🇺🇸 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
