News

Palmer’s Luckey Strike
The 30-year-old American billionaire building robotic subs, and more, in Australia.

Gabby Fong on the Atlanta Startup Podcast: The VC Hyper-Focused on Innovation Within Cybersecurity, Defense, and Dual-Use Tech
June 27, 2023On the Atlanta Startup Podcast, First In Senior Associate Gabby Fong discusses innovation in cybersecurity, defense tech, and dual-use technologies. Topics include use cases for operational technology and critical infrastructure security, vendor consolidation, the challenges and opportunities of utilizing AI in cybersecurity, and her transition from the U.S. Navy into venture capital.

Anduril acquires solid rocket motor manufacturer Adranos
June 25, 2023 ‘Through this acquisition, Anduril will become a merchant supplier of solid rocket motors to prime contractors’

Phylum is one of Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces of 2023!
From tenure-based sabbaticals to covering healthcare costs to paying your people to take vacation, the winning benefits share a theme: meeting employees’ needs.

Shift5 CEO and First In Venture Partner Josh Lospinoso Testifies to Congress
April 19, 2023 Washington, D.C. - "Major weapon system programs, both new and old, need funding and requirements to make them AI ready," Shift5 CEO and First In Venture Partner Josh Lospinoso testified to the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services regarding the improvement of the DoD's operational application of AI/ML.

Shift5 Adds JetBlue as Investor, Partner
April 4, 2023 (WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL) Arlington, Va. - Shift5’s technology “has the potential to revolutionize aviation cybersecurity,” says a managing director at JetBlue Ventures.

Why Dual-Use and Defense Technologies are the Next Growth Sectors
November 21, 2022 (REAL CLEAR DEFENSE) by First In Investor Reed Simmons - Dual-use and defense technologies are at an inflection point. The return of great power competition has demonstrated the geopolitical importance of technological dominance.

Intelligence Community Help Wanted: Open Source Ninjas
November 1, 2022 (THE CIPHER BRIEF) by Grist Mill Exchange CEO and First In Venture Partner Kristin Wood - New Open Source technologies have birthed the relatively new field of open-source investigation and we need more of it.

The Tradecraft Around New Open Source
October 24, 2022 (THE CIPHER BRIEF) Grist Mill Exchange CEO and First In Venture Partner Kristin Wood and SVP Cynthia Saddy argue the case for new open source tradecraft.

Shift5 Announced as a 2022 Cyber Capital Award Winner by the Northern Virginia Technology Council
October 20, 2022 (YAHOO) McLean, Va. - Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC), the trade association representing the National Capital Region’s technology community, today announced the winners of the fourth annual NVTC Capital Cyber Awards. Shift5 won Commercial Cyber Company of the Year in the Under $50M in Revenue category.

Tidal Cyber Closes $4M Funding Round
October 4, 2022(PRESS RELEASE) Tidal Cyber today announced the close of a $4 million funding round to continue making threat-informed defense achievable.

First In Adds Arthur Karell as Partner
October 03, 2022 (PRWEB) Nashville, Tenn. - Today, First In™ announced the investment team’s expansion to include Arthur Karell as a Partner. Arthur's expertise is centered on the investment themes of digital security and data intelligence, with a special focus on artificial intelligence, defense technology, distributed computing, and web3’s impact on identity and encryption.

First In Brings Aboard Two Operating Partners to Support Cybersecurity
September 08, 2022(PRWEB) First In™ announced its team’s expansion to include two new operating partners, Lenore Karafa and Patrick Metke.

Supply Chain Security Startup Phylum Wins the First Black Hat Innovation Spotlight
August 11, 2022 (DARKREADING) Up-and-coming companies shoot their shot in a new feature introduced at the 25th annual cybersecurity conference.

Tidal among top cybersecurity products unveiled at Black Hat 2022
August 11, 2022 (CSO ONLINE) Here are some of the most interesting new products launched at Black Hat USA 2022, including zero trust, extended detection and response (XDR), and a host of other threat and vulnerability management offerings.

Optiv Highlights Phylum and Immuta as Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity
Optiv Future Points spotlighted First In portfolio companies Phylum and Immuta in a recent white paper that identifies major evolving cybersecurity themes and the key innovators providing solutions in those areas.

Phylum Raises $15 Million to Proactively Defend the Open-Source Supply Chain
May 03, 2022 (PRNEWSWIRE) Phylum announces $15 million in Series A funding led by ClearSky, with contributions from Atlassian Ventures, SixThirty Ventures, First In™ and TechOperators.

Shift5 Captures Multiple-Award, IDIQ Contract for U.S. Air Force Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS)
March 22, 2022 (PRESS RELEASE) Shift5 has been awarded a multiple-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract to compete for orders under a $950,000,000 ceiling for DoD's JADC2.

Shift5 raises $50M in Series B
February 08, 2022 (TECHCRUNCH) Shift5’s latest round of funding lands just a few months after its $20 million Series A raise, buoyed by several million-dollar deals last year during which the company doubled its headcount.

Appaegis Raises $7.7M in Seed Funding
December 15, 2021 (BUSINESSWIRE) Appaegis Inc., a leading Data Centric Zero Trust access security company, announced that it raised $7.7M in seed funding.

Base Operations Raises $3M in Seed 2 Funding
December 14, 2021 (FINSMES) Base Operations, a Washington, DC-based global threat-intelligence platform for enterprise security departments of multinationals, raised $3m in Seed 2 funding.

Adlumin Secures $25 Million in Series B Funding
December 07, 2021 (BUSINESSWIRE) The cybersecurity company secures its $25M Series B funding that will support its strategic shift to a channel go-to-market strategy.
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Shift5, Ex-NSA Hackers Score $20 Million To Defend Planes, Trains And Tanks From Cyber Sabotage
October 12, 2021 (FORBES) Shift5 warns America’s transport and weapons systems are vulnerable, claiming it has the best people in the world - former members of an elite NSA hacking unit - to protect them.

First In Announces Initial Closing of Fund I to Invest in Cybersecurity
June 21, 2021 (PRWEB) Today, First In, the venture capital firm focused on supporting mission-driven founders in cybersecurity and dual-use technologies, announced the initial close of First In Ventures Fund I (“Fund I”).

Morning Consult valued at over $1 billion following new funding round
June 08, 2021 (AXIOS) Morning Consult, the Washington, D.C.-based research and polling firm, has raised a $60 million Series B round that values the company at over $1 billion.

To Stem Suicide and Sexual Assault, the Air Force Dons Headsets
May 29, 2021 (NY TIMES) Officials are hoping that an immersive virtual reality experience, including with Moth + Flame, aimed at getting airmen to intervene will succeed where years of traditional training have failed.

Immuta raised $90M to automate data access control
May 20, 2021 (VENTUREBEAT) Immuta says it will use the investment — which brings the startup’s total raised to date to $169 million — to expand the size of its workforce, acquire new customers, and further develop its products.

Base Operations raises $2.2 million to modernize physical enterprise security – TechCrunch
February 11, 2021 (TECHCRUNCH) Base Operations just closed their $2.2 million seed funding round and will use the money to capitalize on its recent launch of a street-level threat mapping platform for use in supporting enterprise security operations...

Army Hires Company To Develop Cyber Defenses For Its Strykers After The Vehicles Got Hacked
November 17, 2020 (THE DRIVE) It first emerged more than a year ago that “adversaries” had launched successful cyber attacks against these armored vehicles.

Adlumin Secures $6 Million in Series A Funding
September 29, 2020 (BUSINESSWIRE) Adlumin received Series A funding that will secure its expansion in the financial sector.

Phylum’s Next-Gen Machine Learning Prevents Open Source Supply Chain Attacks
September 9, 2020 (PRWEB) Phylum, a DevSecOps startup committed to derisking the open-source ecosystem, announced today the launch of their first software tool. The tool, also ...

Immuta CEO on Privacy Protection
August 8, 2020 (THE HILL) The growing prevalence of online services and apps marketing to young demographics is downright scary.

Adlumin Patent for Core Banking System Security
July 14, 2020 Adlumin received a patent for systems and methods of anomaly detection on core banking platforms, solidifying its mark on the financial industry.

Intel Capital leads $40M investment in data privacy startup Immuta
June 23, 2020 Privacy is a growing concern for consumers and lawmakers around the world. It is also a growing headache for businesses of all sizes that must comply with a raft of new data rules, including Europe's GDPR regime and...

Shift5 wins Phase II SBIR contract from the USAF
June 18, 2020 US-based cybersecurity company Shift5 has been contracted by the US Air Force (USAF) for the Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programme.

Adlumin Surpasses 50 Financial Institutions and Counting
May 18, 2020 Adlumin celebrates passing 50 financial institutions customers as the company continues to grow its security and compliance automation platform.

James Murdoch’s Firm Is Among First to Invest in Morning Consult
May 12, 2020 James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems is making an investment in market research startup Morning Consult, known for its surveys and modernizing political polling.

Swimlane Acquires Syncurity: SOAR, Incident Response, Managed Security Converge - MSSP Alert
Apr 16, 2020 Swimlane acquires Syncurity. The deal converges SOAR, incident response, case management & managed security services. Still, MSP- & MSSP friendly rivals like Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks Demisto & Sophos loom.

Lockheed Martin Ventures and NextGen Venture Partners Invest in RunSafe Security
March 5, 2020 RunSafe Security, the pioneer of a patented process to immunize software from cyber attacks without developer friction, today announced a...

Interfolio sells to Insight Venture Partners - Washington Business Journal
November 26, 2018 The company didn’t disclose terms, but a source pegged the price at more than $100 million.

American Well acquires Avizia, plans to expand acute care services
April 30, 2018 This morning telehealth company American Well announced that it will be acquiring fellow telemedicine company Avizia in late Q2 for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to help American Well grow its acute care capabilities, which Avizia specializes in. The deal will give American Well access t…

Earnest, An Online Student Lender, Bought By Navient For $155 Million
October 4, 2017 Financial technology start-up Earnest has agreed to be acquired by student loan servicing giant Navient for $155 million in cash, the companies said on Wednesday.

Baltimore's RedOwl acquired by cybersecurity firm owned by Raytheon
August 29, 2017 RedOwl, a Baltimore-based cybersecurity analytics startup, has been acquired by a Raytheon-owned firm in a deal that investors and business leaders say proves the region's value as fertile ground for growing companies that can compete with the likes of Silicon Valley.