Potomac Tech Wire - Jan. 8
Valinor Enterprises Raises $54 Million in Series A
o Valinor Enterprises Raises $54 Million in Series A
o HawkEye 360 Acquires ISA; Raises $150 Million
o Arlington-based Interos Raises Additional $20 Million
o DC-based BriefCatch Raises $6 Million in Series A Round
o Arlington Capital Partners Sells Stellant for $960 Million
o Cvent Acquires Cal-based ON24 in $400 Million Deal
o BigBear.ai Completes $250 Million Acquisition of Ask Sage
o Valinor Enterprises Raises $54 Million in Series A
o Briefly Noted: Tidal Cyber, Alpha Omega
Valinor Enterprises Raises $54 Million in Series A
Washington, DC – Valinor Enterprises, an operational holding company for defense and government technology, announced that it has raised $54 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Friends & Family Capital, the venture capital firm co-founded by former Palantir CFO Colin Anderson, along with investor John Fogelsong. Other investors in the round included Narya, XYZ Venture Capital, and Fifth Down Capital. Valinor has now raised a total of $85 million.
“Having built Palantir as CFO and backed both Anduril and SpaceX as longtime investors, we know what it takes to deliver meaningful products to the loudest problems in defense and government. Yet, a new model is required to solve the long tail of quiet problems,” said Colin Anderson, co-founder of Friends & Family Capital. “We are proud to support Valinor as it applies the proven operational holding company model seen in software and biotech to the critical missions facing our defense and national security.”
Herndon-based HawkEye 360 Acquires ISA; Raises $150 Million
Herndon, Va. – HawkEye 360, a signals intelligence company, announced that it has acquired Texas-based Innovative Signal Analysis (ISA), in a deal backed by $150 million in equity and debt financing in a Serie E round. The financing round was led by NightDragon and Center15 Capital, with additional debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank, Pinegrove Venture Partners and Hercules Capital. HawkEye’s technology is used to detect and locate radio frequency emissions throughout the world.
“This transaction marks an important step forward for HawkEye 360 as we continue to scale our platform and integrate highly complementary technical capabilities,” said John Serafini, CEO of HawkEye 360. “The acquisition of ISA cements our position as the leading provider of RF data, signal processing, and analysis. The leadership of NightDragon and Center15 in this Series E round, alongside our lending partners, reflects confidence in our strategy and the value our capabilities bring to customers and partners worldwide.”
Arlington-based Interos Raises Additional $20 Million
Arlington, Va. – Interos, an Arlington-based supply chain risk intelligence startup, has raised an additional $20 million from Blue Owl Capital and Structural Capital. In October, the company announced a strategic $40 million growth capital investment from Blue Owl Capital. Using AI, the company provides insights to both commercial and federal clients about their supply chain risks. Its customers include Vantage Data Centers, TD Bank, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the U.S. Navy.
DC-based BriefCatch Raises $6 Million in Series A Round
Washington, DC – BriefCatch, a legal-writing platform for law firms and courts, announced that it has raised $6 million in a Series A round. The round was led by Full In, a software-focused growth equity firm. BriefCatch was founded by legal-writing specialist Ross Guberman.
“The market is undergoing a lot of change – law firms are digitizing at a rate they hadn’t been before,” said Elodie Dupuy, founder and managing partner of Full In. “AI is driving much of that change, but it also comes with fear. We believe customers will see the value in BriefCatch in accelerating the learning and quality of associates’ work, and as a check and balance on generative AI content that will inevitably be part of the future.”
Arlington Capital Partners Sells Stellant for $960 Million
Washington, DC – Arlington Capital Partners, the DC-based private equity firm focused on regulated industries, announced that it has sold California-based radio frequency technology company Stellant Systems to TransDigm Group for $960 million.
“Stellant is another example of an IP-rich strategic carve out creating an Arlington platform company where organic and inorganic investment in people, research and development, product expansion and manufacturing capability and capacity has created a highly sought-after asset,” said Peter Manos, a managing partner at Arlington Capital Partners. “It has been a remarkable journey working alongside Keith and the broader Stellant management team as we scaled an important manufacturer with what we hope will be a multi-generation legacy.”
Cvent Acquires Cal-based ON24 in $400 Million Deal
Tysons, Va. – Cvent, the Tysons-based events technology firm, has acquired San Francisco-based ON24, a B2B webinar and engagement firm, in an all-cash deal valued at about $400 million. ON24 offers webinar technology and other engagement offering for the B2B market.
“ON24 has earned the trust of enterprise organizations and marketers by delivering reliable, outcome-driven digital engagement,” said Reggie Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Cvent. “We look forward to supporting ON24 as they continue to deliver value and working together to expand how brands engage audiences across digital and in-person experiences.”
BigBear.ai Completes $250 Million Acquisition of Ask Sage
McLean, Va. – BigBear.ai, a McLean-based developer of AI for national security agencies, announced that it has completed its acquisition of generative AI platform company Ask Sage. BigBear.ai paid $250 million in cash.
“Completing the acquisition of Ask Sage marks a significant milestone for BigBear.ai and accelerates our vision of delivering mission-ready AI that customers can deploy with confidence,” said Kevin McAleenan, CEO of BigBear.ai. “Ask Sage is already operating at scale in mission-critical environments, and together we are bringing to market a secure, integrated AI platform that unifies data, software, and mission services in one place.”
Tech Wire’s GovCon Outlook 2026 Event: Jan. 28 in Reston
Join Potomac Tech Wire on Jan. 28 in Reston for our Government Contracting Outlook 2026 event — a morning session that brings together leading GovCon experts and executives to discuss the “big picture” of what’s ahead for the DC area.
Speakers include:
o Richard Sawchak, CEO, SPA
o Crystal Philcox, Former Asst Commissioner, FAS/GSA
o Deniece Peterson, VP, Federal Market Analysis, Deltek
o Mark Frantz, Co-founder, Blue Delta Capital Partners
o Moderator: Paul Sherman, Editor, Potomac Tech Wire
Full info here: https://govcon2026.eventbrite.com/
Briefly Noted
(Reston, Va.) Tidal Cyber, a Reston-based cybersecurity firm, has named Jessica Hall as its vice president of product. Hall has held product and platform development roles at OpsCanvas, CoStar Group, 3Pillar Global and CEB.
(Vienna, Va.) Alpha Omega, a provider of AI-driven modernization and digital services to the federal government, has named David Walls as its CFO. He most recently served as Managing Director, CFO Advisory, at Maximus Partners.