Defense Metrics Dispatch: March 2025

In March, 9 companies announced fundraising rounds:

• Epirus ($250M; Series D) | Scaling production of Leonidas, a counter-electronics application, for critical asset protection — led by 8VC and Washington Harbour Partners with participation from Oppenheimer, NightDragon, Manhattan Venture Partners, Centaurus Capital LP, Center15 Capital, General Dynamics Land Systems, StepStone Group, and Gaingels

• Shield AI ($240M; Undisclosed) | Scaling Hivemind Enterprise, an AI-powered autonomy developer platform — led by L3Harris and Hanwha Aerospace with participation from U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Washington Harbour Partners

• Neros ($35M; Series A) | Accelerating American drone manufacturing — led by Vy Capital US with participation from Sequoia Capital, Interlagos, D3, and Keller Rinaudo Cliffton

• Allen Control Systems ($30M; Series A) | Supporting the deployment of Bullfrog, the ACS’s autonomous robotic weapon station — led by Craft Ventures with participation from Inspired Capital and Rally Ventures

• Kela ($29M; Series A) | Providing modern defense solutions — with participation from Sequoia Capital and Lux Capital

• Proteus Space ($6.1M; Seed) | Advancing automated satellite design — led by Lavrock Ventures with participation from The Veteran Fund, SAIC, Crosscut Ventures, and Moonshots Capital

• Pilgrim ($3.25M; Pre-Seed) | Innovating in biotechnology for defense — with participation from Thiel Capital, Cantos, and Refactor

• Esper Satellite Imagery ($3.1M; Seed) | Developing hyperspectral imaging satellites — led by Paspalis Capital and Hejaz Financial Services 

• Distributed Spectrum ($25M; Series A) | Software and sensors to let anyone understand critical radio signals in any mission — Led by Conviction, Shield Capital, and Nat Friedman with participation from existing investors, Felicis and XFund, along with angels Stan McChrystal, Eric Glyman, Chris Re, Arash Ferdowsi, Matt MacInnis, Zak Stone, and executives from Palantir.