Fundraising Fox
Black Flag
AcceleratorActively deployingAHarpoon Venturesfirst-check program
San Diego · Pre-Seed–Seed · 6 people tracked
Also known as HARPOON MANAGEMENT, LLC
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Investment thesis
Black Flag is a virtual accelerator program from Harpoon Ventures serving as the first check for founders building America's next era of critical technologies. It backs early-stage (pre-seed and seed) companies across defense, energy, robotics, AI, manufacturing, health and biology, cybersecurity, space, and autonomy, on the belief that national security depends on innovation across all these sectors. Selected companies receive investment along with mentor access, go-to-market and government funding guidance, branding support, and vendor credits. Applications are simultaneously shared with Shield Capital and In-Q-Tel for potential additional investment. Investment terms are negotiated individually with each company.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 29, 2026.
Team · 6 people
from curated & public directoriesFounder mafia
2 people who came through Black Flag went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 23 of 28 portfolio companiesDeep Tech ×11Hardware ×11Defense Tech ×10AI & Machine Learning ×7Space Tech ×7Advanced Manufacturing ×5Energy ×4Cleantech ×3
HQs:United States×18
Who they back
founder profiles across 21 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×52 founders×33 founders×54+ founders×8
Where their founders studiedfrom 30 founders with education data
Arizona State University ×2Carnegie Mellon University ×2Case Western Reserve University ×2Massachusetts Institute of Technology ×2Stanford University ×2Stanford University Graduate School of Business ×2The University of Texas at Austin ×2University of California, Berkeley ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 31 founders with field-of-study data
Engineering ×18Computer Science ×7Business & Management ×4Physics ×3Mathematics & Statistics ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 34 founders with career history
SpaceX ×6United States Air Force ×4Anduril ×2Caltech ×2Joint Special Operations Command ×2NASA Ames Research Center ×2Relativity Space ×2Sierra Nevada Corporation ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
8 founders hold a PhD · 1 hold an MBA (of 32 with degree data)
Portfolio companies · 28 tracked
alumni founders can tell you what the program is really likeBy year:2026 · 22025 · 32024 · 22019 · 18 dated
Aalo develops advanced nuclear reactor technology aimed at producing electricity at under 3 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Climate TechDeep TechEnergyHardware
Matt(Co-founder)inYasir(Co-founder)in
Co-investorsAkkaAlumni VenturesBanca Investis — Family OfficeBasecamp FundBrave CapitalCapital Factory+31 more
Albedo develops a flight-proven platform for Very Low Earth Orbit operations, providing satellite-based insights and connectivity services for national security and critical infrastructure systems.
Advanced ManufacturingClimate TechDeep TechDefense TechSpace TechDenver, US
Topher Haddad(Founder)inAyJay Lasater(Founder)inWinston Tri(Executive Officer, Promoter)inDylan Betts(Executive Officer)in
BoardChristian Garcia(Director)inRaj Shah(Director)in
Co-investorsAngel Collective Opportunity FundBooz Allen VenturesBreakthrough Energy VenturesCommodity CapitalCubit CapitalDnx Ventures+24 more
Astranis manufactures small, high-powered geosynchronous satellites equipped with advanced digital processing technology for global telecommunications and connectivity services.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechHardwareSpace TechSan Francisco, US
John Gedmark(Founder/CEO)inRyan McLinko(Founder/CTO)inMike Mancini(Executive Officer)
BoardMartin Casado(Director)inEthan Batraski(Director)inDan Berkenstock(Director)
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzATEL VenturesBoxGroupCantos VenturesCherubic VenturesCommonweal Ventures+84 more
fab2 designs and builds the hardware and software used to manufacture chips, including semiconductor fabs, fabrication tools, and components such as pumps, valves, sensors, and precision actuators.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductors
Sam ZeloofinJim Keller
Co-investorsBeyond Earth VenturesFontinalis PartnersHyperguapMana Ventures
Aurelius Systems builds Archimedes, an autonomous counter-UAS laser system that combines high-power directed energy, optical sensors, and AI to detect, track, and neutralize aerial drone threats without an operator.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDefense TechHardwareSan Francisco, US
John Marmaduke(Executive Officer, Director)Michael LaFramboise(CEO and co-founder)in
BoardPaige Craig(Director)
Co-investors640 OxfordAlumni VenturesBlue Ivy VenturesDecisive PointDraper AssociatesFounders+5 more
Clippership designs and builds autonomous wind-powered vessels with wing-sails to move cargo across water using wind instead of fuel.
CleantechLogistics & Supply ChainRoboticsRedwood City, US
Kai Matsuka(CTO)inNiccolo Cymbalist(Founder)inNico Cymbalist(CEO)Luca Cymbalist(COO)
Co-investorsFifty YearsFounders Factory
Cowboy Space builds a satellite constellation system that provides power and compute infrastructure in low Earth orbit to serve artificial intelligence applications.
AI & Machine LearningEnergySpace TechSan Carlos, US
Baiju Bhatt(Executive Officer, Director)in
BoardDaniel Gallagher(Director)
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzBlossom CapitalBrave CapitalBreakthrough Energy VenturesConstruct CapitalDragon Capital+10 more
eFlow extracts lithium from dilute brines in North America using direct lithium extraction technology, serving the clean energy and electric vehicle supply chain.
CleantechEnergyNew MaterialsSan Bruno, US
Eric McShane(CEO and co-founder)Evan Gardner(CTO and co-founder)in
Co-investorsFifty YearsHarpoon VenturesUnion Square Ventures (USV)Voyager Partners
EraDrive builds an AI-native software and hardware platform for spacecraft autonomy, covering space traffic management, on-orbit logistics, and space situational awareness.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechSpace Tech
Justin(Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer)in
Co-investorsEntropy Industrial CapitalHarpoon VenturesPoint Nine
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Exowatt builds modular clean energy infrastructure systems designed for 24/7 solar power generation, targeting global AI infrastructure and critical industries that require reliable, ultra-low-cost sustainable power.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechEnergyHardwareMiami, US
Hannan Happi(CEO & Co-Founder)Jack Abraham(Co-Founder; Atomic CEO)inHannan H.(Founder)in
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzAtomicBay Bridge Ventures ClimateBleu CapitalClimate CapitalFelicis Ventures+15 more
Extropic builds thermodynamic computing hardware, including thermodynamic sampling units (TSUs) designed to be more energy efficient than GPUs for probabilistic AI workloads.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHardwareSemiconductorsAustin, US
Guillaume Verdon(Founder)in
Co-investorsAtacama VenturesBeyond CapitalHOF CapitalHyperguapInfinite CapitalJulian Capital+10 more
Firestorm Labs builds xCell, a containerized 3D-printing factory that produces modular military drones at the point of need.
San Diego, US
Daniel Magy(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Chad McCoy(Founder)inIan Muceus(Founder)in
BoardTommy Hendrix(Director)Aaron Jacobson(Director)in
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesBackswing VenturesBeyond CapitalBooz Allen VenturesBVVCCapital Factory+19 more
Galadyne develops liquid-propulsion strike and defense platforms for military applications, including the Striker medium-range strike vehicle and Defender missile defense system, along with Outpost ground and ship-based launch infrastructure.
Deep TechDefense Tech
Chandler Luzsicza(Founder)in
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzSilent CapitalPax VenturesSilent Ventures
Glyphic Biotechnologies develops ProSE™, a high-throughput de novo protein sequencing technology for analyzing proteomes with single-molecule sensitivity.
BiotechDeep TechBerkeley, US
Daniel Estandian(Founder)inEd Boyden(Founder)Josh Yang(Founder)in
BoardCraig Asher(Director)inJimmy Yun(Director)in
Co-investorsArtis VenturesCivilization Ventures Management, LlcFoundersX VenturesHarpoon VenturesLongeVCModi Ventures+7 more
Lux Aeterna designs and builds reusable satellites to enable defense, intelligence, commercial, and in-space manufacturing customers to conduct space operations more efficiently.
Deep TechHardwareSpace TechDenver, US
Brian Taylor(CEO & Founder)in
BoardJosh Chapman(Director)
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesBasecamp FundCubit CapitalEntropy Industrial CapitalKonvoy VenturesMission One Capital+6 more
Odin Dynamics develops technology aimed at supporting global deterrence and defense.
Deep TechDefense Tech
Co-investorsNKECHI IREGBULEM
Orbital Ops develops propulsion systems and related aerospace hardware for airborne vehicles.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechDefense TechHardwareSpace TechLos Angeles, US
Ben Schleuniger(Founder)inRoss Doherty(Co-Founder & COO)inHunter
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesGoAhead VenturesInitialized CapitalOlive Tree CapitalTRAC (Third Round Analytics Capital)Y Combinator+16 more
Pipedream Labs operates an underground automated delivery system that enables rapid pickup of groceries, restaurant orders, and other goods within 15 seconds.
FoodTechLogistics & Supply ChainPropTechAustin, US
Garrett McCurrach(Founder & CEO)inCanon Reeves(Founder)in
Co-investorsCortado VenturesMyelin VCSpacecadet VenturesStarship VenturesTechstarsVibe Capital+5 more
Superpower offers personalized health testing and monitoring for consumers, analyzing 100+ biomarkers across multiple body systems.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthWellness & Fitness
Jacob Peters(Founder)inDr Anant Vinjamoori
Co-investorsAirTree VenturesAOKI LABSARA NEA Ventures (Brand: Dmz.Xyz)AurumBackwards CapitalBasic Capital+21 more
Tectonic builds and deploys post-quantum cryptography infrastructure, including NIST-aligned encryption, secure network routing that verifies every hop, and encryption key management across devices and users.
CybersecurityDefense TechQuantum Computing
Co-investorsReflexive CapitalSequoia CapitalHarpoon VenturesOlive Tree Capital
True Anomaly designs and builds hardware and software systems for space security and defense.
Defense TechHardwareSpace TechCentennial, US
Even Rogers(CEO and Co-Founder)inKyle Zakrzewski(Chief Engineer and Co-Founder)inThomas Nichols(Executive Officer, Director)Daniel Brunski(Director)in
BoardJesse Michaels(Director)Austin Bishop(Director)
Co-investors645 VenturesAccelACME CapitalChampion Hill VenturesCortado VenturesCubit Capital+16 more
Type III, Inc. designs and manufactures hardware products such as its Rugged Mini Mount, offering rapid prototyping, low-volume production, and specialized hardware builds.
Advanced ManufacturingHardwareHuntington Beach, US
Daniel Moore(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsFifty YearsHarpoon Ventures
Defense technology company building AI software for U.S. national security missions; flagship product is Decrypt.
Palo Alto, US
Brett Carlsen Granberg(Executive Officer, Director)Eleony Shepherd Moorhead(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsAloft VCCostanoa VenturesFelicis VenturesGeneral CatalystPoint72 VenturesAllison Pickens Ventures+4 more
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Vector develops advanced defense technology solutions, including unmanned systems and integrated warfare capabilities, for the U.S. military and its allies.
Deep TechDefense TechHardwareSalt Lake City, US
Andy Yakulis(CEO and co-founder)Matt Long(Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder)George Matus(CTO and co-founder)
BoardLarsen Jensenin
Co-investorsPelion Venture PartnersAlumni VenturesDauntless VenturesHarpoon VenturesKickstartPoint72 Ventures+1 more
Wraithwatch provides a unified data fabric and control plane for cyber defense teams, letting human and AI defenders query source data directly, profile identities and their blast radius, deploy security controls as code, and auto-correlate threat reports with their environment.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDefense TechAustin, US
Nik(Founder)inGrace Clemente(Founder)inCarlos Más(Founder)in
Co-investorsHuman CapitalXYZ Venture CapitalFounders Fund
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
Super Powers MobilityTarlyTectonic Labs
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesAurelius Systems · finsmes.com · Aug 5, 2026
Extropic · finance.yahoo.com · Jul 30, 2026
Astranis · finsmes.com · May 7, 2026
Firestorm · techcrunch.com · Apr 29, 2026
Exowatt · techcrunch.com · Nov 14, 2025
Vannevar · vannevarlabs.com · Sep 25, 2025
Orbital Operations · orbitalops.tech · Aug 19, 2025
Lux Aeterna · prnewswire.com · Jun 25, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Black Flag made?
- Black Flag has 28 tracked investments, including 6 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Black Flag invest at?
- Black Flag invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is Black Flag's typical check size?
- Black Flag typically writes checks of $500K – $5M.
- What sectors does Black Flag focus on?
- Black Flag focuses on Advanced Manufacturing, AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Climate Tech, Cybersecurity, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Energy, Hardware, New Materials, Robotics, Semiconductors, Space Tech.
- Where is Black Flag located?
- Black Flag is headquartered in San Diego, US.
- Does Black Flag lead rounds?
- Yes, Black Flag leads investment rounds.
- Who does Black Flag co-invest with?
- Black Flag most often shares deals with Alumni Ventures, Fifty Years, Andreessen Horowitz, among 197 tracked co-investors.
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