🇺🇸 The Veteran Fund Update: JANUARY 2026
As we advance into 2026, we’re proud to announce that The Veteran Fund has achieved top-decile performance among venture capital firms, driven by the exceptional leadership of our portfolio companies.
In 2022, we started The Veteran Fund with the conviction that the operational excellence and disciplined execution ingrained in military leaders uniquely prepare them to build enduring, critical technology companies that strengthen America and her allies.
Today, our thesis is delivering results. Fund I’s top-decile performance is driven by our portfolio companies that are rapidly scaling, winning important government and commercial contracts, and have collectively raised over $350M in capital.
As America approaches her 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, we are reminded that the freedoms we enjoy, and the economic engine that sustains them, have always been shaped by leaders willing to take responsibility, embrace risk, and lead through uncertainty. From the founders who pledged their lives and fortunes in 1776 to today’s elite veterans building critical technology companies at the frontier of innovation, the through-line is that liberty is earned through leadership, purpose, and resilience in action.
With the launch of The Veteran Fund II, we recommit our capital and conviction to the same ideals that sparked America’s founding: liberty, unity, and leadership in service of something greater than ourselves to build a better world for all of humanity.
📈 Portfolio Highlights
Havoc AI recently closed an $85 million funding round backed by strategic partners including Lockheed Martin, In-Q-Tel, and Hanwha.
The company has solidified its position as the premier leader in maritime autonomy as it rapidly scales its fleet by deploying four new vessels and unveiling high-capability hulls like the 100-foot Atlas.
In addition to securing critical partnerships with industry titans such as SAIC and Metal Shark, Havoc’s technical superiority was recently validated by two U.S. Army contract wins and a historic demonstration of GPS-denied autonomous control across both air and sea domains.
Vatn Systems closed its $60 million Series A and announced its acquisition of Crewless Marine, a leader in advanced underwater acoustic sensing and signal processing.
The acquisition accelerates Vatn’s ability to deliver high-performance, low-cost torpedo, decoy, and sensor solutions at scale while positioning it to expand into harbor defense and environmental monitoring.
The Series A featured a heavy-hitting syndicate including BVVC, Airbus Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Hanwha, and our friends at Veteran Ventures Capital, along with strategic follow-on from Lockheed Martin Ventures and SAIC Ventures. This capital will accelerate the mass production of Vatn’s modular autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).
Glīd won first place in the prestigious TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Startup Battlefield, closed an oversubscribed $3.1M Pre-Seed round, and advanced its dual-mode autonomous “Glīders” from concept to deployment-ready systems.
Glīd has rapidly emerged as a breakout logistics and autonomy platform under the leadership of founder Kevin Damoa, a former SpaceX engineer and military logistics expert.
By enabling vehicles to operate seamlessly on both road and rail, Glīd is unlocking underutilized rail corridors and redefining throughput for both commercial freight and defense logistics. With field deployments launching in 2026 and growing interest from ports, shippers, and national security stakeholders, Glīd is moving decisively from R&D into real-world impact, positioning itself as a category-defining solution in the $20T global freight market.
Firestorm closed a $47 million Series A funding round led by NEA, with significant participation from J.P. Morgan, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, and Washington Harbour Partners.
The investment will be used to scale xCell, Firestorm’s “factory-in-a-box” expeditionary manufacturing platform for contested logistics.
The xCell technology allows for the 3D printing of critical parts, including Firestorm’s modular, open-architecture UAS platform, Tempest, directly at the point of need, effectively eliminating long logistics tails and enabling frontline units to adapt and replenish fleets in contested environments.
TERN closed a $7.5M oversubscribed Seed Extension round and was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025.
The company recently completed a 53-mile, GPS-free convoy demonstration for the U.S. Army and was named a winner of the Army’s xTech Overwatch competition, beating more than 600 entrants and securing a path to a $2M SBIR Phase II.
TERN’s breakthrough navigation technology has gained significant global visibility, being named the Navigation Technology Innovation of the Year by the AutoTech Breakthrough Awards. TERN is solving the critical “GPS-denied” challenge that is a top priority for the Department of War.
Proteus was awarded Prime Contractor role on a $151 billion contract through the Missile Defense Agency after the successful space launch of MERCURY ONE.
The first AI-designed spacecraft achieved multiple historic milestones, including compressing the full “design-to-launch” cycle to nine months, proving that Proteus can deliver space-grade hardware at a speed previously considered impossible and positioning the company at the center of a decade-long effort to deploy advanced, AI/ML-enabled, multi-domain defense capabilities.
Together, the rapid MERCURY ONE execution and prime contractor designation underscore Proteus Space’s emergence as a category-defining player in next-gen space and missile defense critical infrastructure.
Chris Stott, CEO of Lonestar Lunar, with His Majesty King Charles III
Lonestar met with His Majesty King Charles III and closed an oversubscribed $6M Series Seed Extension round on the heels of two successful lunar missions.
To bridge the path to its permanent lunar infrastructure, Lonestar secured multiple data center contracts and is set to launch a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) data center in 2026 as a critical stepping stone to its ultimate cislunar storage solution.
By storing data off-planet, Lonestar offers a premium, ultra-secure backup solution that provides unprecedented resilience and sovereignty, far removed from Earth’s terrestrial threats. Their 2026 LEO launch provides an immediate proof of concept for “high-ground” data security, addressing the growing vulnerability of terrestrial servers to kinetic and cyber interference.
🚀 New Investment
We are proud to announce our latest investment in Defiant Space, a company currently in stealth developing next-generation space architecture with significant implications for national security, defense, and deterrence.
While the team remains in stealth today, we look forward to sharing more with our community later this year as Defiant Space is able to emerge publicly.
🇺🇸 Featured Limited Partner Book Release: Unlocking the Last 20% by Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton
Limited Partner Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton is publishing a book on March 24, 2026, titled Unlocking the Last 20%: Rising to Greatness Through Discipline, Balance, and Resiliency.
As the Air Force’s former Chief of AI and one of the most accomplished F-35 test pilots in the world, Cinco draws upon decades of experience operating at the intersection of leadership, resilience, and innovation. The message aligns deeply with what we stand for: helping principled leaders rise and create meaningful impact.
There are several ways you can support Cinco and help amplify his important message:
Pre-order the book directly through his website: www.tuckerhamilton.com
Make introductions to conferences, podcasts, or forums where he can share these ideas more broadly
📣 Announcements and Events
The Veteran Fund Featured by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA)
We are honored to share that The Veteran Fund was featured in a Member Spotlight by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), the leading voice for the U.S. venture capital ecosystem. This recognition serves as a powerful validation of our thesis, reinforcing that the “veteran edge” is not a social mission, but a sophisticated investment strategy delivering superior returns while securing the future of freedom through frontier technology.
In the deep dive, General Partner Ryan Micheletti discusses our firm’s mission to back elite veteran founders building critical technologies that strengthen both economic and national security. As we scale with the launch of Fund II, this recognition from the NVCA underscores our commitment to advancing American competitiveness and validating the outperformance of veteran-led startups on the global stage.
Annual LP Dinner with General McChrystal
The Veteran Fund and LP General McChrystal hosted our annual backyard BBQ dinner at his home, bringing together LPs, portfolio company CEOs, senior military leaders, and key ecosystem partners for an intimate evening of candid conversation and connection.
The gathering reflected what makes our community distinct: leaders with deep operational experience, a shared commitment to service, and a long-term view on building enduring institutions. Conversations spanned national security, leadership under pressure, and the responsibility of founders and investors to build technologies that strengthen both economic and strategic resilience.
Mike Sherbakov and Justin Nahama in Antarctica
Veteran Leadership in Antarctica
General Partners Mike and Justin joined several LPs and more than 100 global business leaders on a well-being expedition to Antarctica led by LP Dr. Deepak Chopra.
The journey came together as a direct result of The Veteran Fund’s commitment to building a deeply connected LP community, bringing together like-minded leaders who believe that meaningful collaboration, trust, and shared values create an enduring edge in both life and investing.
After successfully navigating the Drake Passage, Mike and Justin shared how The Veteran Fund’s mission-driven venture capital model is delivering tangible impact by backing elite veteran founders building technologies that matter.
Ryan Micheletti, LP Chris Gosselin, Cathie Wood, Mike Sherbakov
GPs Ryan and Mike joined several LPs at the Wyoming Global Tech Summit in October, an invitation-only gathering of leading investors, founders, and policymakers focused on the future of frontier technologies and capital formation.
Hosted by LP Jack Selby and The Jackson Hole Technology Partnership, the summit brought together a highly curated group to discuss innovation at the intersection of AI, space, energy, and national security.
Ryan and Mike spent time with Cathie Wood and other thought leaders exploring long-term technology adoption, defensible innovation, and the role of mission-driven capital in shaping the next generation of market-defining companies. The summit reinforced the importance of disciplined, long-duration investing and strengthened relationships across our LP and partner ecosystem as we continue to scale The Veteran Fund platform.
Mike Sherbakov and Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase
Private Lunch with Jamie Dimon in New York City
GP Mike Sherbakov was honored to attend a private lunch in New York City with Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, where Mr. Dimon shared details of the firm’s newly announced Security and Resiliency Initiative. This decade-long, $1.5 trillion commitment is designed to facilitate, finance, and invest in industries critical to U.S. national and economic security.
The initiative includes up to $10 billion in direct equity and venture capital investments focused on areas such as defense, advanced manufacturing, energy resilience, and frontier technologies including AI and quantum computing.
These priorities closely align with The Veteran Fund’s investment thesis and long-term focus on backing veteran-led companies building critical technologies that strengthen America and her allies.
As we look ahead to 2026, the performance of Fund I establishes the foundation for a successful Fund II, supported by an expanding pipeline, accelerating demand for critical technologies, and unprecedented strategic interest in our mission.
Our portfolio companies’ results are not accidental; they are the product of disciplined capital, aligned incentives, and founders who live and breathe our core values of leadership, purpose, and resilience.
With liberty once again protected by speed, resilience, and technological superiority, we enter this next chapter with confidence, momentum, and conviction.
History rarely offers clear signals. But when it does, the prepared act. We invite leaders who share our conviction to join us as we build the next generation of companies shaping the future of America.
-Mike, Lisa, Ryan, and Justin
