Potomac Tech Wire - April 8
Vienna-Based Corsha Raises $18M to Secure Machine-to-Machine Communication
o Vienna-Based Corsha Raises $18M to Secure M2M Communication
o Dulles-Based Nightwing Acquires Herndon’s Roka Security
o CoStar Says Trade Secrets Suit Brought By Move Inc. Dismissed
o Tech Workers at The Washington Post Form Union
o Reston-Based RGS Names Ryan Lewis as New CEO
> Tech Wire Event: AI Outlook 2025 - May 1 (Reston)
o Briefly Noted: Internet Society, Leap, Eagle Eye
Vienna-Based Corsha Raises $18M to Secure Machine-to-Machine Communication
Vienna, Va. – Corsha, the Vienna-based developer of a platform designed to provide identity security for operational systems and critical infrastructure, said on Tuesday it has raised $18 million in a Series A-1 funding round, led by SineWave Ventures. Razor's Edge Ventures and Ten Eleven Ventures also took part in the round, which the company will use, in part, to expand its go-to-market team and launch a physical and digital research space called Corsha Labs. Corsha’s authentication and access platform is designed to ensure that all machine-to-machine communication is secure and can be trusted.
"There's such a huge modernization opportunity in connecting operational systems and critical infrastructure yet without a strong identity solution, the risk is too high," said founder and CEO Anusha Iyer. "That is why we are so committed to our vision to securely connect the operational systems that run our world.”
Dulles-Based Nightwing Acquires Herndon’s Roka Security
Dulles, Va. – Nightwing, a Dulles-based cybersecurity and intelligence company that was previously a division of RTX, said it has acquired Herndon-based Roka Security, a provider of managed cybersecurity services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Nightwing said the move will allow it to expand its cybersecurity services for government and private sector clients. "With this acquisition, we are enhancing our ability to provide technical training, secure data transport solutions, and critical infrastructure to clients when and where they need it most,” said Bob Coleman, the CEO of Nightwing.
CoStar Says Trade Secrets Suit Brought By Move Inc. Dismissed
Arington, Va. – Ending a nine-month legal battle, Arlington-based CoStar Group, the operator of online real estate marketplaces such as Apartments.com and Homes.com, said on Monday it has prevailed in a federal lawsuit brought by Move Inc., the Rupert Murdoch-owned operator of Realtor.com. Move Inc. initially filed the suit last July, accusing CoStar and a former employee of trade secret misappropriation. The company alleged that the employee had been hired by CoStar to launch a news division and was using information obtained from his time at Move to support that launch. CoStar, however, maintained that he was hired to write descriptions of New York condominiums for Homes.com, and that Move’s suit lacked evidence. Now, Move has dismissed the case with prejudice, and CoStar said it “didn’t pay a dime” to settle, calling the episode a “PR stunt.”
Tech Workers at The Washington Post Form Union
Washington, DC – A majority of the more than 300 technology workers at The Washington Post on Monday announced the formation of a union, seeking to build “a more equitable, transparent and sustainable future.” The Washington Post Tech Guild said it is seeking voluntary recognition from the company, and will be supported by staff at the Washington Baltimore News Guild, The News Guild and Communication Workers of America and their Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE). Though many employees at The Post are eligible to join unions, most tech workers are not. The move comes as The Post has seen massive subscription cancellations in recent weeks after owner Jeff Bezos announced an overhaul to the paper’s Opinion pages to reflect libertarian viewpoints and exclude other voices. The employees say they’re striving for “equity and inclusion, a seat at the table, fair compensation and benefits, job security, just cause protections and flexibility and modern work practices.” “We are forming this union to demand the same fairness, transparency and respect that our readers expect from our journalism,” the guild said in a statement.
Reston-Based RGS Names Ryan Lewis as New CEO
Reston, Va. – Rancher Government Solutions (RGS), a provider of Open Source software to the federal government, has named Ryan Lewis as its new CEO. Lewis most recently served as a partner at SRI Ventures, and previously was a senior practice manager for AI at Amazon Web Services National Security and as senior vice president at In-Q-Tel. He succeeds Paul Smith, who departed the company in December following a year and a half at the helm. Heather McMahon, had served as interim CEO.
> AI Outlook 2025 Event - May 1 (Reston)
Potomac Tech Wire’s AI Outlook 2025 breakfast event will take place on May 1 in Reston. Join us for a morning of networking, insights, and forward-looking discussions with leading voices in artificial intelligence and venture capital.
Event Highlights:
Presentation:
“The Future of AI: Insights from Reviewing 18,000+ Startups”
Phil Bronner, Co-Founder, Ardent Venture Partners
Fireside Chat:
Fahad Hassan, Co-Founder & CEO, Range
Interviewed by Amias Gerety, Partner, QED Investors
(Range recently raised $28 million in Series B funding)
Panel Discussion: Steven Aberle, Founder, Rohirrim AI; Harsha Mokkarala, Founder, e:cue; Reilly Herrewig, CTO, Thoras AI; (Moderator) Paul Sherman, Editor, Potomac Tech Wire
Briefly Noted:
(Reston, Va.) The Reston-based Internet Society, a global charitable organization championing an open Internet, has named Yogesh Khanna as its executive vice president and managing director. Khanna previously was the chief technology and strategy officer at Sev1Tech, and earlier served as the senior vice president and CTO at General Dynamics Information Technology.
(Columbia, Md.) Columbia-based Leap, a developer of roofing and remodeling software, has named Kevin Geiger as its senior vice president of partnerships. Geiger most recently served as the vice president of business development at EverCommerce, and earlier was the senior director of business development at HomeAdvisor and Angie's List.
(Washington, DC) Eagle Eye, a UK-based provider of loyalty, personalized promotions and omnichannel marketing software, has named Jeff Baskin as its chief revenue officer as the company looks to accelerate growth in North America. Baskin most recently served as a senior partner at NexChapter, and earlier was the chief revenue officer at Upshop.