IceNine
Venture capitalLondon · Pre-Seed–Seed · 8 people tracked
Investment thesis
IceNine invests in early-stage founders driving technological innovation in critical industries including advanced manufacturing, space technology, and deep tech. The firm leverages operational expertise from hands-on experience scaling hardware companies, industrial R&D leadership, and government program execution to accelerate founders' technical, operational, and commercial progress. The investment thesis emphasizes that artificial intelligence is compressing development timelines and accelerating industrial technology advancement, making technological sovereignty and innovation in critical sectors increasingly important.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 6, 2026.
Team · 8 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 13 of 14 portfolio companiesHardware ×8Deep Tech ×6Defense Tech ×5Advanced Manufacturing ×4Space Tech ×4AI & Machine Learning ×2Semiconductors ×2Construction Tech ×1
HQs:United States×11Italy×1
Investments · 14 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12025 · 12022 · 13 dated
Herndon, US
Christopher Bradley DeMay(Executive Officer)Jaye Alison Alfers(Executive Officer)Simon Mark Davidson(Director)John Sheldon Serafini(Executive Officer, Director)inArthur Lewis Money(Director)David Farnsworth(Director)
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsCenter15 CapitalGula Tech AdventuresHemisphere Ventures LLCManhattan Venture PartnersNew North VenturesNightDragon+6 more
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)
BoardAlex Poulin(Director)in
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investors7percent VenturesAndreessen HorowitzAngel Collective Opportunity FundAvenir Growth CapitalBlueYard CapitalCantos Ventures+9 more
D-Orbit provides space logistics infrastructure and transportation services including satellite launch deployment, on-orbit servicing, refueling, and end-of-mission disposal using its proprietary ION Satellite Carrier orbital transfer vehicle.
Deep TechLogistics & Supply ChainSpace TechItaly, IT
Luca Rossettini(Founder & CEO)in
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsBanca Investis — Family OfficeCDP Venture CapitalElysia CapitalIn-Q-TelIndaco Venture PartnersLevante Capital+7 more
Epsilon3 provides a software platform for creating, reviewing, and executing operational procedures, serving teams that need to develop and iterate processes at scale.
Advanced ManufacturingEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLos Angeles, US
Laura Crabtree(Founder)inMax Mednik(Founder)inAaron Sullivan(Executive Officer)
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsBroom VenturesBVVCKohala VenturesLux CapitalMaC Venture CapitalRavelin Capital+2 more
Monumental Labs develops an AI-powered robotic fabrication platform for automating stone carving and sculpture production, serving architects and builders.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningConstruction TechHardwareNew York City, US
Micah Springut(Founder & CEO)Sebastian Marino(CTO)
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsSeven Seven SixMythos Ventures Management, LlcPath VenturesShadow VenturesKhosla VenturesPlural
Mulberry Industries is a Georgia-based startup with vertically integrated manufacturing for high-grade permanent magnets and advanced electrical systems, including electric motors and permanent magnet generators.
Advanced ManufacturingDefense TechHardware
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsLMNT Ventures
OpenLight Photonics develops photonic integrated circuits and systems for data center, telecommunications, and sensing applications.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductorsGoleta, US
Adam Carter(Chief Executive Officer)James Dixon(Chief Financial Officer)Volkan Kaman(Vice President, Operations)John Parker(Senior Director, Engineering)Chris Barnard(Senior Director, Test & Software)Mario Pannicia(Director)
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsCatapult VenturesMatter Venture PartnersSnatched Ventures
Per Aspera is a newsletter and media publication featuring stories, playbooks, and op-eds focused on American innovation, ambition, and national progress.
Media & Entertainment
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
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
Jeffery Thornburg(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Ian Vorbach(Director)inPrashaanth Ravindran(Director)in
BoardRayfe Gaspar-Asaoka(Director)in
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsAlleyCorpBooz Allen VenturesFUSEGeodesic CapitalTFX CapitalTrajectory Ventures+4 more
SeaSats develops autonomous maritime vessels ("Lightfish" and "Quickfish") for ocean surveillance, intelligence gathering, and domain awareness.
Defense TechIoTRoboticsSan Diego, US
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsDns CapitalHemisphere Ventures LLCKonvoy VenturesMonozukuri VenturesRed Beard VenturesShield Capital+3 more
Tiberius develops defense weapon systems and munitions that improve through operational feedback and AI-driven analysis of live field data.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense Tech
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsMoonshots CapitalStage 1 Ventures
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)Thomas Nichols(Executive Officer, Director)Daniel Brunski(Director)
BoardJesse Michaels(Director)Austin Bishop(Director)
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investors645 VenturesACME CapitalBlack FlagChampion Hill VenturesCortado VenturesEclipse Ventures+14 more
Develops optical interconnect technology using light-based communication for computing systems.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductors
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsUnpopular VenturesVibe Capital
Xona Space Systems operates Pulsar, a positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) service delivered from a constellation of small satellites in Low Earth Orbit that broadcasts a new signal to augment or replace GPS.
Deep TechHardwareSpace TechBurlingame, US
Brian Manning(Executive Officer, Director)Tyler Reid(Director)Adrien Perkins(Director)
BoardSky Dayton(Director)inLewis Jones(Director)Jeff Crusey(Director)in
PartnerJeff Crusey· solo GP
Co-investorsArmada Investment AGBeyond Earth VenturesCapital InnovatorsCross Culture VenturesFirst Spark Ventures, LlcIndustrious Ventures+14 more
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioHawkEye 360NYSE: HAWK
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Castelion · techcrunch.com · Aug 20, 2026
Monumental · roboticsandautomationnews.com · Jul 17, 2026
True Anomaly · govconwire.com · Apr 29, 2026
Seasats · latimes.com · Apr 1, 2026
Xona Space Systems · payloadspace.com · Mar 27, 2026
D-Orbit · ucapital.com · Jan 23, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has IceNine made?
- IceNine has 14 tracked investments, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does IceNine invest at?
- IceNine invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What sectors does IceNine focus on?
- IceNine focuses on Advanced Manufacturing, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Hardware, Space Tech.
- Where is IceNine located?
- IceNine is headquartered in London, GB.
- Does IceNine lead rounds?
- Yes, IceNine leads investment rounds.
- Who does IceNine co-invest with?
- IceNine most often shares deals with SpaceVC, Champion Hill Ventures, MaC Venture Capital, among 89 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamEP 91 — IceNine's Jeff Crusey on Why SaaS Playbooks Derail Hard Tech Companies
RADICL · Jeff Crusey
Images
Co-investors · 6
Shield Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm backing companies developing technologies in artificial intelligence, autonomy, cybersecurity, and space, focused on the intersection of commercial technology and national security.
Eclipse is a venture firm that backs entrepreneurs building companies in the physical and essential economy — industries tied to resilience, competitiveness, and security.
Konvoy is a thesis-driven investment firm focused on interactive entertainment, deep tech, and critical industries.
Afore Capital is a $500M pre-seed venture fund that invests in pre-traction, early-stage companies, leveraging product and investment expertise to support founders from day zero.
Embedded Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage deep-tech, space, and defense startups, including companies with applications serving the Department of Defense.
A venture capital firm that leads pre-seed institutional rounds in vertical enterprise software, AI, and fintech companies, providing hands-on mentorship and follow-on capital through Series A.
Firms observed investing alongside IceNine, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with IceNine's recorded portfolio.
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