Potomac Tech Wire - Jan. 28
War of Words Escalates Between CoStar, Activist Hedge Fund Third Point LLC
o War of Words Escalates Between CoStar, Activist Hedge Fund
o Reston-based Leidos to Acquire ENTRUST for $2.4 Billion
o College Park-based IonQ to Acquire SkyWater for $1.8 Billion
o DC-based Ressio Software Raises Series A Round
o Baltimore-based CraniUS Raises $20 Million in Series B
o WIT Announces Finalists for Annual Leadership Awards
o Josh Lospinoso Named President, Interim CEO at Shift5\
> New Date: GovCon Outlook 2026 - Feb. 12 in Reston
o Briefly Noted: Kalshi, USA TODAY Co., growth[period]
War of Words Escalates Between CoStar, Activist Hedge Fund Third Point LLC
Arlington, Va. – In an escalating battle between one of the region’s largest companies and an activist hedge fund, Third Point LLC released on Tuesday a blistering letter to Arlington-based CoStar Group, the large real estate marketplace and data firm, arguing that the company has wasted massive amounts of capital in an “ill-conceived” strategy. Third Point said CoStar has failed to carry out promised changes over the last year, and as a result, it will now back a new slate of board members. CoStar responded to the letter by accusing Third Point of “spinning a yarn,” noting that it has carried out a slew of measures to boost profitability.
“Last year, we approached CoStar management and expressed our concerns about the weak board oversight, misalignment of management incentives, and disastrous capital allocation policies that allowed CEO Andy Florance to sink billions of shareholder dollars into an ill-conceived and hopelessly executed strategy to build an online classifieds business in the residential real estate (RRE) industry,” Third Point said in its letter. “Our dim view of the Company’s strategy is plainly shared by other shareholders, underscored by the abysmal stock performance of the past five years – down 27% versus a 94% total return for the S&P 500. We thought then, as we do now, that the Company’s anemic performance can be ascribed entirely to the misallocation of billions of dollars into Homes.com, overseen by a feckless board of directors that has failed to protect shareholders from Mr. Florance’s quixotic quest while rewarding him with exorbitant pay packages. Like an elementary school child who wins a prize even for finishing last, Mr. Florance’s bonuses are perhaps the costliest “Participation Award” our firm has witnessed.”
CoStar responded to the letter of Wednesday, arguing that it has taken concrete actions to increase its share price.
“Third Point appears intent on spinning a yarn of Board complacency and “quixotic” investment. Their story is completely detached from reality,” responded CoStar in a letter of its own. “Following a review process that Third Point and D.E. Shaw suggested with participation from their Board nominees, the Board unanimously recommended a plan involving accelerated profitability for Homes.com, additional investments in our core platforms, incremental capital return, stockholder-aligned executive compensation, and greater investor transparency. Unhappy with the conclusions of the independent Board they helped pick, Third Point, like a child with a board game, wants to throw the pieces off the board.”
Reston-based Leidos to Acquire ENTRUST for $2.4 Billion
Reston, Va. – As part of its expansion into energy markets, Leidos, the Reston-based government contractor, announced an agreement to acquire Illinois-based ENTRUST Solutions Group, a power engineering and design firm, for $2.4 billion. Leidos said the acquisition will double the size of its existing $600 million energy infrastructure engineering business.
“By joining Leidos, we’re uniting world-class power and energy engineering expertise to create a leading end-to-end infrastructure platform,” said Adam Biggam, CEO at ENTRUST. “Our combined 5,500+ energy professionals will have the resources, technology and reach to tackle the most complex challenges facing the utility and power markets today.”
College Park-based IonQ to Acquire SkyWater for $1.8 Billion
College Park, Md. – IonQ, the College Park quantum computing company, announced that it has agreed to acquire Minnesota-based SkyWater Technology, a semiconductor foundry, for $35 per share, giving the deal a total equity value of about $1.8 billion. IonQ said the deal will allow it to own most of its supply chain in the United States.
“This transformational acquisition enables IonQ to materially accelerate its quantum computing roadmap and secure its fully scalable supply chain domestically. With secure, U.S.-based design, packaging and chip fabrication – IonQ will benefit from vertical integration across our increasingly interlinked quantum computing, quantum networking, quantum security, and quantum sensing applications for land, sea, air, and space,” said Niccolo de Masi, CEO and chairman of IonQ.
DC-based Ressio Software Raises Series A Round
Washington, DC – Ressio Software, a DC-based startup developing an AI construction management platform, announced that it has raised $8.75 million in a Series A round. Blueprint Equity led the round. The company is building a platform for managing day-to-day functions for construction projects.
“With this funding, we’re pouring gasoline on our rapid product development model that starts with direct customer input,” said Mitchell Kasselman, founder and CEO of Ressio Software. “Builders use Ressio to run their businesses every day, and their guidance directly shapes what we build. This investment allows us to move even faster - turning real-world needs into product updates that will help teams run more efficient projects while delivering an interactive experience for homeowners.”
Baltimore-based CraniUS Raises $20 Million in Series B Round
Baltimore – CraniUS Therapeutics, a Baltimore-based neurotechnology company, announced that it has raised $20 million in a Series B round. The names of the investors were not disclosed. CraniUS said it is developing a “fully implantable, skull-embedded platform designed to bypass the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and enable targeted drug delivery and monitoring in the brain.” The company, which raised a $20 million Series A round in 2022, was founded by Chad Gordon, a neuroplastic surgeon from Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“This is not an incremental advance—it represents a fundamentally new approach to treating neurological disease and brain cancer,” said Gordon. “We set out to build a platform that could help address a therapeutic barrier that has limited care for decades.”
WIT Announces Finalists for Annual Leadership Awards
Falls Church, Va. – Women in Technology (WIT), the Falls Church-based organization supporting women in the DC area’s tech community, announced the finalists for its 27th Annual Leadership Awards. The list of finalists is available here. The awards ceremony will be held on May 6.
Josh Lospinoso Named President, Interim CEO at Shift5
Arlington, Va. – Shift5, the Arlington-based developer of operational intelligence for defense and transportation systems, has named Toby Magsig as president and interim CEO. He will replace co-founder Josh Lospinoso, who will focus on long-term, strategic issues at the company. Magsig formerly served as vice president and general manager of Enterprise Autonomous Solutions at L3Harris Technologies. Shift5 closed on a $75 million Series C led by Hedosophia last year.
> GovCon Outlook 2026 - Feb. 12 (Register Today)
Briefly Noted
(Washington, DC) Kalshi, the large online prediction market, announced that it has opened a new office in DC, and hired John Bivona as its first Head of Federal Government Relations. Bivona served in the Biden Administration as the first White House Liaison at the Department of Homeland Security and was chief of staff for Congressman Antonio Delgado (D-NY).
(McLean, Va) USA TODAY Co., the large media company formerly based in McLean, announced that it has come to an agreement to acquire The Detroit News in a deal with MediaNews Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “The acquisition of The Detroit News will be a strategic investment that strengthens the USA Today Network’s audience and its portfolio of more than 200 local publications nationwide and reinforces our commitment to local journalism in the Detroit metropolitan area,” said Michael Reed, CEO of USA TODAY Co.
(Tysons Corner, Va.) growth[period], a Tysons-based strategic advisory firm, announced that Kim Pack has joined the firm as Senior Advisor, Strategy. Pack most recently served as President of Federal at AIS.