Budget Records Reveal MACE As Low-Cost Hypersonic Missile
U.S. budget documents released on April 21 reveal that the U.S. Navy plans to buy 4,500 air-launched hypersonic missiles for Boeing F/A-18E/Fs over the next five years.
Cloneable Raises $4.6M To ‘Clone’ Expert Worker Knowledge With Agentic AI For Utilities And Infrastructure
Cloneable, a startup that uses AI to shadow human experts in heavy industries such as energy and replicate their specialized workflows into autonomous agents, has raised $4.6 million in seed funding, the company tells Crunchbase…
Why We Invested in SCATR
Renny McPherson on First In’s lead investment in SCATR, whose platform fragments, encrypts, and dynamically routes data in transit so that to an adversary it looks like noise, not a stream worth intercepting.
Pentagon's ouster of Anthropic opens doors for small AI rivals
In the weeks since the Department of Defense’s troubled relationship with Anthropic burst into public view and led to the company being kicked out of the U.S. military, new defense-focused AI companies like Smack Technologies…
This founder helped build SpaceX’s most powerful rocket engine. Now he’s building a ‘fighter jet for orbit.’
Portal Space Systems has raised $50 million to bring it to life.
Why Vanguard: Data Observability for Mission-Critical Autonomy
Arthur Karell on why First In backed Vanguard Defense, whose domain-specific datasets let OEMs and integrators build performant autonomy stacks as the cost of edge AI collapses.
Startup Antithesis turns years of real-world chaos into hours of simulated mayhem—and key trading firms and crypto networks are paying close attention
Will Wilson wants to make sure the software running everything from your bank account to your favorite crypto exchange actually works—and his company Antithesis is rethinking how software has been tested for the last 80 years.
What AI Models for War Actually Look Like
Anthropic might have misgivings about giving the US military unfettered access to its AI models, but some startups are building advanced AI specifically for military applications.
Pryzm Raises $12M to Transform Federal Procurement with AI
Pryzm today announced a $12.2 million seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) American Dynamism fund.
AnySignal Raises $24M Series A for Radio Production
AnySignal announced this morning that it closed a $24M Series A, and is moving into a larger manufacturing facility to jumpstart production of its radio products for space and defense clients.
Alarm Over Hypersonic Missile Gap Fuels Startup Boom
With $350 million in new funding, Castelion is among the companies racing to make the U.S. competitive with Russia and China in Mach 5 warfare.
Antithesis: Getting from tested to battle-tested
Testing is an essential part of building reliable software. It’s a form of documentation, a reminder of mistakes of the past, and a boost of confidence when you want to refactor.
U.S. Navy Air-Launched Version Of ‘Cheap’ Blackbeard Hypersonic Missile Hinted At
The Castelion Corporation is now under contract to integrate its Blackbeard missile onto “operational” Navy and Army platforms.
Shift5 Raises $75 Million Series C
Shift5, the leading Operational Intelligence platform for America’s defense and transportation systems, today announced it has raised $75M in Series C.
Tidal Cyber Raises $10M in Series A Funding to Advance Threat-Led Defense
Tidal Cyber, a Virginia-based cybersecurity provider pioneering Threat-Led Defense, has raised $10 million in Series A Funding.
UAE taps Rilian Technologies to Fortify OT Security
Rilian Technologies, in partnership with the UAE Cybersecurity Council and CPX Holding, has signed a contract to secure the country’s critical infrastructure by implementing the Rilian Defense Platform.
Army eyes new program, test with Castelion’s Blackbeard hypersonic missile in 2026
As the US Army pushes to find new, non-traditional industry partners, it is planning to test out a developmental hypersonic round from defense startup Castelion that can be launched from a future autonomous launcher.
Why Palmer Luckey thinks AI-powered, autonomous weapons are the future of warfare
CBS News 60 Minutes with Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril, a California defense products company.
360 Privacy Secures $36 Million Growth Investment from FTV Capital
360 Privacy, a leading digital executive protection platform, today announced that it has secured a $36 million growth equity investment from FTV Capital.
Defense tech is blowing up Silicon Valley’s beliefs
Castelion, a startup founded by SpaceX alumni, is bringing hypersonic missile development back to El Segundo, partnering with the US Air Force for testing.