First In
Washington ยท Seed ยท 4 people tracked
Investment thesis
Early-stage investor in security tech led by former Marine Corps officers, CIA operatives and defense-tech operators who apply military systems thinking to back founders at the national securityโcommercial intersection.
Team ยท 4 people
from the firm's website
Arthur Karell, a Bronze Starโdecorated Marine infantry officer who, after senior roles at FiscalNote, Anduril and Seashell and sourcing over $425M in acquisitions, focuses on defense and dualโuse seed-stage startups.
Lenore Karafa, a former Marine officer with Iraq deployments, is an Operating Partner focused on leadership development who combines combat leadership with executive HR experience and advocates veteran leadership.
Renny McPherson, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer and founder-operator (co-founder of RedOwl Analytics), applies pattern analysis and asymmetric risk assessment to cybersecurity and dataโintelligence startups, bringing deep operational expertise.
Gabrielle Fong is a former U.S. Navy surface warfare and intelligence officer who serves partโtime in the Navy Reserve and channels frontโline cyber and space insights into security technology investing.
What they invest in
from 16 of 31 portfolio companiesEnterprise Software ร11AI & Machine Learning ร8Cybersecurity ร7Data & Infrastructure ร5Defense Tech ร4Developer Tools ร3Deep Tech ร2Fintech ร2
HQs:United Statesร12
Investments ยท 31 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathN-able delivers unified cybersecurity and data protection solutions including endpoint management (N-central), AI-powered threat detection and response (Adlumin), and disaster recovery services (Cove).
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareAlexandria, US
Robert S. Jonhston(Executive Officer, Director)
Antithesis provides deterministic simulation testing software that automatically finds and reproduces bugs in mission-critical software systems.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Will Wilson(CEO & Co-Founder)inDave Scherer(Co-Founder)
Base Operations provides threat intelligence and risk assessment software for corporate security teams, delivering standardized risk metrics (BaseScore) and location-specific security data at sub-mile granularity for global portfolios.
CybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise Software
Castelion develops advanced strike systems and defense hardware with a focus on rapid iteration and scalable manufacturing to reduce costs and development timelines for U.S. defense applications.
Advanced ManufacturingDefense TechHardwareTorrance, US
Bryon Hargis(Co-Founder & CEO)Sean Pitt(Co-Founder & COO)Andrew Kreitz(Co-Founder & CFO)Charles Bryon Hargis(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Andrew Jonathan Kreitz(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Sean Tucker Orion Pitt(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
AI automation for infrastructure operations
Raleigh, US
Lia Reich(Executive Officer, Director)Tyler Collins(Executive Officer, Director)Patrick Lohman(Executive Officer)
BoardEliza Cushman(Director)
Dapple Security provides data security and privacy features for businesses, built on encryption and data governance technologies.
CybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareFintechCentennial, US
Gadalia Montoya Weinberg O'Brian(Founder/CEO)Gadalia Montoya Weinberg O'Bryan(Founder and CEO)Keith Bucher(Co-Founder and CTO)
Graphika builds a network intelligence platform that maps and analyzes relationships across online communities to help organizations understand digital environments and identify emerging risks and opportunities.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureNew York, US
John Kelly(Founder)John W. Graves(Director)Rene W. Boettcher(President)James W. Hunt(Director)Christopher W. Tucker(Director)Montgomery W. Kersten(Director)
Immuta provides data access and governance solutions that enable safe, instant provisioning of data at scale for humans and AI systems.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareAnnapolis, US
Sapan Shah(Director)Steven Touw(Director)Matthew Carroll(Executive Officer, Director)inMichael Schiller(Executive Officer, Director)
Moth+Flame provides a virtual reality training simulation platform using spatial computing and generative AI to deliver hands-on skills training for enterprises.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechEnterprise SoftwareNew York, US
Portal Space Systems develops advanced spacecraft, including its flagship Supernova vehicle, designed for high delta-v maneuverability and multi-orbit operations in cislunar space.
Deep TechHardwareSpace TechWashington, US
Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka(Director)Ian Vorbach(Director)inPrashaanth Ravindran(Director)inJeffery Thornburg(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Precog provides automated data integration (ELT) using multi-dimensional algebra and AI-powered schema detection to transform complex object data from APIs, SaaS applications, and IoT platforms into business-ready data.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareFintechBoulder, US
RunSafe Security develops cybersecurity software that hardens embedded systems and commercial/defense software against exploitation by disrupting the determinism attackers need to build reliable exploits.
CybersecurityDefense TechDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
Joseph M. Saunders(Founder and CEO)Doug Britton(EVP)Shane Fry(Chief Technology Officer)
Smack builds domain-specific AI models for military decision-making.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense Tech
Andy Markoff(Founder & CEO)Clint Alanis(COO & Co-Founder)Dan Gould(Head of Strategy & Co-Founder)
Twosense uses passive biometrics and machine learning for continuous user authentication in enterprise environments, eliminating the need for passwords and physical tokens.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareHealthtechBrooklyn, US
Dawud Gordon(CEO)John Tanios(Executive Officer, Director)Christopher Wake(Director)
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does First In invest at?
- First In invests at the Seed stage.
- What is First In's typical check size?
- First In typically writes checks of $500K โ $2M.
- What sectors does First In focus on?
- First In focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Hardware.
- Where is First In located?
- First In is headquartered in Washington, US.
- Does First In lead rounds?
- Yes, First In leads investment rounds.
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