Potomac Tech Wire - June 23
Arlington-based Twenty Raises $100 Million at $1 Billion Valuation
o Arlington-based Twenty Raises $100 Million at $1 Billion Valuation
o Booz Allen to Acquire Ultra Mission for $720 Million
o DC-based HighGround Raises $6.5 Million in Seed Funding
o George Thomas Named New President, CEO of FCEDA
o Falls Church-based Lyntris Acquires Houston-based Novium
o Aldrich Capital’s Compliancy Group Acquires Healthicity
o Charlottesville-based Icarus Medical Raises $7.2 Million in Series A
o Everclear Repositions as M&A, Growth Advisory Firm
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o Briefly Noted: MetaPhase, BriefCatch, Corvex, CACI International
Arlington-based Twenty Raises $100 Million at $1 Billion Valuation
Arlington, Va. – As the newest unicorn startup in the DC area, Twenty, an Arlington-based cyber warfare startup, announced that it has raised $100 million in a Series B round that values the company at $1 billion. Accel led the round, with participation from Friends & Family Capital, Point72 Ventures, and Caffeinated Capital. Twenty has now raised a total of $138 million. The company is developing AI-enabled systems for the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.
“We are in an existential competition with authoritarian powers hellbent on reshaping the Western-led global order that has enabled the greatest flourishing of liberty and prosperity in human history. Cyberspace is the front line of that fight,” wrote Joe Lin, co-founder and CEO of Twenty, in a LinkedIn post about the raise. “Countering these adversaries requires intelligent and autonomous capabilities that can execute cyber operations at industrial scale and machine speed.”
Booz Allen to Acquire Ultra Mission for $720 Million
McLean, Va. – Booz Allen Hamilton, the McLean-based government technology consultancy, announced that it will acquire Texas-based defense technology firm Ultra Mission Solutions for $720 million. Ultra Mission Solutions is a division of Cobham Ultra Group that is backed by private equity firm Advent. “By integrating Ultra Mission Solutions into our robust portfolio, we are further strengthening our ability to rapidly build and field the commercial products that will keep America ahead,” said Horacio Rozanski, chairman and CEO of Booz Allen.
DC-based HighGround Raises $6.5 Million in Seed Funding
Washington, D.C. – HighGround, a D.C.-based data and intelligence platform for defense capital markets, announced that it has raised $6.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Next Frontier Capital, with participation from Tandem Ventures, Fulcrum Capital, and Context Ventures.
“Defense deserves the same analytical foundation that equity research and private credit have had for decades,” said John Price, founder of HighGround. “The government tells you exactly what it’s going to buy, when, and from whom. What’s been missing is the infrastructure to turn that signal into conviction, and that’s what we built.”
George Thomas Named New President, CEO of FCEDA
Fairfax, Va. – The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) Commission, the DC region’s largest economic development entity, announced the appointment of George Thomas as its new president and CEO. He will replace Victor Hoskins, who has announced his return to the private sector after serving in the role for nearly seven years. Thomas previously served as president and CEO of Connected DMV, focused on building advanced technology industry clusters
“George Thomas represents the next generation of economic development leadership,” said James Quigley, Commission Chair of the FCEDA. “His ability to bring together government, industry, universities, investors, entrepreneurs, and community leaders around a shared vision for growth makes him uniquely qualified to lead Fairfax County forward.”
Falls Church-based Lyntris Acquires Houston-based Novium
Falls Church, Va. – Lyntris, a Falls Church-based defense technology company, announced the acquisition of Houston-based Novium, a developer of high-precision motion systems, including robotic arms and rovers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Joining Lyntris provides Novium the tools, resources and support to showcase our engineering skill and bring next-generation capabilities to space. We now are part of the team we need to bring speed, ingenuity and excellence to the solutions we provide to our customers,” said James Holley, co-founder of Novium.
Aldrich Capital’s Compliancy Group Acquires Healthicity
McLean, Va. – Compliancy Group, a New York-based healthcare compliance platform backed by McLean-based growth equity firm Aldrich Capital Partners, announced that it has acquired Healthicity, a provider of healthcare auditing and compliance software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “For the first time, a healthcare organization can run its entire compliance program, from workforce training and risk assessment to vendor oversight, incident management, and now provider, coding, and documentation auditing, from a single trusted partner with one conformance score,” said Crispin Vary, CEO of Compliancy Group.
Charlottesville-based Icarus Medical Raises $7.2 Million in Series A
Charlottesville, Va. – Icarus Medical, a Charlottesville-based medtech company focused on orthopedic bracing technology, announced that it has closed a $7.2 million Series A round. Investors in the round included Riptide Ventures, OSF Ventures, CU Healthcare Innovation Fund, Highpoint Ventures, MedTech Connect, Neovate Capital Partners, and BLU Venture Investors. The company is developing a new class of knee, leg, and ankle brace technology.
Everclear Repositions as M&A, Growth Advisory Firm
Columbia, Md. – Everclear, a Columbia, Md.-based marketing firm, announced that it is repositioning itself as an M&A and growth advisory firm for cybersecurity, aerospace and defense technology companies in the DC area. “The M&A ecosystem is fundamentally broken for many founders and investors, leaving double-digit multiples on the table by treating technology assets as pure financial engineering,” said G. Scott Shaw, founder and managing partner of Everclear. As part of the repositioning, Everclear announced a fractional leadership team, including Kevin Wine, Chief of Staff; Mark Tootsey, CFO; David Schoenecker, COO; Rich Cooper, Chief Communications Officer; Mickey Panayiotakis, CTO; and Jill Alarcon, Chief People Officer.
Briefly Noted
(Reston, Va.) MetaPhase, a Reston-based provider of technology to the government, has named Katy Phelps as its CFO. Phelps most recently served as vice president of finance and accounting at MetaPhase.
(Washington, D.C.) BriefCatch, a D.C.-based legal-writing platform, has named Josephine Petrick as Chief of AI Products. Petrick previously clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and served as a partner at The Norton Law Firm.
(Arlington, Va.) Corvex, the Arlington-based cloud computing platform, has named Christopher Chance Moreland as its CFO. Moreland was formerly managing director at Morgan Stanley.
(Reston, Va.) CACI International, the Reston-based government contractor, has named Dave Young as EVP and COO. Young most recently served as General Manager of National Security Space at Lockheed Martin.