Defense technology company Picogrid announced a $12 million seed round led by Initialized Capital with participation by Starburst Ventures, Credo Ventures, Giant Step Capital, Domino Ventures, and Alumni Ventures.
What does Picogrid do? Picogrid creates a unified platform for autonomous systems, creating an open ecosystem of defense technology suppliers. And the company’s technology connects and remotely controls sensors, drones, command interfaces, and other notoriously fragmented defense systems.
The company founders Zane Mountcastle and Martin Slosarik started building defense technology over a decade ago, developing autonomous systems first in their dorm rooms and then as contractors for the U.S. Army.
The key component of Picogrid’s technology is in Legion, its cloud-based API used for connecting and controlling various third-party autonomous systems. And this includes drones, unmanned vehicles, and AI-driven surveillance tools, all working together in a cohesive and intelligent ecosystem.
The early customer signals are a sign of great things to come. Since its launch, Picogrid has won over a dozen federal contracts, including a $1 billion IDIQ contract from the Pentagon. And the company’s technology serves ongoing military operations on bases across the United States and it is used by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on the front lines of the war in Ukraine.
This funding round is a major step for Picogrid, enabling it to accelerate product development, ramp up manufacturing by opening its second factory in Lawton, Oklahoma, and sign partnerships within the defense sector OEMs.
And Picogrid aims to enable the quick integration of emerging hardware and software systems — ranging from small sensors to large UAVs to emerging AI and sensor fusion applications — into military operations.
KEY QUOTES:
“It was a gut punch as an engineer trained in modern software. Every sensor, plane, vehicle, and command center operates as an independent system with no way to work together.” Built to address these challenges, Picogrid’s technology helps integrate the devices that the military increasingly depends on, using modern hardware and software to route data to and from systems deployed all over the world.”
“Our platform is a paradigm shift in defense operations, offering unprecedented levels of coordination and real-time intelligence. It’s not just about having the most sophisticated defense systems; it’s about how these systems work together as a singular force. The integration of our most advanced defense systems is the difference between deterrence and vulnerability.”
- Zane Mountcastle, co-founder and CEO of Picogrid
“The Pentagon has made integration of major defense systems a big priority over the next few years as the risk of near-peer conflict grows year-over-year. Picogrid is well-positioned to make sure that disparate vendors and technology providers can interface with each other to support U.S. and international security needs.”
- Kim-Mai Cutler, a partner at Initialized Capital
