Defense Unicorns, a Colorado Springs-based startup specializing in open-source software and AI for national security systems, recently secured $35 million in Series A funding. The funding round was spearheaded by Sapphire Ventures and Ansa Capital, signaling a strong endorsement of Defense Unicorns’ mission-driven approach to technological innovation in defense.

Led by CEO Rob Slaughter, Defense Unicorns, established in 2021, has quickly made a mark in the industry by enabling the seamless deployment of software and AI applications, even in air-gapped environments. These environments, typically isolated from the internet, pose significant challenges for technology deployment, but Defense Unicorns’ solutions overcome these obstacles, ensuring that modern technologies can be adopted wherever the mission demands, be it in space, undersea, or elsewhere.

The company’s offerings include three core capabilities: Your App Your Environment (YAYE), Software Factory, and AI for National Security. These services cater to critical systems such as those used by the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Space Force, generating nearly $30 million in annual revenue.

One of Defense Unicorns’ key innovations is its Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS), which streamlines the deployment process for national security systems, spanning various environments from cloud to on-premises and edge domains. UDS eliminates the complexities associated with government secure technology stacks, integrating mission capabilities with an open-source platform compliant with security standards. This enables secure and repeatable software deployment without locking missions into specific vendors.

Moreover, Defense Unicorns’ platform accelerates Authority to Operate (ATO) timelines by over 50%, providing rapid deployment for both classified and unclassified operations. Its infrastructure-agnostic approach ensures flexibility, allowing mission capabilities to be deployed anywhere, whether on the cloud, on-premises, or in tactical edge environments.

The company’s commitment to openness and data independence is reflected in its platform being open source and free from platform licenses, thus avoiding vendor lock-in. Defense Unicorns aims to transform how the U.S. defense apparatus acquires, builds, delivers, and sustains mission capabilities, making defense technology more accessible and adaptable to evolving mission requirements.

With the new funding injection, Defense Unicorns is poised to further enhance its offerings, continuing its mission to revolutionize defense technology and support national security initiatives effectively.

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