The Silicon Valley Defense Group “NatSec 100”

07/13/2023 | Written by: Daniel Pereira

About the Silicon Valley Defense Group [SVDG]

In 2015, Senator John McCain sought help from leaders in tech and finance to improve relations between the innovation hub of Silicon Valley and the technology demands of the defense market. The result: The Silicon Valley Defense Group. After meeting with Senator McCain, [the founders of the SVDG] continued to engage policymakers to help bridge the gap between government and Silicon Valley. Before officially becoming a 501C3 in 2020, SVDG operated for several years as an informal working group, uniting the people, capital, and ideas necessary to ensure allied democracies retain a durable techno-security advantage. SVDG aims to develop cross-cutting relationships between Silicon Valley startups, investors, and the defense ecosystem. To achieve this goal, SVDG seeks to engage and motivate dual-use innovators and venture capitalists to support the broad mandate for defense innovation. (1)

The Inaugural SVDG National Security 100 (NatSec100)

The SVDG recently introduced the inaugural version of the NatSec100, a “newly developed, annual ranked list of the top venture-funded defense and dual-use startups. It was developed to offer a data-driven snapshot of the evolving techno-security ecosystem.

The list is by no means a perfect indicator of the future success or failure of the companies it comprises; rather, it is intended to drive conversation around the emerging tech ecosystem in national security. While the DOD has long resisted “picking winners,” the NatSec100 ranks companies based on which are the comparative front-runners in the defense and national security space each year.

SVDG will be sharing a series of follow-up efforts including webinars, case studies, and roundtables to facilitate discussions and knowledge sharing. Additionally, deeper dives into the policy recommendations will be undertaken to critically assess and refine strategies for more effective implementation. (2)

Source: https://www.siliconvalleydefense.org/natsec100-2023/#list

Rank	Name	Company Description	Total funding raised (millions)	Headquarters	CEO	Year Founded
1	SpaceX	Develops spacecraft to make life multi-planetary; develops space launch vehicles to increase accessibility of materials	$8,999.86	Hawthorne, CA	Elon Musk	2002
2	Anduril	Develops defensive AI-based software and hardware for national security	$2,315.10	Costa Mesa, CA	Brian Schimpf	2017
3	Databricks	Data analytics platform to simplify data	$3,497.36	San Francisco, CA	Ali Ghodsi	2013
4	Sierra Space	Commercial space transportation technology to facilitate life in space	$1,438.22	Louisville, CO	Tom Vice	2021
5	Chainalysis	Cryptocurrency investigation and compliance software	$536.72	New York City, NY	Jonathan Levin	2014
6	Axiom Space	Provider of human-rated space infrastructure and services	$274.20	Houston, TX	Michael Suffredini	2016
7	Relativity	Develops 3D printed rockets for launching payloads to orbit	$1,334.54	Long Beach, CA	Tim Ellis	2015
8	Grafana Labs	Developer of a performance monitoring platform	$569.23	New York, NY	Raj Dutt	2014
9	Shield AI	AI based drone technology	$575.00	San Diego, CA	Ryan Tseng	2015
10	Dataiku	Centralized data platform supporting data analytics and enterprise AI development	$851.80	New York, NY	Florian Douetteau	2013
11	Skydio	Developer of autonomous drones for commercial and government use	$644.68	Redwood City, CA	Adam Bry	2014
12	Scale AI	Data-centric platform accelerates AI training and development	$602.86	San Francisco, CA	Alexandr Wang	2016
13	ICON	Construction-scale additive manufacturing	$451.00	Austin, TX	Jason Ballard	2017
14	Lyten	Lithium-sulfur battery technology	$210.00	San Jose, CA	Dan Cook	2015
15	SandboxAQ	Practical AI quantum software	$500.00	New York, NY	Jack Hidary	2022
16	Dragos	Infrastructure cybersecurity software	$358.20	Hanover, MD	Robert M. Lee	2016
17	Slingshot Aerospace	Space simulation and analytics platform	$81.82	El Segundo, CA	Melanie Stricklan	2017
18	Venus Aerospace	Developing hypersonic aircraft	$48.28	Houston, TX	Sassie Duggleby	2020
19	DataRobot	Enterprise AI platform to automate data	$1,048.21	Boston, MA	Debanjan Saha	2012
20	Ursa Major Technologies	Developer of turnkey propulsion technologies for engines	$286.10	Berthoud, CO	Joe Laurienti	2015
21	Rubrik	Data automation for hybrid clouds	$1,056.73	Palo Alto, CA	Bipul Sinha	2014
22	Versa Networks	Integrated SDN platform to integrate cloud, networking, and security services	$330.25	Santa Clara, CA	Kelly Ahuja	2009
23	ThoughtSpot	Enterprise analytics platform centralizes and accelerates data	$677.45	Mountain View, CA	Sudheesh Nair	2012
24	PsiQuantum	First utility-scale quantum computer	$665.00	Palo Alto, CA	Jeremy O’Brien	2016
25	Capella Space	Satellite radar imagery technology	$283.99	San Francisco, CA	Payam Banazadeh	2016
26	Stoke Space Technologies	Developer of reusable rockets	$74.54	Kent, WA	Andy Lapsa	2019
27	SambaNova Systems	Hardware for accelerated analytics and AI	$1,136.60	Palo Alto, CA	Rodrigo Liang	2017
28	Applied Intuition	Advanced simulation infrastructure software for autonomous vehicles	$351.50	Mountain View, CA	Qasar Younis	2017
29	Epirus	HPM technology software to counter UAS	$290.59	Torrance, CA	Kenneth Bedingfield	2018
30	Impulse Space	Orbital maneuvering vehicles for economical delivery	$30.00	El Segundo, CA	Thomas Mueller	2021
31	Blue Origin	Space technologies for sustainable expansion	$500.00	Kent, WA	Bob Smith	2000
32	CloudBees	Automated cloud platform for software delivery	$454.55	San Jose, CA	Anuj Kapur	2010
33	Cerebras Systems	AI-accelerating computing chips	$723.00	Sunnyvale, CA	Andrew Feldman	2015
34	Astranis	Satellite internet company for regional connectivity and broadcasting	$393.92	San Francisco, CA	John Gedmark	2015
35	ABL Space Systems	Low-cost vehicles to launch small satellites	$419.35	El Segundo, CA	Harry O’Hanley	2017
36	Infleqtion	Develops software-configured, quantum-enabled products	$184.50	Louisville, CO	Scott Faris	2007
37	VAST Data	Data platform designed to accelerate enterprises	$263.00	New York, NY	Renen Hallak	2016
38	EOI Space	Low-flying satellites to collect ultra-high-resolution imagery	$11.07	Louisville, CO	Christopher Thein	2017
39	Muon Space	Develops climate-focused satellite constellation technology	$35.00	Mountain View, CA	Jonny Dyer	2021
40	Opaque Systems	First confidential AI platform	$22.00	San Francisco, CA	Rishabh Poddar	2020
41	Whoop	Wearable performance optimization device	$407.40	Boston, MA	Will Ahmed	2011
42	Saildrone	Autonomous marine surface vehicles	$186.20	Alameda, CA	Richard Jenkins	2012
43	Loft Orbital	Satellite platform to assist the launch and operations of satellites	$156.16	San Francisco, CA	Pierre-Damien Vaujour	2017
44	RED 6	Augmented reality (AR) for military training applications	$110.90	Orlando, FL	DANIEL ROBINSON	2018
45	SiMa.ai	Software-centric platform accelerates high-performance machine learning inference	$187.80	San Jose, CA	Krishna Rangasayee	2018
46	Formlabs	Printing platform designed to print parts with complex geometries	$253.13	Somerville, MA	Maxim Lobovsky	2011
47	BigID	Data-driven protection and privacy compliance platform	$196.26	New York, NY	Dimitri Sirota	2016
48	Lambda	Software-enhanced compute systems and GPU cloud services	$68.21	San Jose, CA	Stephen Balaban	2012
49	Vannevar Labs	Machine learning products for critical national security problems	$91.10	Palo Alto, CA	Brett Granberg	2019
50	Fictiv	On-demand digital manufacturing ecosystem	$195.62	San Francisco, CA	Dave Evans	2013
51	Ayar Labs	Electronic-photonic chipset for computers	$195.10	Emeryville, CA	Alex Wright-Gladstein	2015
52	Federated Wireless	CBRS shared spectrum technology for wireless industry	$206.00	Arlington, VA	Iyad Tarazi	2012
53	Dedrone	Counter-drone security technology platform	$133.01	Sterling, VA	Aaditya Devarakonda	2014
54	RRAI	Develops autonomous and semi-autonomous transportation vehicles	$228.00	Clarksburg, MD	Alberto Lacaze	2002
55	Merlin Labs	Autonomous flight technology designed for fixed-wing aircraft	$146.00	Boston, MA	Matt George	2018
56	Hermeus	Developer of a hypersonic aircraft	$118.90	Atlanta, GA	AJ Piplica	2018
57	SparkCognition	AI to analyze increasingly complex data stores	$340.49	Austin, TX	Amir Husain	2013
58	Firefly Aerospace	Develops launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit	$30.20	Cedar Park, TX	Bill Weber	2017
59	Kymeta	Low-power satellite antenna for mobile satellite-cellular connectivity	$524.87	McLean, VA	S. Douglas Hutcheson	2012
60	UVeye	Vehicle inspection systems to detect threats or modifications of vehicles	$201.56	Teaneck, NJ	Amir Hever	2016
61	Airspace Technologies	Technology-enabled logistic platform to expedite deliveries	$138.50	Carlsbad, CA	Nicholas Bulcao	2016
62	Boom Supersonic	Manufacturer of sustainable supersonic aircraft	$269.13	Dove Valley, CO	Blake Scholl	2014
63	Sepio	Risk management platform	$37.00	Rockville, MD	Yossi Appleboum	2016
64	Nozomi Networks	Online cybersecurity platform	$174.05	San Francisco, CA	Edgard Capdevielle	2013
65	Gecko Robotics	Robots for comprehensive asset inspections	$120.45	Pittsburgh, PA	Jake Loosararian	2013
66	6K	Microwave-based plasma technology to produce nanomaterials	$214.10	North Andover, MA	Aaron Bent	2014
67	Interos	Logistics assurance platform to manage supply-chain risk	$258.62	Arlington, VA	Jennifer Bisceglie	2005
68	Albedo	Constellation of satellites that capture both visible and thermal imagery simultaneously	$60.22	Broomfield, CO	Topher Haddad	2020
69	Brinc	2-way communication drones and aerospace technology systems	$82.20	Seattle, WA	Blake Resnick	2017
70	Swift Navigation	GPS technology for automated navigation for autonomous applications	$200.18	San Francisco, CA	Tim Harris	2012
71	Rebellion Defense	Mission-focused, defense and security AI products	$223.80	Washington, DC	Barry Sowerwine	2019
72	ATLAS Space Operations	Satellite communications optimization control software	$34.80	Traverse City, MI	Sean McDaniel	2015
73	Liquid Instruments	Developer of modern test and measurement devices based on a software-configurable hardware platform	$58.96	San Diego, CA	Daniel Shaddock	2014
74	Orbit Fab	Space refueling technology designed to offer remote monitoring services	$29.15	Lafayette, CO	Daniel Faber	2018
75	Firehawk Aerospace	Hybrid rocket engines with 3D-printed fuel	$26.75	Addison, TX	Will Edwards	2019
76	Morpheus Space	Sustainable spacecraft propulsion systems	$28.07	El Segundo, CA	Daniel Bock	2018
77	X-Bow	Affordable rocket propellant for orbital access	$29.20	Huntsville, AL	Jason Hundley	2016
78	Mirantis	Technology platform for public open cloud infrastructure	$254.07	Campbell, CA	Adrian Ionel	1999
79	Rescale	Cloud-based software and hardware infrastructure platform for scientific and engineering simulations	$157.40	San Francisco, CA	Joris Poort	2011
80	Voyager Space	Aviation and aerospace technology for space exploration	$177.80	Denver, CO	Dylan Taylor	2019
81	HawkEye 360	space-based radio frequency mapping and analytics system for geospatial data analytics	$305.00	Herndon, VA	John Serafini	2015
82	Automation Anywhere	Workforce-oriented AI robotic process automation software	$1,172.97	San Jose, CA	Mihir Shukla	2003
83	Truera	Model Intelligence platform for business impact	$42.28	Redwood City, CA	William Uppington	2019
84	Second Front Systems	Accelerating commercial software development, testing, and deployment into national security networks	$44.23	Wilmington, DE	Peter R Dixon	2014
85	Phantom Space	Democratizing space transportation technology	$26.66	Tucson, AZ	Jim Cantrell	2019
86	Xwing	Autonomous flight technology for various aircraft	$58.00	San Francisco, CA	Marc Piette	2016
87	LeoLabs	Secure commercial operations in low Earth orbit	$82.00	Menlo Park, CA	Daniel Ceperley	2016
88	SkySafe	Drone defense technology for airspace security	$45.00	San Diego, CA	Grant Jordan	2015
89	Spaceflight Industries	Aerospace launch mission services	$265.75	Bellevue, WA	Tiphaine Louradour	2009
90	Snorkel	AI tool to extract information from text documents	$138.25	Redwood City, CA	Alexander Ratner	2015
91	Hypori	Virtual mobile infrastructure to eliminate security risks	$30.50	Reston, VA	Jared Shepard	2021
92	Stellar Cyber	Automated security operations platform	$59.80	San Jose, CA	Changming Liu	2015
93	Shift5	Cybersecurity platform to defend operational technology platforms	$105.50	Arlington, VA	Josh Lospinoso	2019
94	Primer	AI used to automate the analysis of massive datasets	$237.00	San Francisco, CA	Sean Moriarty	2014
95	SpiderOak	Collaboration tool, online backup and file hosting service	$36.90	Lenexa, KS	Dave Pearah	2007
96	Xplore	Commercial space services fueled by a multi-sensor platform to store, transmit data, achieve data fusion and on orbit processing	$25.20	Redmond, WA	Jeff Rich	2018
97	CesiumAstro	Software-defined communication payloads for airborne and in-orbit platforms	$88.20	Broomfield, CO	Shey Sabripour	2017
98	Eclypsium	Device security platform unguarded firmware and hardware defense	$63.04	Portland, OR	Yuriy Bulygin	2017
99	Varda Space Industries	Platform for in-space manufacturing	$42.00	El Segundo, CA	Will Bruey	2020
100	Elroy Air	Autonomous aircraft systems and software to expedite shipping services	$56.00	San Francisco, CA	David Merrill	2016

Methodology

Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG) collaborated with Franklin Templeton and Balyasny Asset Management to compile the NatSec100 list, taking into account the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E))’s 14 Critical Technology Areas and private conversations with senior leaders from the DOD and intelligence community. Eligible companies are all engaged in the Department of Defense (DOD) critical technology areas, and the rankings reflect weighted, quantitative factors that allowed us to analyze companies’ size, growth, and momentum. Specifically, we analyzed headcount growth, total capital raised, and fundraising momentum, to assign a weighted score to each company. While these metrics are by no means perfect indicators of success for these companies, they demonstrate momentum in the world of venture-backed growth. All data gathered for the NatSec100 2023 is through the end of April 2023. (3)

What Next?

SVDG Policy Recommendations

Better Reporting Metrics

It’s important to track the success of defense and dual-use startups in the national security market to judge to health of the national security innovation ecosystem. These metrics should monitor private funding and company growth, as well as government contracts and procurement of emerging technologies. It should track beneficiaries of the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs), the recipients of AP-FIT grants, the Title III/Defense Production Act winners, and those that secure AFWERX STRATFI/TACFI awards. These will provide a clearer picture of the health of the national security innovation ecosystem and the effectiveness of DOD/IC efforts to support innovative challengers to the established defense industrial base.

Private Capital Partnership Consideration

Another step towards enhancing our techno-security landscape is to consolidate DOD efforts in connecting with private capital. These efforts, currently distributed across various departments like the Office of Strategic Capital, DIU, and Service-led initiatives, should be streamlined and consolidated. This centralization would improve efficiency, coordination, and accountability, and it could further be enhanced by linking with Intelligence Community efforts, like In-Q-Tel.

Nurturing New and Emerging Suppliers

If the DOD is truly committed to cultivating an emerging industrial base to supplement the established industrial base, it is essential to act decisively. This means seeking out and insisting on the inclusion of new suppliers, with a specific focus on those without a prior record of performance. It’s an approach that promotes innovation and drives competitiveness.

The Space Force’s approach with the new National Security Space Launch (NSSL) serves as a good model. Their Request for Proposals (RFP) expanded the supplier base, increasing the number of winners from two in the previous award to five in 2023. This not only broadened the playing field but also opened opportunities for 1-3 members of the NatSec100 to secure a contract, even without prior space exploration credentials.

However, not all sectors are embracing this forward-thinking strategy. A case in point is the Over-the-Horizon (OTH) munitions sector. The Ukraine conflict has highlighted the urgent need for new solid munition suppliers, like Ursa Major and Xbow. Yet, the first significant Defense Production Act (DPA) award was granted to the underperforming incumbent. This represented a missed opportunity to invest 10-20% of the contract in new entrants, which would have stimulated innovation and competition.

To ensure the growth and resilience of our national security infrastructure, it is paramount to incorporate and nurture emerging suppliers. This strategy fosters a more diverse and adaptable industrial base, better equipped to face the evolving challenges of the 21st century. (3)

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2023/01/20/ooda-almanac-2023-jagged-transitions/

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2023/02/13/the-disintermediation-of-the-defense-industrial-base/

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2023/02/14/the-current-debate-on-forging-the-defense-industrial-base-for-the-digital-age/

Tagged: Defense Industrial Base National Security Investment and American Competitiveness

About the Author

Daniel Pereira

Daniel Pereira is research director at OODA. He is a foresight strategist, creative technologist, and an information communication technology (ICT) and digital media researcher with 20+ years of experience directing public/private partnerships and strategic innovation initiatives.

Subscribe Sign In