commercial customer interest.
Fulcrum Autonomy is a dual-use defense technology company leveraging decades of experience in design and manufacturing of unmanned systems and significant operational expertise to shape the future of autonomous systems.
Anchored by highly-accomplished founders and advisors from the military and premier government agencies, they are pioneering the unmanned systems space and emerging leaders in the development of advanced autonomy software and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance as a Service (ISRaaS) solutions. Strategically headquartered at Davis Airfield, just 20 miles north of Washington DC, Fulcrum’s 50-acre aviation-centric campus enables it to privately host clients and partners, receive requirements, develop solutions, prototype, test, demonstrate, and iterate all onsite. Their strategic global partnerships will facilitate mass production near key areas of operational interest, ensuring rapid deployment and scalability.
Double A Labs is a web-based video meeting platform for enterprises that increases attendee engagement through unique, interactive brand experiences. Led by CEO Amber Allen, the company has secured top-tier customers such as Google, Microsoft, Dell, AT&T, Disney, Whole Foods, MacMillan, NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, IBM, and NASA.
Tiffany Matloob, the Global Head of Creator Community at YouTube says that using Double A Labs technology, “YouTube has had a 1,150% growth in their partners attending their virtual training and learning sessions.” Given the strong customer demand, dramatic increase in user engagement compared to competitors, and unique meeting experience, we believe Double A Labs will be able to rapidly scale through civilian and military education platforms.
📈 Portfolio Highlights
Congressman Gabe Amo gave a speech on the floor of Congress about the importance of underwater drones, which led to an amendment for $3M into the defense bill for VATN. VATN also participated in an Advanced Capabilities Experiment with the Marine Corps in June where they trained Marines to use their vehicles within 30 minutes. The training was highly successful and facilitated follow-on funding and collaboration discussions.
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Haiku's federal and military customer base is rapidly expanding due to its innovative ability to create Digital Twins of computer networks using the Unity game engine. This technology enables cost-effective training, modeling, and AI-driven testing of network responses at a fraction of the cost of cloud based solutions. Haiku's other achievements include winning a Phase I SBIR through AFWERX for AI integration, being one of five winners in the 2024 DARPA Tools competition for 5G engineering training, and receiving Fast Company's "Innovation by Design Award."
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Foresight successfully closed their $2.3M pre-seed round and rebranded the company to Cyphr.Ai. The company continues to onboard new banking customers, including a Mastercard pilot expected to go live in Q3 2024. Cyphr was recognized for their growth and scale by Kansas City with 2 awards: The 2024 Emerging Small Business of the Year Award and the 2024 Scale Up Award. CEO and Army Veteran, Jannae Gammage, also received Kansas City’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.
🇺🇸 Featured Limited Partner: Brigadier General (Ret) Trent Edwards
General Trent Edwards is the former Director of Air Force Budget Operations and Personnel who formulated and executed the $80 billion Air Force daily operating, military personnel and civilian pay budgets. He served previously as the Programmer and CFO for a $10 billion Air Force Space Command mission, which included funding Air Force-wide cyber operations. He has extensive congressional experience and was assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Legislative Liaison, as the Chief of Congressional Affairs and served as a National Defense Fellow to a member of Congress.
Outside of his military career, General Edwards is the CEO of T.H. Edwards Consulting, specializing in aligning business capabilities to Department of Defense strategic priorities and future needs. He is on the Board of Directors for Navy Federal Credit Union, the Piedmont Conservatory for the Arts, and the Montgomery YMCA.
📆 Q2 Event Highlights
The Veteran Fund Spotlight by the NVCA
The Veteran Fund was featured by the National Venture Capital Association, the largest member organization of investors and venture capital firms in the country. Read the article here.
Mike Spoke at TechCon SoCal: The Largest Gathering of Investors in California (May 2024) and Plug & Play Summit in Silicon Valley (June 2024)
GP Mike Sherbakov gave inspiring talks at different events around the country on the topics of veteran leadership and dual-use investing.
VetVC Summit in NYC with JPMorgan Chase (June 2024)
GP Mike Sherbakov was joined by LPs Trent Edwards, Jen Pilcher, and fund partners Dan Sylvester and Dan Sennott (Holland and Knight) in New York City for the annual VetVC summit, hosted by JPMorgan Chase.
📣 Announcements and Events
Military Veteran Founder Showcase, featuring The Veteran Fund, AIN, and Context Ventures (July 30, 2024)
Join us for an exclusive online event where five outstanding US military veteran startup founders will pitch their innovative companies to a panel of investors and venture capitalists. These founders represent some of the best new companies from the Founder Institute network, all actively raising capital. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, an investor, or simply passionate about startups, this event offers a unique opportunity to see the future of innovation coming out of the military veteran community. Register here: https://fi.co/e/337778
Apply to the FI Veteran and Military Family Accelerator (Fall 2024)
The deadline for the Founder Institute Veteran and Military Family Accelerator Fall 2024 cohort is August 4th. This will be a fully virtual program running August 19 - November 12, 2024.
Any US veteran or military spouse can apply and join the program for free through our veteran and military family scholarship.
View the application and program details here: http://fi.co/veteran
Limitless Conference: Hosted by LP Ken McElroy (August 29-31, 2024)
Join LPs Ken McElroy, Chuck Heath, GP Lisa Song Sutton and Veteran Fund supporter Congressman Dan Crenshaw at the Limitless Conference in Dallas, TX.
Limitless is an annual conference that brings together American entrepreneurs to discuss real estate, economics, business and investing. Speakers include Ken, Chuck, Lisa, Congressman Crenshaw, Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad), George Gammon (Rebel Capitalist) and others.
Sages and Scientists: Hosted by LP Deepak Chopra (September 14-15, 2024)
In collaboration with industry leaders Sam Altman, Marc Benioff and Gary Vee, join this prestigious event in Boston, MA where GP Justin Nahama will be moderating a panel to discuss Conscious Leadership with LPs Deepak Chopra, Dr. Matt Provencher, General Stan McChrystal, and GP Ryan Micheletti. Sages and Scientists is an annual symposium to unite an extraordinary assembly of the world’s foremost entrepreneurs, philosophers, doctors, scientists, and artists. The Symposium aims to ignite a convergence of minds that will pave innovative pathways for the well-being of humanity.
We are incredibly proud of the community of leaders we have united to support our mission of advancing America through venture capital. Thank you for your continued support and contribution toward the closing of Fund I. It is an honor to be stewards of this great community.
As always, if you know of a strong company led by an exceptional veteran founder, please share this with them.
With gratitude,
Justin, Mike, Lisa, Ryan | The Veteran Fund
The Veteran Fund General Partners with Andrea Fox Downing, advocate for TVF and Miss Texas 2018
🇺🇸 The Veteran Fund: Independence Day 2024
The Veteran Fund: Independence Day 2024
This Independence Day, The Veteran Fund is initiating the close of Fund I and we are honored to share a special message with you.
248 years ago, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, risking their lives to protect our unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Many of these founders served in the military and made the ultimate sacrifice for their beliefs, anchoring a new era of service. Their actions demonstrate that a small group of people, fueled by their conviction to build a better world, can fundamentally change the course of human history.
When we launched The Veteran Fund in 2022, we asked ourselves several questions: Has the world improved over the last several decades? Are people happier, healthier, more prosperous, and more free? Is America still the shining city on the hill?
Our team believes that, in many ways, the world has improved. However, in this age of connectivity, there is unprecedented uncertainty. People are more disconnected than ever, misaligned on common values and purpose, with divisiveness at the forefront of many conversations. Further, our nation’s greatest adversaries think and plan decades ahead. We must do the same.
Our intention with The Veteran Fund is to build a 100-year legacy institution to invest in the best leaders our country has to offer.
We believe exceptional American leadership begins by empowering those who have graduated from the greatest leadership academy in the world, the United States Military. Combined with deep domain expertise and mindfulness practices, these veteran founders are uniquely positioned to build technology companies that will positively impact the world. We are uniting leaders from the military, business and mindfulness communities who share a deep sense of purpose and heartfelt conviction toward improving our country and the world for the benefit of all humanity.
This Independence Day, we invite you to consider: What are you grateful for? What is your life’s purpose? What legacy are you building to improve the world?
Our team is deeply grateful for every member of The Veteran Fund community who supports our mission. Our community of liberty-minded leaders, including our investors, founders, and partners, are helping us build a much brighter future.
With our final close approaching, we ask you to join us. If our mission of advancing America through venture capital resonates, we’d be honored to welcome you alongside us.
Happy Independence Day and God Bless America,
- Mike, Justin, Lisa, and Ryan
