Potomac Tech Wire - May 13
Reston-Based Cybersecurity Starup ClearVector Raises $13 Million in First Round
o Reston-Based ClearVector Raises $13 Million in First Round
o Chantilly-Based VTG Acquires Three Area Companies
o DC-based MPOWER Finance Securitizes $312 Million in Loans
o Dover-Based Hyperbots Raises $6.5 Million in First Round of Funding
o MorganFranklin Cyber Names Alison Andrews to Lead AI Practice
o Alpha Omega Names Eric Laychock as COO
o Briefly Noted: Comcast Business, Guidehouse, V2X
Reston-Based ClearVector Raises $13 Million in First Round
Reston, Va. – ClearVector, a Reston-based developer of computer and network security technology, said on Tuesday it has raised $13 million in its first round of funding, led by Scale Venture Partners. Okta Ventures, Inner Loop Capital and previous backer Menlo Ventures also took part in the round, which the company will use to expand its team. It is currently hiring for positions across product, engineering, sales, marketing and customer success. Ariel Tseitlin, a partner at Scale Venture Partners, will join the company’s board of directors. ClearVector, which now has raised $16 million since its inception, is building an identity-driven security platform designed to help organizations detect, investigate and stop threats.
"Our vision is to fundamentally change the economics of cyberattacks by making the adversary's mission prohibitively difficult and immediately visible," said CEO John Laliberte. “When an adversary can't move without being detected and is immediately stopped, the advantage shifts dramatically to the defender."
Chantilly-Based VTG Acquires Three Area Companies
Chantilly, Va. – Continuing its spate of recent acquisitions, Chantilly-based VTG, a provider of technology modernization services to the military, said on Tuesday that it has acquired Herndon-based Byte Systems, Leesburg-based iota IT and Leesburg-based Tunuva Technologies. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. VTG said the moves will bolster its offerings to defense and intelligence customers. Tunuva Technologies provides cyber and information security services, iota IT specializes in critical engineering and software development, and Byte Systems focuses on network and data engineering and analytics tools.
"The simultaneous acquisition of Byte Systems, iota IT, and Tunuva Technologies represents a significant milestone for our company,” said CEO John Hassoun. “We believe that their combined expertise in advanced technology solutions will greatly enhance our ability to provide top-tier services and products to our clients in the national security sector.”
DC-based MPOWER Finance Securitizes $312 Million in Loans
Washington, DC – In a show of support for its business model, MPOWER Finance, a DC-based fintech company offering loans to international students, announced that it has completed a $312 million securitization of its loan pool. The loans were made to international students attending colleges in the United States and Canada. The move follows its first securitization in 2024 of $215 million in loans.
“This securitization speaks to the growing demand for high-quality student financing,” said Jatin Rajput, CFO of MPOWER. “Our loans are fixed-rate, generate cash flow even while students are still in school, and are disbursed directly to universities. That structure reduces risk and gives investors the transparency and predictability they seek.”
Dover-Based Hyperbots Raises $6.5 Million in First Round of Funding
Dover, Del. – Hyperbots, the Dover-based developer of an AI platform for finance and accounting, said on Tuesday it has raised $6.5 million in its first round of funding, co-led by Arkam Ventures and Athera Venture Partners. New investor JSW Ventures and previous backers Kalaari Capital, Sunicon Ventures and Darashaw & Company also took part in the round, which the company will use to accelerate its U.S. go-to-market efforts and develop new AI co-pilots. Founded in 2023 by Niyati Chhaya, Ram Jayaraman, and Rajeev Pathak, Hyperbots automates finance workflows across procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, expense management, analytics and reporting.
“We can finally automate the heavy, error-prone work that's been holding finance teams back,” said co-founder and CEO Rajeev Pathak. “This round gives us the resources to deepen our R&D, accelerate go-lives and build a GTM ecosystem that will let every mid-market CFO run world-class F&A operations — at a fraction of today's cost and effort."
MorganFranklin Cyber Names Alison Andrews to Lead AI Practice
McLean, Va. – MorganFranklin Cyber, a provider of cybersecurity, advisory and managed services with offices in McLean, has named Alison Andrews as managing director leading its AI practice. Andrews most recently served as a global director at Google Cloud, and earlier was the founder and CEO of Vigilant, and led investments in cybersecurity and IoT companies such as Bishop Fox, Enveil and IOTAS while a general partner at 1843 Capital. The news comes four months after McLean-based MorganFranklin Consulting’s cybersecurity practice completed a private equity-backed management buyout to become a standalone professional services firm based in North Carolina. The remainder of the legacy company is now known as Highspring.
Alpha Omega Names Eric Laychock as COO
Vienna, Va. – Alpha Omega, a Vienna-based provider of modernization and digital transformation services to the federal government, on Tuesday named Eric Laychock as its COO. Laychock previously spent almost 13 years at KPMG, most recently as a managing director. The appointment coincides with Alpha Omega's January acquisitions of Macro Solutions and SeKON. In his new role, Laychock will manage profit and loss (P&L) across all business units and customer success functions.
Briefly Noted
(Charlottesville, Va.) Comcast Business said it has teamed with Druid Software and Airspan Networks to launch an on-campus private wireless network at the University of Virginia. The deployment utilizes Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum to provide cellular voice and data service in areas with high traffic and challenging indoor environments.
(McLean, Va.) McLean-based Guidehouse, a provider of advisory, technology and managed services, has named John Morris as the new leader of its Health segment. Morris previously served as the CEO of a health advisory startup and previously led the North American healthcare business of a professional services firm.
(Reston, Va.) Reston-based V2X, a developer of AI and machine learning tools for national security and defense clients, said its board of directors has approved a share repurchase program. Under the program, the company will be able to buy back up to $100 million of its stock through May 2028.