o McLean-Based Veteran Ventures Capital Closes $60 Million Fund
o DC-Based Optoro Acquired by Blue Yonder
o McLean-Based Zephyr AI Acquires Aster Insights, Hires New CEO
o Reston-Based CyberSheath Names Emil Sayegh as New CEO
o Capital Solutions Group Tabs Larry Denton as COO, CGO
o Briefly Noted: Red River, Altamira Technologies, Neovera, Appian, Seekr, Dragos
McLean-Based Veteran Ventures Capital Closes $60 Million Fund
McLean, Va. – Veteran Ventures Capital (VVC), a McLean-based venture capital firm investing in dual-use national security technologies, said it has raised $60 million for its second fund. The fund, known as Veterans Fund II, is triple the size of the 6-year-old firm’s previous fund, and will help it increase investments in the defense and aerospace sectors. VVC typically backs companies in areas such as space situational awareness, in-space propulsion, counter-UAS and autonomous systems. Early investments from the latest fund include Agile Space Industries, a developer of chemical in-space propulsion technology, and Turion Space, a developer of DROID satellite architecture. “Fund II allows us to back more [companies], and with more meaningful capital,” said Josh Weed, a general partner at the firm.
DC-Based Optoro Acquired by Blue Yonder
Washington, DC – Optoro, a DC-based provider of technology that helps retailers process returns, said it has been acquired by Arizona-based digital supply chain developer Blue Yonder. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Blue Yonder said it plans to consolidate the companies’ offerings, creating an end-to-end returns management system designed to help retailers and brands streamline services. Co-founders Toby Moore and Adam Vitarello opened Optoro in 2004 under the name eSpot Deals. The company spent its early years processing returns for retailers, but in 2010 began focusing on its back-end returns technology.
“With e-commerce sales continuing to grow, retailers need to be prepared when it comes to returns,” said Tim Robinson, corporate vice president of returns at Blue Yonder. “We are excited to acquire Optoro, to enrich the capabilities available to our customers, allowing them to enhance their ability to manage returns with increased efficiency and effectiveness to meet the needs of consumers.”
McLean-Based Zephyr AI Acquires Aster Insights, Hires New CEO
McLean, Va. – Zephyr AI, a developer of precision medicines that uses AI to accelerate drug development, said it has acquired Florida-based Aster Insights, a provider of scientific and clinical intelligence for oncology discovery, and hired Allen Chao as its CEO. Aster will operate as a subsidiary of Zephyr. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chao founded Watson Pharmaceuticals in 1984, serving as its CEO and chairman until 2008. He has spent much of his career supporting cancer research, notably establishing the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UC Irvine in 1994. He succeeds co-founder Jeff Sherman, who had held the role on an interim basis.
“With the acquisition of Aster and Dr. Chao now at the helm, Zephyr… is well-positioned to accelerate the discovery and development of cancer therapies, as it continues to tackle the hardest problems in oncology today,” said Grant Verstandig, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Zephyr.
Reston-Based CyberSheath Names Emil Sayegh as New CEO
Reston, Va. – CyberSheath, a Reston-based provider of IT security services to the defense industry, has named Emil Sayegh as its new CEO. He succeeds company founder Eric Noonan, who will transition to the role of strategic advisor. Sayegh previously served as the CEO of several private equity-backed companies, including Ntirety, Hostway Services and Codero Hosting. Sayegh joins the company at a time when the Department of Defense is mandating rapid implementation of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) across all new contracts beginning Oct. 1.
Capital Solutions Group Tabs Larry Denton as COO, CGO
Annapolis, Md. – Capital Solutions Group, an Annapolis-based developer of national security technology, has named Larry Denton as its COO and chief growth officer (CGO). Denton most recently served as the vice president of enterprise cloud solutions at CACI International, following its 2024 acquisition of Applied Insight, where he was president and CGO. Denton previously served as CGO at Bridges Consulting.
“Larry’s expertise is exactly what Capital Solutions Group needs at this stage in our growth,” said CEO Jeff May. “His track record of scaling companies, building trusted customer relationships and delivering technology that matters to national security will accelerate our journey as we compete with much larger players in the market.”
Briefly Noted
(Chantilly, Va.) Chantilly-based Red River, a developer of AI-driven cybersecurity and IT infrastructure tools, has named David Raffetto as the senior vice president and general manager of its Technology Solutions unit. Raffetto previously spent 16 years in sales and leadership roles at Cisco Systems, most recently serving as sales director for Cisco’s Department of Defense operation.
(McLean, Va.) McLean-based Altamira Technologies, a provider of engineering and analytics services to national security clients, has named Cassie Kurtz as the vice president of its Defense Scientific and Intelligence business in Dayton, Ohio. Kurtz previously spent nearly two decades at Booz Allen Hamilton, most recently leading European Intelligence programs from the United Kingdom.
(Reston, Va.) Reston-based Neovera, a provider of cybersecurity and cloud services, has named Todd Arnts as the vice president of its Fraud Red Team division. Arnts, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, most recently led internal fraud red teaming operations at JPMorgan Chase.
(McLean, Va.) McLean-based Appian, developer of a platform for AI process automation, has named Scott Van Valkenburgh as its senior vice president of global partnerships and alliances. Van Valkenburgh most recently served as the senior vice president of global alliances and channels at Alteryx, and earlier spent 15 years as a senior director at SAS.
(Reston, Va.) Reston-based Seekr, a developer of AI software, has named Chris Griffiths as its vice president of enterprise sales. Griffiths previously worked at SymphonyAI, where he led sales efforts across energy, telecom, life sciences and manufacturing.
(Hanover, Md.) Hanover-based Dragos, a provider of cybersecurity technology for industrial and critical infrastructure, has named Eric Cross as its chief revenue officer. Cross most recently served as the chief revenue officer of Reltio, and previously held the same role at Appian and Egnyte.