Potomac Tech Wire - April 29
McLean-based Rilian Raises $17.5 Million in Seed Funding
o McLean-based Rilian Raises $17.5 Million in Seed Funding
o Rockville-based X-energy Raises $1 Billion in IPO
o Defense Department Makes $1 Billion Investment in L3Harris
o Arlington Capital Acquires ENERCON; Will Merge WIth Pond & Co.
o NVTC Releases AI50 Awards; Highlights Top AI Leaders in Region
o Troy Lahr Named New CFO at McLean-based Booz Allen Hamilton
o Booz Allen Ventures Invests in Austin-based Autonomous Company
> Event: Social Media Outlook for GovCon - May 15 (Reston)
o Briefly Noted: Grain Management - Quintillion, CTIA, MITRE - The Weather Company, Decera Clinical, MAXISIQ
McLean-based Rilian Raises $17.5 Million in Seed Funding
McLean, Va. – Rilian, a McLean-based provider of AI-based cybersecurity and defense systems integration, announced that it has raised $17.5 million in “seed and seed extension funding.” The round was led by 8VC, First In, and Tamarack Global. Other investors included 8090 Industries, Liquid 2 Ventures, Perot Jain and Protego Ventures.
“For many national security organizations, the challenge of executing their mission is not a lack of budget or technology; it is the effective utilization of technical capabilities with limited skilled manpower,” said Christian Schnedler, CEO and co-founder of Rilian. “Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, Northern Virginia, and other innovation hubs regularly produce impactful capabilities. Unfortunately, these take years to scale within governments at home, let alone deploying to global conflict zones where defenders need them most. Rilian was built to turn security into an execution success, not a procurement and human staffing problem.”
Rockville-based X-energy Raises $1 Billion in IPO
Rockville, Md. – The DC area has its newest public company after X-energy, the Rockville-based nuclear reactor and fuel technology company, went public last week, raising $1.02 billion in the IPO. The offering price was $23 per share, and closed at $31.08 on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalization of $8.4 billion. The company trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol XE.
Defense Department Makes $1 Billion Investment in L3Harris
Washington, DC – In a rare direct investment from the federal government into a private company, L3Harris Technologies said it has closed on a $1 billion strategic investment from the Department of Defense in its Missile Solutions (MSL) business as it prepares for an IPO later this year. The move effectively makes the federal government a pre-IPO owner of the company. The Defense Department aims to ensure supply missile systems in the company years. L3Harris said that the funding will be used to expand and modernize facilities, accelerate research and development, and increase production capacity.
“The investment from the DoW is in the form of a convertible preferred security of the MSL business, which will convert into common equity upon an initial public offering (IPO),” the company said in a press release about the deal. “In addition, the DoW will receive certain warrants to purchase common stock in MSL. As previously announced, L3Harris intends to pursue an IPO of MSL in the second half of 2026, pending market conditions.”
Arlington Capital Acquires ENERCON; Will Merge WIth Pond & Co.
Washington, DC – Arlington Capital Partners, the DC-based private equity firm focused on government regulated industries, announced that it has acquired ENERCON, an engineering firm focused on nuclear and other power technologies, from Oaktree Capital Management. Arlington Capital said it will combine ENERCON with portfolio company Pond & Company, which is based in Atlanta.
“We have begun a once-in-a-generation structural shift in power demand driven by AI, the onshoring of manufacturing, and changing national security priorities,” said Michael Lustbader, a Managing Partner at Arlington. “Meeting this demand will require rapid retooling of alternative energy resources and infrastructure, which, together, ENERCON and Pond are uniquely positioned to support.”
NVTC Releases AI50 Awards; Highlights Top AI Leaders in Region
McLean, Va. – The Northern Virginia Technology Council earlier this month released its inaugural 2026 AI50 Awards list that highlights leading companies and individuals in the DC area in the AI space. The list looks at AI leadership across various tech sectors, including defense, healthcare, and enterprise technology. “These awards recognize the builders turning that potential into real-societal impact. Northern Virginia is at the center of this shift with the compute, talent, and government–industry collaboration to move quickly and responsibly,” said Jennifer Taylor, president and CEO of NVTC. The full list is available here.
Troy Lahr Named New CFO at McLean-based Booz Allen Hamilton
McLean, Va. – With its stock price down 42% over the last year amid sharp government spending cuts for consultants, Booz Allen Hamilton announced that Troy Lahr has joined the company as its new chief financial officer. He replaces Matthew Calderone, who announced in December that he would be stepping down to pursue other opportunities. Lahr was most recently the CFO at Sierra Space, and has also served as CFO at Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security business.
Booz Allen Ventures Invests in Austin-based Autonomous Company
McLean, Va. – Booz Allen Ventures announced that it has made a strategic investment in NODA AI, an Austin-based startup focused on autonomous technology for the Department of Defense. “We are laser-focused on operationalizing autonomy for DoW,” said Randy Yamada, a vice president at Booz Allen’s Defense Technology Group and leader of Booz Allen’s autonomy portfolio. “NODA provides an important layer within the technology stack, and their capabilities will be increasingly important as autonomous platforms become pervasive throughout national security missions.” Booz Allen Ventures currently has $300 million in capital to invest.
> Social Media Outlook for GovCon - May 15 (Reston)
Briefly Noted
(Washington, DC) Grain Management, the DC-based private investment firm focused on communications and digital infrastructure, announced that it has reached an agreement to sell portfolio company Quintillion, a provider of subsea and terrestrial fiber in Alaska, to GCI Holdings. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
(Washington, DC) CTIA, the DC-based wireless industry association, has named Kurt Schaubach as senior vice president and CTO. He formerly worked as CTO at Federated Wireless.
(McLean, Va.) MITRE, the McLean-based research and development company for the government, announced a new strategic collaboration with Atlanta-based The Weather Company. Under the agreement, The Weather Company will use MITRE’s highest-resolution AI training sets for research and future weather forecasting systems.
(Reston, Va.) Decera Clinical, a Reston-based life sciences services firm, has named Frank Garafalo as its CFO. Garafalo formerly was the CFO at Eden Capital.
(Herndon, Va.) MAXISIQ, a Herndon-based technology and professional services company focused on government and defense clients, has launched its AI Consulting Services Group. The company said the new group brings together AI engineers, data scientists, systems architects, and acquisition specialists.