Nominal, which is the first unified and real-time test stack for physical systems, announced a $75 million Series B led by Sequoia Capital, with significant participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and continued support from Lux Capital, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and additional investors.
Nominal’s stack automates data capture, flags edge-case failures, and feeds results straight into operations—whether in a wind tunnel, on a flight line, or inside a contested environment. And in just two years, the company has become the fastest-growing software platform in hardware development:
— 10 times revenue growth year-over-year
— 6 times customer growth across aerospace, defense, energy, robotics, and manufacturing
— Dozens of operational field deployments, from hypersonic materials testing to daily drone sorties
For decades, hardware testing innovation has lagged behind the demand for new hardware products. And incumbent tools, built for one-and-done verification in the 1980s-2000s, assumed products shipped every ten years, not every ten weeks. Spreadsheets, custom Python harnesses, and siloed software can’t keep pace with rapid design changes or field updates. And as reindustrialization, rising defense budgets, and global competition compress schedules, continuous real-time validation is now essential for national security and industrial prosperity.
Launched in 2022 by engineers and operators from Anduril, Lockheed Martin, and Palantir, Nominal replaces fragmented scripts and desktop tools with a single secure stack spanning telemetry management, hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) automation, and live operational monitoring. By reducing test-to-decision time from days to minutes, Nominal lets hardware engineering organizations accelerate product development timelines, reduce overhead, and scale outcomes without adding headcount.
The Nominal platform now offers two production products:
1.) Nominal Core—a secure cloud workbench for managing, monitoring, and analyzing high-rate sensor data, logs, video, and procedures in one time-aligned, collaborative view.
2.) Nominal Connect—an edge platform that lets engineers build custom hardware-in-the-loop applications and run automation code connected to physical assets or test stands.
Customers: The programs across aerospace, defense, energy, and advanced manufacturing, including Anduril Industries, Shield AI, and the U.S. Air Force, utilize Nominal to analyze hardware data, surface anomalies, and keep critical hardware mission-ready.
How the funding will be used: The capital will accelerate both product roadmaps and fund new product offerings that push deeper into embedded and operational use cases, with secure and reliable AI woven throughout.
KEY QUOTES:
“No one tests more hardware, or under higher stakes, than the U.S. Department of Defense. Nominal is already accelerating test outcomes and can help reduce the time required for flight and weapons testing—delivering credible capabilities to the warfighter faster.”
Maj Gen (Ret) Evan Dertien, former commander of the U.S. Air Force Test Center
“Test speed is the choke-point for hardware innovation. Nominal transforms testing from a constraint into a competitive advantage with an integrated platform that spans development through operations. We’re excited to partner with the Nominal team as they create and define this new software category that will power the next era of hardware.”
Alfred Lin, Partner at Sequoia Capital
“We are in the business of making testing simpler, more efficient and cost effective for our customers. Every hour our customers wait for a test results impacts their schedule and budget. Nominal pulls the sensor data, control logic, and pass-fail gates into one live workspace, so testing outcomes are available within minutes, not days. Lines keep moving, flight windows stay on the calendar, and engineering teams ship new hardware without adding headcount.”
Cameron McCord, Nominal co-founder and CEO
