This Weeks Dealflow: Theseus, Blue Water Autonomy, ConductorAI, Dataminr
Plus: Yin leaves Lockheed Martin Ventures; Cerberus launches inaugural VC fund targeting defense tech startups -- and more!
For 28 April 2025, here are the deals we’re covering:
Theseus Raises $4.3M Seed Round for Drones That Don’t Need GPS
Drone start-up Theseus has raised $4.3M in seed funding. The round was led by First Round Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and Lux Capital.
With GPS, drones cannot execute autonomous missions, dramatically reducing their capabilities. This weakness is being exploited in Ukraine and elsewhere. As a result, many military drone operations have had to resort to manually flying drones to bypass jamming. Theseus’ Micro Visual Positioning System lets drone operators execute missions they otherwise couldn’t, without GPS, by providing positioning for their drones regardless of jamming.
Blue Water Autonomy Raises $14M in Seed Round
Blue Water Autonomy, Inc., which builds autonomous ships for the U.S. Navy, announced $14M in seed funding from Eclipse, Riot, and Impatient Ventures. The company is building an unmanned and highly producible ship to support missions on the open ocean.
Founded in 2024, Blue Water Autonomy has developed a full-stack autonomy suite, commenced salt-water testing, and developed concept ship designs. With its seed funding, the company will expand its engineering team, accelerate ship testing, and integrate different payloads onto its platform.
ConductorAI Closes $15 Million Series A To Improve DOD, IC Efficiency
ConductorAI, a dual-use software company, announced $15 million in Series A funding led by Lux Capital. Other participants included Altman Capital, Haystack Ventures, Sunflower Capital, Humba Ventures, Also Capital, Forward Deployed VC, and Abstract.
ConductorAI’s platform is used by government agencies to streamline document review and approvals within the DOD, IC, and highly regulated entities. ConductorAI is working with the Air Force, Space Force, and Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, and is pursuing work with other service branches.
Dataminr Secures $100M in Convertible Financing From Fortress
Dataminr, a leading AI data analysis company, announced closing a $100 million convertible financing with funds from Fortress Investment Group. This follows its March 2025 $85 million funding from NightDragon and HSBC.
Dataminr is approaching $200 million in ARR from the enterprise, government, and defense markets. Dataminr’s ReGenAI is a form of Gen AI that regenerates live event briefs in real-time as events unfold.
This Week’s Investors:
Abstract
Also Capital
Altman Capital
Eclipse
First Round Capital
Forward Deployed VC
Haystack Ventures
Humba Ventures
Impatient Ventures
Lux Capital
Riot
Sunflower Capital
Y Combinator
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