NightDragon
Venture capitalActively deployingSan Francisco · Growth · 17 people tracked
Also known as NIGHTDRAGON MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC
Investment thesis
NightDragon focuses on the SecureTech sector, seeking out companies solving real-world challenges across defense, quantum computing, autonomous and dual-use systems, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and national security. The firm both invests in and advises leading, mission-driven companies, and supports them through its NightScale platform, which drives value and growth in areas such as talent, go-to-market, marketing, and government services. Portfolio companies gain access to a community of top industry advisors, partners, and leaders drawn from ex-government backgrounds, Fortune 100 companies, and strategic go-to-market partners. The firm applies decades of strategic operating experience to help companies scale.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 17 people
from the firm's website & public directoriesWhat they invest in
from 15 of 24 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×9Enterprise Software ×9Data & Infrastructure ×6Cybersecurity ×4Defense Tech ×3Developer Tools ×3Hardware ×3SaaS ×3
HQs:United States×15
Who they back
founder profiles across 14 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×52 founders×53 founders×24+ founders×2
Where their founders studiedfrom 14 founders with education data
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ×3Tel Aviv University ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 14 founders with career history
8VC ×2
Investments · 24 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 22025 · 12024 · 12020 · 12015 · 16 dated
Cyber Fund III portfolio company that completed an initial public offering.
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)
Board seatDavid G. DeWalt· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsCenter15 CapitalGula Tech AdventuresHemisphere Ventures LLCIceNineManhattan Venture PartnersNew North Ventures+7 more
Charlottesville, US
OTAVIO FREIRE(Executive Officer, Director)JAMES P ZUFFOLETTI(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardCHARLES CULLEN(Director)SHAHIR KASSAM-ADAMS(Director)BRIAN CARNEY(Director)
Board seatMorgan KyaukDavid Dewalt· per SEC Form D · $27.1M raise · filed Dec 2020
Co-investorsAllegisCyber Capital
Capella Space designs, builds, and operates synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellations that provide all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation imagery at sub-0.25m resolution.
Deep TechDefense TechHardwareMedia & EntertainmentSpace TechPalo Alto, US
Payam Banazadeh(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardWilliam Woods(Director)Chris Boshuizen(Director)inNabeel Hyatt(Director)in
Co-investorsAME Cloud VenturesBlue Ivy VenturesCanaan PartnersCastor Ventures (an Alumni Ventures Fund)Cota CapitalDorm Room+7 more
Classiq provides software for designing, optimizing, and executing quantum algorithms across multiple hardware platforms with high-level abstraction and control.
Developer ToolsEnterprise SoftwareQuantum Computing
Nir MinerbiinAmir NavehinYehuda Navehin
Co-investorsAwz VenturesConnecticut InnovationsEntrée CapitalIN VentureLIP Ventures BoutiqueNeva Sgr.+7 more
Dataminr provides AI-powered real-time event detection by synthesizing text, images, video, audio, and sensor signals across public data sources.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareGovTechImpact & Social GoodNew York, US
Edward Bailey(Executive Officer, Director)Ted Bailey(Founder)inPeter Bailey(Executive Officer)Daniel O'Connor(Executive Officer)Nella Domenici(Executive Officer)Jeffrey Kinsey(Executive Officer)in
Co-investorsAdit Ventures Management, LlcAllied Venture PartnersAlpha Square GroupBlue Ivy VenturesCastor Ventures (an Alumni Ventures Fund)Conversion Capital+19 more
Directed energy systems using AI-orchestrated high-power microwaves for electromagnetic defense.
Co-investors5AM VenturesBVVCCenter15 CapitalDCVC (Data Collective)Inflection VenturesManhattan Venture Partners+2 more
Forterra develops autonomous weapons, sensors, and battlefield systems using distributed control networks for defense operations.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechRobotics
Alberto Lacaze(Chairman of the Board and President)Joseph Putney(Chief Technology Officer)
Co-investors645 VenturesCRESCENT COVE CAPITALEnlightenment CapitalGlynn Capital ManagementSalesforce VenturesSoftBank Vision Fund+8 more
Horizon3.ai builds cybersecurity products and solutions.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Snehal Antani(Founder)inMatthew HartleyinAnthony Pillitiere(Director)
BoardIlya Kirnos(Director)inLila Tretikov(Director)inMichael Robinson(Director)in
Co-investorsAcrew CapitalCraft VenturesNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)NewView CapitalQualcomm VenturesRaptor Group+3 more
HUMAN is a cybersecurity company focused on detecting and stopping automated bot attacks and digital fraud.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaSBrooklyn, US
Tamer Hassan(Co-founder)Michael Tiffany(Co-founder)Dan Kaminsky(Co-founder)Ash Kalb(Co-founder)
Co-investorsCanaan PartnersDCVC (Data Collective)Evolution VC PartnersGrit Capital PartnersGula Tech AdventuresVertex Ventures+2 more
Co-investorsFrancisco Partners
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
Steven Touw(Director)inMatthew Carroll(Executive Officer, Director)inMichael Schiller(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardSapan Shah(Director)
Co-investorsConversion CapitalDrive CapitalGreycroftIntel CapitalMarch Capital PartnersOhio Innovation Fund+6 more
Interos.ai provides supply chain risk management software that monitors financial, compliance, environmental, cybersecurity, and geopolitical risks across supplier networks using its i-Score metric.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainArlington, US
Jennifer Bisceglie(Director)inTed Krantz(Executive Officer, Director)Theodore Krantz Jr.in
BoardFrank Verdecanna(Director)Phil Venables(Director)inNick Beim(Director)in
Co-investorsAllegisCyber CapitalAlleyCorpBallistic VenturesDeclaration PartnersForgePoint CapitalHakluyt Capital+6 more
Mezmo offers Active Telemetry, a pipeline that sits between telemetry sources and observability platforms to filter, enrich, and route log and metrics data in real time, reducing data volume and cost while providing curated context to engineering teams and AI agents.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeveloper Tools
Lee Liu(Founder)inTucker Callaway(Chief Executive Officer)in
Co-investorsKima VenturesEmergence CapitalInitialized Capital
Mezmo provides an intelligence layer for production AI that enables platform engineering and SRE teams to deploy reliable AI-powered workflows in production.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSaaSMiami, US
Lee Liu(Founder)inChris Nguyen(Founder)inTucker Callaway(Chief Executive Officer)in
Co-investorsMetaplanetOyster VenturesTranspose Platform ManagementY Combinator
Onapsis provides cybersecurity solutions focused on protecting enterprise applications, particularly SAP and Oracle systems, across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments.
CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaSBoston, US
Mariano Nunez(Chief Executive Officer)Sadik Al-Abdulla(Chief Product Officer)Denis Cashman(Chief Financial Officer)Debi Dowling(Chief Marketing Officer | Chief of Staff)Paul Kleinschnitz(Chief Revenue Officer)Juan Pablo Perez-Etchegoyen(Chief Technology Officer)
Co-investors.406 VenturesEvolution Equity PartnersGolub Growth
Premise provides data-driven market intelligence and geospatial insights by combining machine learning with human intelligence from a global network of contributors.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureSan Francisco, US
Joseph Reisinger(Director)David Soloff(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardChamath Palihapitiya(Director)Karim Faris(Director)inLawrence Summers(Director)
Co-investorsBowery CapitalCommunitas Capital PartnersValor Equity Partners8VCGV (Google Ventures)Social Capital Partnership+1 more
RapidSOS operates a safety network that connects public safety agencies, enterprises, and consumer/corporate devices to provide critical context and pre-arrival intelligence to emergency responders and 911 dispatchers.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareGovTechNew York, US
Nicholas Horelik(Executive Officer)Michael Martin(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDan Nova(Director)Matthew Bozik(Director)
Co-investorsAcrew CapitalAlumni VenturesAvanta VenturesBasecamp FundCity LightDorm Room+11 more
Physical security company pioneering cloud-managed enterprise security cameras.
Co-investorsPortfolia
Saronic builds autonomous surface vessels — including the 180-foot, long-range Marauder — along with Echelon, a command-and-control software layer for planning, simulating and operating single vessels or fleets.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechHardwareRoboticsAustin, US
Dino Mavrookas(Co-Founder and CEO)inRob Lehman(Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer)inVibhav Altekar(Co-Founder and CTO)inDoug Lambert(Co-Founder and COO)inPatrick DePriest(Chief Financial Officer)inSoo Cho(Chief People Officer)in
Co-investors1Flourish Capital8VCAdvent InternationalAlpha PartnersAndreessen HorowitzAnti+21 more
Starfish Space develops Otter, an autonomous satellite servicing vehicle that uses electric propulsion to dock with satellites for life extension and disposal.
Deep TechHardwareSpace TechTukwila, US
Trevor Bennett(Co-founder)inAustin Link(Co-founder)in
BoardMorgan Beller(Director)inPeter Ortez(Director)Letitia Long(Director)
Co-investorsACTIVATE CAPITAL PARTNERSBooz Allen VenturesCarbonDenver VenturesHypothesisIndustrious Ventures+14 more
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioHawkEye 360NYSE: HAWK
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesHawkEye 360 · finance.yahoo.com · Aug 15, 2026
Saronic · pulse2.com · Jul 17, 2026

Forterra · kalkinemedia.com · Jul 16, 2026

Classiq Technologies · funderintel.com · Jul 16, 2026

Immuta · immuta.com · Jul 16, 2026
Starfish Space · spacewatch.global · Apr 9, 2026
Capella Space · capellaspace.com · Mar 25, 2026
Interos · technical.ly · Jan 8, 2026
Public market activity · per SEC filings
what is this? ⓘ2 insider ownership filings (Forms 3/4/5)
at HawkEye 360, Inc. (HAWK)
From the firm's own SEC EDGAR filings — stakes and insider roles in public companies, typically portfolio companies after an IPO. Not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has NightDragon made?
- NightDragon has 20 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO, including 3 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does NightDragon invest at?
- NightDragon invests at the Growth stage.
- What sectors does NightDragon focus on?
- NightDragon focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Defense Tech, Quantum Computing.
- Where is NightDragon located?
- NightDragon is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Who does NightDragon co-invest with?
- NightDragon most often shares deals with Strawberry Creek Ventures, Manhattan Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, among 125 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamNightDragon CEO Dave DeWalt on keeping the world safe
Cohesity · Dave DeWalt
Dave DeWalt, founder and CEO of NightDragon, on how to get a board to buy in on cybersecurity
CyberScoop · Dave DeWalt
NightDragon, CEO, Dave DeWalt
New York Stock Exchange · Dave DeWalt
Dave DeWalt, NightDragon | theCUBE + NYSE: Mixture of Experts
SiliconANGLE theCUBE · Dave DeWalt
Dave DeWalt, CEO of NightDragon Joins NYSE TV
New York Stock Exchange · Dave DeWalt
Dave DeWalt, Founder + Managing Director of NightDragon at RSAC
New York Stock Exchange · Dave DeWalt
Images
Co-investors · 6
DCVC (Data Collective) is a deep tech venture capital firm that backs entrepreneurs using computational approaches to solve large-scale real-world problems across many industries.
Cota Capital is an investment firm focused on founders building net-new enterprise technology, combining capital with operational expertise, industry insight, competitive intelligence, and a broad network.
ForgePoint Capital is a thesis-driven venture firm investing in early-stage companies in cybersecurity, AI, and infrastructure software.
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) is a UK-based venture capital firm backing entrepreneurs in life sciences and deep tech, leveraging its position in the Cambridge science and technology ecosystem.
BGF provides minority growth capital and support to entrepreneurial small and medium-sized businesses across the UK and Ireland, from university spinouts to established brands.
Vendep Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that backs AI-native B2B software founders across the Nordics and Baltics, offering capital, operator expertise, and follow-on support.
Firms observed investing alongside NightDragon, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with NightDragon's recorded portfolio.
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Elmirate Capital is a Dubai-based investment firm deploying patient, long-horizon capital across defense, aerospace, quantum, advanced energy, frontier biology and dual-use compute, backing sovereign-aligned technology companies, emerging fund managers and state-linked platforms.



































