o Arlington-based Drone Software Firm Auterion Raises $130 Million
o Reston-Based Razor’s Edge Closes New $560 Million Fund
o Rockville-Based Leverege Lands New Investment from Cohere Capital
o Saalex to Cut Ribbon on New Navy Yard HQ Following Move
o Reston-Based NextNav Completes Deal for More Wireless Spectrum
o Herndon-Based HawkEye 360 Promotes Craig Searle to CFO
o Briefly Noted: Widehall, Seekr, AeroVironment
Arlington-based Drone Software Firm Auterion Raises $130 Million
Arlington, Va. – Auterion, an Arlington-based drone software company, announced that it has raised $130 million in a Series B round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Other investors in the round included Lakestar, Mosaic Ventures and Costanoa Ventures. The company said its software aims to “build swarms, not individual drones.” The firm also received $25 million from the U.S. Department of War, which it said was non-dilutive capital backed by the Office of Strategic Capital of the Department of War and provided by Rochefort.
“The future of warfare is software-defined, unmanned, and at scale. Auterion’s customers are taking the lessons from Ukraine and applying them to deploying drone swarms,” said Lorenz Meier, founder and CEO of Auterion. “Decisive advantage on the battlefield won’t be achieved by individual drones – it’ll be achieved by autonomous mass.”
Reston-Based Razor’s Edge Closes New $560 Million Investment Fund
Reston, Va. – Razor’s Edge, a Reston-based growth equity firm focused on national security technology, said on Thursday it has closed a new $560 million investment fund, its fourth overall and largest to date. The 15-year-old firm now has $1.25 billion under management. The company said it will utilize the fund to help scale companies in areas such as space, autonomy, cyber, advanced sensing, signal processing, AI-enabled systems, and other aerospace and defense technologies.
“The national security environment demands bold innovation and decisive capital,” said Mark Spoto, co-founder and managing partner. “With four new investments already completed out of Fund IV, we are enabling significant advancements in national security that will safeguard our country and allied partners.”
Rockville-Based Leverege Lands New Investment from Cohere Capital
Rockville, Md. – Leverege, a Rockville-based developer of AI-native software that uses Internet of Things and VisionAI technology to increase efficiency in a variety of areas, said it has landed a new investment from Boston-based private equity firm Cohere Capital Partners. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company said it will use the funds to continue technology platform investment, expand into new end markets and bolster sales and marketing activities. Leverege’s software, which includes AutoTrace, WorkWatch, PitCrew and ExpressLane, is designed to provide real-time visibility into customers’ physical operations based on video and sensor data.
Saalex to Cut Ribbon on New Navy Yard Headquarters Following Move
Washington, DC – A year after initially announcing its move from California, defense and technology company Saalex said on Thursday that it will officially open its new DC headquarters next month. The company is relocating to 1 M St. SE, the National Association of Broadcasters building in the Navy Yard neighborhood. It will have its ribbon-cutting on Oct. 16. The move puts it in closer proximity to many of its largest federal and defense customers.
“This headquarters strengthens how we work with customers and partners in the region, ensuring our teams are closely aligned with evolving mission needs,” said Travis Mack, the chairman and CEO of Saalex.
Reston-Based NextNav Completes Deal for Additional Wireless Spectrum
Reston, Va. – More than a year after announcing plans for the deal, Reston-based NextNav, a provider of a 3D positioning, navigation and timing system, said it has acquired wireless spectrum in the lower 900 MHz band from Telesaurus Holdings and Skybridge Spectrum Foundation. The deal could be worth as much as $50 million in cash and stock, depending on whether the Federal Communications Commission grants additional flexibility in the use of spectrum. The 128 acquired licenses are in the same band as all of NextNav’s other licenses.
Herndon-Based HawkEye 360 Promotes Craig Searle to CFO
Herndon, Va. – HawkEye 360, a Herndon-based developer of signals intelligence data and analytics tools, said it has promoted Craig Searle to CFO. Searle most recently served as the company’s chief business officer, and spent four years on its board of directors and audit committee. Earlier, he served as director on the Strategic Investments & Acquisitions team at Advance.
Briefly Noted
(Washington, DC) DC-based Widehall, a provider of communications, public policy and events consulting services, said it has promoted Meredith Hoffman to senior vice president and head of partnerships. Hoffman has been with the firm since May 2024 as a vice president, and previously spent more than five years with The Hill.
(Reston, Va.) Reston-based Seekr, a developer of AI software for enterprise and government customers, has named Dave Myers as the executive vice president of its Forward Deployed Engineering group. Myers most recently worked at Palantir, where he served as the U.S. commercial lead and head of strategic accounts in the Mid-Atlantic.
(Arlington, Va.) Arlington-based defense technology company AeroVironment has named Johnathan Jones as its senior vice president of Cyber and Mission Solutions (CMS). Jones has served in multiple leadership roles for the company over the past 19 years, most recently playing a key role in the integration of more than 550 employees from its Defense and Interagency Services unit.