Aventra, a defense technology startup, has officially emerged from stealth mode with $3 million in seed funding led by Lavrock Ventures. The company was founded by former Army officers and defense tech entrepreneurs Michael Weigand, Brian Retherford, and Jessup Meng. Their mission is to address the growing need for affordable, scalable precision strike capabilities in modern warfare, especially in conflicts involving peer adversaries.
The company’s core innovation is a modular guidance kit that transforms standard unguided munitions into AI-powered weapons capable of striking targets up to 3,000 miles away. These kits wrap wings and guidance systems around existing munitions, allowing them to ride high-altitude winds and travel vast distances via balloon deployment. Crucially, the system does not rely on GPS, making it resilient in electronic warfare environments where GPS signals may be jammed or spoofed.
Aventra’s flagship product, the Piranha glider kit, is designed to be dramatically more cost-effective than traditional long-range precision munitions. It is estimated to cost between 100 to 400 times less than comparable systems, enabling the kind of sustained, high-volume firepower that conventional cruise missile inventories cannot support over extended engagements.
The timing of Aventra’s launch aligns with a broader push from U.S. defense leadership to scale domestic drone and autonomous weapon production. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recently emphasized the need for the rapid deployment of affordable systems, noting that adversaries are producing millions of low-cost drones annually, while the U.S. has lagged in fielding comparable capabilities.
Aventra’s modular design supports both kinetic warheads and non-kinetic payloads such as electronic warfare packages. This flexibility allows for a wide range of mission types, including precision strikes, harassment fires, and multi-domain operations from distributed launch points. The system’s simplicity and low infrastructure requirements make it ideal for deployment from austere environments, giving forces the ability to operate without centralized logistics hubs.
The founding team brings a rare combination of battlefield experience and technical expertise. Their backgrounds span successful defense startups, direct combat operations, and the development of advanced military technologies. This blend of operational insight and engineering capability positions Aventra to deliver solutions that meet the real-world needs of military customers.
How the funding will be used: With the new financing, Aventra plans to accelerate product development, expand its testing operations, and increase its team size. The company is preparing to deliver its guidance technology to defense clients who are actively seeking innovative solutions for the evolving demands of modern warfare.
KEY QUOTES:
“The U.S. government has made clear the urgent need for affordable, rapidly deployable weapons that can operate in contested and degraded environments. Our extensive firsthand experience working with operators both domestically and directly on the front lines in Ukraine has validated this demand signal. We’ve seen how conflicts are won through speed, volume, and persistence, and our technology finally makes that economically viable for American forces.”
Michael Weigand, Aventra Co-founder and CEO
“What immediately stood out about Mike, Brian, and Jessup was the rare combination of proven startup leadership, extensive warfighting experience, and exceptional technical capabilities. These guys are not amateurs – they’re proven leaders. They understand both the battlefield realities driving demand for distributed fires and the engineering challenges of delivering reliable, cost-effective solutions at scale. Their depth of experience across operations and technology makes them uniquely positioned to solve one of defense’s most pressing problems.”
Alex Poulin, Partner at Lavrock Ventures
