Potomac Tech Wire - June 18
Reston-based Seekr Completes First Close of $100 Million Round; Valuation of $1.2 Billion
o Seekr Completes First Close of $100 M Round; $1.2 Billion Valuation
o DataTribe Closes on $41 Million Fund; Andy Hunn Named Partner
o Arlington-based ODRG Secures $3 Million Investment
o Reston-based Neovera Acquires NC-based Greenway Solutions
o Medallia to Open East Coast HQ in Tysons; Hire 100 New Employees
o Briefly Noted: Ciena, Consilio
Reston-based Seekr Completes First Close of $100 Million Round; Valuation of $1.2 Billion
Reston, Va. – Becoming the newest unicorn startup in the DC area, Seekr Technologies, a Reston-based AI technology company, announced that it has completed the first closing of a $100 million funding round that values the company at $1.2 billion. The first closing was led by Danu Venture Group and AMD Ventures. Seekr’s technology helps its clients reduce “hallucinations and bias” in AI applications.
“Seekr is transforming enterprise AI with patented technology that reduces bias in any AI application, across all types of data, anywhere you run it,” the company wrote in a LinkedIn posting about the funding. “With customers from the Department of Defense to global leaders in telecommunications and media, we're enabling secure and scalable AI in environments where mission success demands the highest standards.”
DataTribe Closes on $41 Million Fund; Andy Hunn Named Partner
Fulton, Md. – DataTribe, the early-stage cybersecurity accelerator and investor, announced that it has closed on $41 million for its third fund. The firm also named Andy Hunn, co-founder and former COO of Resonate, as a partner.
“Defense tech has become one of the hottest areas in VC, but DataTribe flips the approach on its head,” wrote Fortune in an article about the new fund. “While companies like Palantir and Anduril develop tech to sell into governments, DataTribe works with recent government alumni to adapt their cybersecurity expertise for the private sector.”
Arlington-based ODRG Secures $3 Million Investment
Arlington, Va. – Organizational Development Resource Group (ODRG), an Arlington-based geospatial and technology government contractor, announced that it has secured a $3 million investment from the Empower the Change Fund. ODRG’s clients include the U.S. Navy, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The Empower the Change Fund is a growth capital fund managed by Advantage Capital that focuses on undercapitalized entrepreneurs.
“This investment marks a transformative moment for our company,” said Sophia Harris, founder and CEO of ODRG. “It enables us to deepen our commitment to technical excellence, scale our operations, and broaden the impact we can make through delivering AI-powered geospatial and mission-critical services. We look forward to expanding our capacity to innovate for our federal mission partners with even greater agility.”
Reston-based Neovera Acquires NC-based Greenway Solutions
Reston, Va. – Neovera, a Reston-based cloud infrastructure company, announced that it has acquired North Carolina-based Greenway Solutions, a fraud detection and testing company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Greenway provides fraud prevention services to banks, financial services firms and healthcare providers.
“Greenway Solutions literally wrote the book on fraud control red teaming,” said Scott Weinberg, CEO and founder of Neovera. “Their approach sets the gold standard in adversarial fraud testing. Bringing that capability into Neovera significantly enhances our ability to deliver integrated, threat-informed security solutions to our clients.”
Medallia to Open East Coast HQ in Tysons; Hire 100 New Employees
Tysons, Va. – Medallia, a Silicon Valley-based customer and employee experience company, announced that it will open its East Coast headquarters in Tysons. The new office will house the company’s senior leadership and expand its talent in AI and analytics. Medallia, owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, said it will hire 100 new employees at the new facility and invest $2 million in the expansion.
“Tysons will play a critical role in the next chapter of our growth,” said Mark Bishof, CEO of Medallia. “The new location provides space to deepen our relationships with key customers, expands our leadership presence, and gives us access to world-class talent in data science, AI, and experience management.”
Briefly Noted:
(Hanover, Md.) Ciena, the Maryland-based telecom equipment company, has named Marc Graff as its chief financial officer. Before joining Ciena, Graff served as CFO at Altera.
(Washington, DC) Consilio, the DC-based legal technology company, announced that it has completed its acquisition of New York-based AI legal research firm TrueLaw. "This acquisition exemplifies our strategy of making significant technology investments to maintain our leadership position on behalf of our clients," said Andy Macdonald, CEO of Consilio. "We're not just keeping pace with AI innovation—we're driving it forward through strategic acquisitions, internal R&D, and deep partnerships with the most innovative companies in legal AI."