From Cul-de-sac to Constellation
The Top Frontiers in U.S. Strategic Tech Innovation
The report highlights the critical role of U.S. strategic technologies in ensuring national security and prosperity. It focuses on three key areas: Homeland Security, Digital Strategy (AI & Cyber), and Space Innovation. It discusses trends and innovative companies in these sectors, showcasing how these technologies are vital to our future — especially now.
Safeguarding America’s future demands continued effort. From local neighborhoods to the national stage, from global influence to leadership in the farthest reaches of our solar system, U.S. strategic technologies are essential to security and prosperity. That’s true now more than ever.
At Alumni Ventures, we know this. AV has been among the most active backers of American innovation.* For starters, we have long been dedicated to revitalizing US security capabilities: These 10 VCs lead the way in defense and aerospace tech, per Pitchbook.
A stronger America requires continued investment in key strategic areas of technology innovation:
- Homeland Security
- Digital Strategy (AI & Cyber)
- Space Innovation
In this piece, we spotlight trends and illustrative companies in these areas—including some Alumni Ventures has invested in. These founders are safeguarding national interests, fortifying our digital resilience, and securing space dominance. And if you’d like to learn more on this topic, please join our webinar.
Pete Mathias
Venture CapitalistPeter is a a seasoned investor in national interest sectors with a deep public policy background. Formerly Senior Director at the $1.5B+ venture capital arm of Bertelsmann across the EU, China, and U.S. startup ecosystems, Pete is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, American Council on Germany, and has appointed by the U.S. Department of State as a cultural attache. He holds a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, an MBA from Tuck School of Business, and is a Distinction graduate degree in U.S.
Drew Wandzilak
Venture CapitalistDrew is a long-time investor at Alumni Ventures across multiple funds and initiatives. Drew has previously worked on National and State-level political campaigns, focusing on small business and entrepreneurial policy. He is a founding team member of RollCall, a mobile application to provide educational tools and guidance for mail-in voters in the 2020 US elections. Drew holds a BS in Organizational Development from Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy and was a member of Chicago Inno’s 25 Under 25.
1. Homeland Security
Homeland Security innovation stretches from government capabilities to fortification of the U.S. industrial base. We track several transformative trends here.
The first trend is Government Operations and Public Safety at all levels– municipal to federal. By investing in startups harnessing cutting-edge technologies enhancing government services and public safety operations, we fortify the institutional foundations of the United States. One great example is AV portfolio company OpenGov — which optimizes government services, handling everything from budgeting to recruiting. Here’s what OpenGov CEO Zac Bookman says: “Local governments face unprecedented challenges in recruiting talent, upgrading technology, and responding to ever-changing demands… there has never been a better time to streamline business processes, digitize workflows, elevate collaboration, and strengthen trust and responsiveness with councils, boards, and residents.”
Homeland Security innovation also requires Critical Infrastructure Protection. Starting with the pandemic, we’ve seen over the last few years what shocks, disruptions, and unforeseen challenges can do to our national fabric. We must build competencies to protect the lifelines and lifeblood or our infrastructure. For example, AV portfolio company Hyfé is transforming wastewater streams into next-gen feedstocks for biomanufacturing. This is a huge innovation that resolves infrastructure challenges and resource conservation simultaneously. As former ExxonMobil chemical engineer and Founder & CEO of Hyfe, Michelle Ruiz explains, “We take process water from food manufacturers through a co-located unit after it’s done being useful and before it becomes wastewater. We remove everything from the water, which we process through our platform, and return fresh water for reuse at the manufacturer’s site.”
Third, Homeland Security has another need: Materials, Industrials, and Manufacturing capabilities. A thriving industrial and manufacturing sector forms the backbone of a nation’s security and economic resilience. By supporting companies that lead the charge in advanced manufacturing, we ensure the U.S. remains at the forefront of industry. From aerospace and defense to pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing technologies are transforming the way we produce goods, making them more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable. For example, KoBold Metals is accelerating a clean energy future by finding new lithium, cobalt, copper, and nickel deposits.
From the KoBold Co-Founders, “We’re trying to transform mineral exploration from a manual, judgment-guided, trial-and-error process into a data-driven and scalable science. It’s the mother of all needle-in-a-haystack problems: Find the significant minable deposits of cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel resting anywhere from 100 to 2,000 meters deep in the Earth’s surface.”
It’s the mother of all needle-in-a-haystack problems: Find the significant minable deposits of cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel resting anywhere from 100 to 2,000 meters deep in the Earth’s surface.
2. Digital Strategy: AI & Cyber
From the back offices of three-letter agencies to the frontlines of contested geographies, competencies in AI and cyber are mission-critical. American commercial and government organizations are collecting insights and data at a rate never seen before in history.
AI: Artificial Intelligence has given organizations the ability to not only analyze and understand data but also to make determinations and decisions nearly autonomously. One extraordinary company that showcases this is AV portfolio company Unstructured.io. By empowering agencies like the U.S. Air Force, the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and Space Force with LLM capabilities, Unstructured.io revolutionizes how data and insights are processed and acted upon, shaping the future of autonomous decision-making in critical missions. In the words of ex-CIA CEO Brian Raymond, “To truly take advantage of LLMs, we had to figure out how to connect, transform and stage any natural language data in any format at speed and at scale. So we built Unstructured to do just that.”
Cyber: The Information Age connects industries with both efficiency and threats–so national security now spans cyber frontlines. By investing in this innovation, we fortify the security and reliability of our digital infrastructure, ensuring the protection of critical data against evolving cyber threats. AV portfolio company Galvanick saw the emergence of new cyber threats firsthand within industrial security systems: “Cyberattacks against industrial systems are on the rise, and they not only affect a firm’s bottom line, but can pose a physical hazard to facilities and employees,” said Joshua Steinman, CEO and Co-Founder of Galvanick. “Hiring industrial cybersecurity specialists is hard; the Galvanick platform was built with industrial systems in mind, and enables your existing team to watch over these critical environments while preserving uptime and reliability.”
Cyberattacks against industrial systems are on the rise, and they not only affect a firm’s bottom line, but can pose a physical hazard to facilities and employees.
3. Space Dominance and Satellite Technology
Space is the ultimate frontier in securing American interests. The global space economy has grown to more than $546B as governments and organizations look towards the solar system as an opportunity to enhance and protect life on Earth. By investing in satellite technology, space situational awareness, and space-based communication systems, we fortify U.S. dominance beyond Earth’s atmosphere. This strategic focus is pivotal in maintaining communication, navigation, intelligence, and surveillance capabilities crucial to national security.
Impulse Space, an AV portfolio company, is building foundational infrastructure to support the growth of the space economy by providing in-space transportation solutions. “This is an exciting time for both Impulse and the space industry,” says Impulse Founder and CEO Tom Mueller. “With smaller satellites and launch costs decreasing, space is more accessible than ever. There exists, however, the challenge to efficiently move payloads into higher-energy orbits. At Impulse, we don’t see this as a problem needing a solution but rather a question needing an answer. And we’ve got it.”
With smaller satellites and launch costs decreasing, space is more accessible than ever.
CONTINUING THE DISCUSSION
In an era defined by rapid technological advancements and global competition, the United States finds itself at a critical juncture in securing its strategic technology interests. From safeguarding our local governments against cyber threats to maintaining leadership in space exploration, the need for strategic investment in these domains has never been more urgent. Now is the time for bold initiatives to secure America’s future. By backing these strategic technologies, Alumni Ventures intends to do our part in securing that future.
Join our webinar to learn more about investing in strategic technologies and some of the innovators in the space.
FURTHER READING
Other great resources to contextualize:
This communication is from Alumni Ventures, a for-profit venture capital company that is not affiliated with or endorsed by any school. It is not personalized advice, and AV only provides advice to its client funds. This communication includes forward-looking statements, generally consisting of any statement pertaining to any issue other than historical fact, including without limitation predictions, financial projections, the anticipated results of the execution of any plan or strategy, the expectation or belief of the speaker, or other events or circumstances to exist in the future. Forward-looking statements are not representations of actual fact, depend on certain assumptions that may not be realized, and are not guaranteed to occur. Any forward-looking statements included in this communication speak only as of the date of the communication. AV and its affiliates disclaim any obligation to update, amend, or alter such forward-looking statements, whether due to subsequent events, new information, or otherwise.