US military and intelligence-affiliated research outfits have played a major role in the recent history of technology and innovation. DARPA or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, hatched ARPANET, based on the networking technologies that provided the foundation for the internet.
Given this role, we profiled 12 early- to mid stage tech startups that are backed by investment firms that are US government-affiliated and security-oriented.
All of the companies on our list raised money in or after 2015. None have raised a funding round beyond a Series C.
The organizations we looked at are DARPA, which commissions research for the US Department of Defense, In-Q-Tel — the investment arm of the U.S. intelligence community — and the lesser-known Arsenal Venture Partners.
Arsenal has managed OnPoint Technologies, a fund investing in venture businesses for the US Army (it was created as part of the Army Venture Capital Initiative in 2002 and announced in 2003). It is important to note that Arsenal Venture Partners also makes investments as a stand-alone entity, and these investments are not all defense- and security-related.
We include investments by Arsenal Venture Partners in the list below, due to the unique position of the firm as a manager of military-linked venture funds including OnPoint as well as MILCOM Technologies.
According to CB Insights data, in the last five years (since 2011), In-Q-Tel, DARPA, and Arsenal Venture Partners (including all its managed funds) have invested $1.3B across 137 deals (including grants, but excluding debt deals. 28% of those deals were in seed/series A rounds (early-stage) and 34% were Series B or C (mid-stage). Notably, In-Q-Tel does not always disclose its investments. Consequently the amount of dollars and deals is likely to be higher than reported.
The majority of the deals involving these firms over the time period were in the internet software and services industry. In-Q-Tel is the most active investor of the three firms.
Check out our list of selected companies below.
1. Ayasdi
Ayasdi was developed by Stanford computational mathematicians. The company uses machine learning and other tech to extract knowledge from complex data sets. It works in industries including healthcare and financial services.
Select Investors: DARPA, GE Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Khosla Ventures
Latest Round Obtained: Series C
Total Disclosed Funding: $98M
2. CounterTack
CounterTack offers cybersecurity solutions for enterprises, using big data for real-time endpoint detection and incident response. The company offers a flagship product called Digital DNA for memory forensics and behavioral analysis capabilities that help detect “zero-day” attacks, i.e. those attacking vulnerabilities that were previously unknown.
Select Investors: OnPoint Technologies, Goldman Sachs, Fairhaven Capital
Latest Round Obtained: Series C
Total Disclosed Funding: $68M
3. Anomali
Anomali provides a platform for earlier detection and identification of adversaries in an organization’s network by correlating tens of millions of threat indicators against real time network activity logs and up to a year or more of forensic log data.
Select Investors: In-Q-Tel, Paladin Capital Group, Google Ventures
Latest Round Obtained: Series C
Total Disclosed Funding: $56M
4. Continuum Analytics
Continuum’s Python-based platform and consulting services are meant to empower organizations to analyze, manage, and visualize big data. The company is an active participant in Open Data Science — a movement that makes open source tools for data science, analytics and computation.
Select Investors: DARPA (Grant for $3M), Silicon Valley Bank, General Catalyst Partners
Latest Round Obtained: Series A
Total Disclosed Funding: $39M
5. ProtectWise
ProtectWise, another cybersecurity company on our list, that provides network protection with its cloud network DVR, a virtual “camera” in the cloud that records everything on the network — enabling the visualization of threats in real time.
Select Investors: Arsenal Venture Partners, Trinity Ventures, Crosslink Capital
Latest Round Obtained: Series B
Total Disclosed Funding: $37M
6. Arctic Sand Technologies
Arctic Sand Technologies specializes in rapid power conversion semiconductors, based on technology developed at MIT. Using these chips, the company aims to create smaller, thinner, lighter and more power-efficient electronics.
Select Investors: Arsenal Venture Partners, GE Ventures, Northwater Capital Management
Latest Round Obtained: Series B
Total Disclosed Funding: $29M
7. Evolv Technology
Evolv Technology offers threat detection products to help prevent mass casualty events in places like stadiums, airports, and more.
Select Investors: In-Q-Tel, Bill Gates, General Catalyst Partners
Latest Round Obtained: Series B
Total Disclosed Funding: $19.8M
8. Fuel3D
Fuel3D sells a handheld 3D scanner that delivers high-resolution shape and color capture for a range of 3D modeling applications. The technology was developed at Oxford University.
Select Investors: In-Q-Tel, Chimera Partners, Parkwalk Advisors
Latest Round Obtained: Series A
Total Disclosed Funding: $11M
9. Phantom Cyber
Phantom Cyber automates enterprise security operations to help enterprises combat the rise in the volume of attacks, shortages in qualified personnel, and keep up with the growth in the diversity and complexity of IT security environments.
Select Investors: In-Q-Tel, Blackstone Group, Rein Capital
Latest Round Obtained: Series A
Total Disclosed Funding: $9.2M
10. Tribogenics
Based on a DARPA-funded initiative at UCLA, Tribogenics technology enables the use of portable X-rays in a variety of applications in mining, industrial, military and medical imaging industries. Nikon took a corporate minority stake in the company in February this year.
Select Investors: DARPA, Founders Fund, Flywheel Ventures
Latest Round Obtained: Series A
Total Disclosed Funding: $8.7M
11. Algorithmia
Algorithmia is an app store for algorithms, paired with cloud infrastructure on which to run them, with multiple offerings to help augment the work of algorithm creators, depending on their unique needs. This year, the company landed a deal to provide a private algorithm-sharing platform for the U.S. intelligence community.
Select Investors: In-Q-Tel, Madrona Venture Group, Deep Fork Capital
Latest round obtained: Seed VC
Total Disclosed Funding: $2.5M
12. Skincential Sciences
Skincential Sciences offers the Clearista Refining Pen which delivers focused exfoliation to smooth a range of raised and/or pigmented surface imperfections; bumps, discolorations and rough spots on the skin’s surface.
Select Investors: In-Q-Tel, Mercury Fund
Latest Round Obtained: Series B
Total Disclosed Funding: $300K
Want more data on high-momentum startups? Login to CB Insights or sign up for free below.
If you aren’t already a client, sign up for a free trial to learn more about our platform.