Potomac Tech Wire - April 22

Manassas-Based Electra Raises $115 Million for Hybrid-Electric Aircraft

o Electra Raises $115 Million for Hybrid-Electric Aircraft
o Bethesda-based AuthMind Raises $19.3 Million in Seed Round
o EY Releases Finalists for Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year
o Arlington-Based Boeing to Sell Portions of Digital Aviation Solutions
o MASN Launches Long-Awaited Streaming Service for Orioles, Nats
o McLean-Based Appian Names Serge Tanjga as CFO
o Briefly Noted: Claritev, V2X, Constellis

Manassas-Based Electra Raises $115 Million for Hybrid-Electric Aircraft

Manassas, Va. – Electra, a Manassas-based aerospace startup building hybrid-electric Ultra Short aircraft to fly people and cargo, said it has raised $115 million in its second round of funding, led by Prysm Capital. Jay Park, co-founder and managing partner at Prysm, has joined the company’s board. The company said it will use the latest funds to enter the pre-production and certification phase of its EL9, an Ultra Short aircraft that can take off and land in 150 feet. The company said the nine-passenger aircraft will use blown lift technology and hybrid-electric propulsion to operate with the landing and takeoff versatility of a helicopter and the quietness of an electric vehicle. Electra said it already has over 2,200 pre-orders for the EL9.

“The EL9 Ultra Short opens the door to opportunities to establish new commercial routes, connect communities currently lacking aviation infrastructure, and enable entirely novel logistics capabilities for warfighters,” said CEO Marc Allen.

Bethesda-based AuthMind Raises $19.3 Million in Seed Round

Bethesda, Md. – AuthMind, a Bethesda-based identity protection startup, has raised $19.3 million in a seed round. The round was led by Cheyenne Ventures with participation from Black Opal Ventures, K2 Access Fund, the Jefferies Family Office, Silver Buckshot Ventures, and Blu Venture Investors, along with existing investors Ballistic Ventures and IBM. AuthMind’s technology helps its customers block identity-based threats in multi-cloud, hybrid, and AI environments.

"AuthMind is redefining identity protection by providing continuous, context-driven observability, posture management, and threat detection for all identities and their access paths across multi-cloud, SaaS, and on-premises environments," said Shlomi Yanai, CEO of AuthMind. "With the backing of top investors and advisors, we are poised to expand our market reach and protect enterprises against the growth of identity-based threats driven by today's cloud migration and the accelerating use of AI tools."

EY Releases Finalists for Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year

Washington, DC – Ernst & Young has released the finalists for its annual Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 Mid-Atlantic Award. An independent panel of judges chose the 36 finalists, who are entrepreneurs based in Maryland, DC and Virginia. In a release about the finalists, EY said the program celebrates “bold leaders who disrupt markets through the world’s most ground-breaking companies, revolutionizing industries and making a profound impact on communities.” The 2025 Mid-Atlantic finalists are:

Gautam Ijoor, Vienna-based Alpha Omega

Olivia Trivisani Bowker, Reston-based Amivero

Bill Schaefer, Reston-based Amyx

Jeff Beck, Richmond-based AnswersNow

Arlene Wube and Lonye Ford, Washington-based Arlo Solutions

Kathy Freeland, McLean-based A-TEK

Kristen Valdes, Baltimore-based b.well Connected Health

Dr. Areo Nazari, Washington-based CaryHealth

Shawn Gundrum, Tysons-based CATHEXIS

Richie Huffman, Baltimore-based Celebree

Stefano Ratti, Rockville-based Chaberton Energy

Kendall Holbrook, Reston-based Dev Technology Group

Mark Jablonowski, Washington-based DSPolitical

Mitchell Cho, Fairfax-based FedWriters

Kirsten Brecht Baker, Washington-based Jeenie

Jim Buck, Riverdale-based Medcura

Gloria Bohan, Fairfax-based Omega World Travel

Greg Craddock, Warrenton-based Patriot Group International

Debbie Ailiff, Rosedale-based Procare Ambulance of Maryland

Amir Hudda, Arlington-based Qu

Shubhi Mishra, McLean-based Raft

Dr. Josh Funk, Germantown-based Rehab 2 Perform

Mohammad Elias, Catonsville-based RELI Group

Dan Doll and David Simnick, Washington-based Soapbox

Rob Schroder, Tysons-based SteerBridge

Glenn Diersen, Richmond-based Summit Human Capital

Matt Small, Arlington-based Symplicity

Helen Stefan Moreau, Washington-based The Midtown Group

Craig Halliday, Dulles-based Unanet

Eric Gertler, Washington-based US News & World Report

John Ackerly, Washington-based Virtru

Ahmad Nassar, Tysons-based Winners Alliance

Mark Drever, McLean-based Xcelerate Solutions

Felix Lloyd, Arlington-based Zoobean

Arlington-Based Boeing to Sell Portions of Digital Aviation Solutions

Arlington, Va. – Boeing, the Arlington-based aviation giant, said on Tuesday it will sell portions of its Digital Aviation Solutions business, including its Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData and OzRunways assets, to private equity firm Thoma Bravo in an all-cash deal valued at $10.55 billion. The sale is expected to close by the end of this year. Boeing said it will retain some core digital capabilities that provide clients with fleet maintenance, diagnostics and repair services. All told, approximately 3,900 employees work in Boeing's Digital Aviation Solutions organization, which includes elements of the business remaining within Boeing and those included in the sale.

"This transaction is an important component of our strategy to focus on core businesses, supplement the balance sheet and prioritize the investment grade credit rating," said Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s president and CEO.

MASN Launches Long-Awaited Streaming Service for Orioles, Nats Fans

Baltimore – Filling a major void for cord-cutting baseball fans in the DMV, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) on Monday launched a direct-to-consumer streaming service called MASN+ that will carry all games and studio programming from both the Orioles and Nationals. MASN+ will cost $19.99 a month or $89.99 for the remainder of the season, allowing fans to watch games without needing to subscribe to cable or satellite services. The network said that its MASN and MASN2 channels also will continue to be available via those providers. The Orioles and Nationals were two of only three MLB teams – along with the Houston Astros – that did not offer a streaming package.

McLean-Based Appian Names Serge Tanjga as CFO

McLean, Va. – Appian, a McLean-based developer of a software platform designed to help clients improve their processes, has named Serge Tanjga as CFO. Tanjga most recently served as the senior vice president of finance and interim CFO at MongoDB, and earlier was a managing director at Emerging Sovereign Group, a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group. He succeeds Mark Matheos, who departed the company in November and now serves as the CFO of Dragos.

Briefly Noted

(McLean, Va.) McLean-based Claritev, a provider of data technology for the healthcare industry, has named Jigar Patel as its chief medical officer and Fernando Schwartz as its chief AI officer. Patel previously spent more than 18 years working in healthcare IT at Cerner/Oracle, and Schwartz was the vice president of AI at ADP.

(Reston, Va.) Reston-based V2X, a developer of AI and machine learning tools for national security and defense clients, has named Melon Yeshoalul as its senior vice president and chief human resources officer. Yeshoalul most recently served in a senior leadership role at Amazon Web Services (AWS), and earlier held HR leadership positions at DXC Technology, PwC and Boeing.

(Herndon, Va.) Herndon-based Constellis, a provider of risk management and mission support services, has named Chad Coben to its board of directors. Coben is the senior managing director of corporate finance and restructuring at FTI Consulting.