Venture capital firm Embedded Ventures launches national security and space fund
Embedded Ventures co-founders Jenna Bryant, CEO, and Jordan Noone, CTO.
Embedded Enterprises
Los Angeles-headquartered Embedded Ventures has launched its first $100 million fund, the company announced Tuesday, as it looks to support companies working for both commercial and national security clients, especially in the space sector. .
Embedded is led by general partners Jenna Bryant and Jordan Noon, the latter of whom moved to venture capital after co-founding rocket-powered 3D printer Relativity Space. The company has previously invested in half a dozen aerospace startups, including satellite communications company Akash Systems and space data-focused Slingshot Aerospace, according to Embedded.
But Bryant and Noon noted that these deals were raised on a case-by-case basis, and the new fund marked the next phase of Embedded’s growth.
“We have patient capital and – even if that means we have to miss an opportunity – that’s okay. Every company must go through our due diligence process, and it’s more thorough than most,” Bryant said in an interview with CNBC.
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Embedded is focused on investing in dual-use technologies, i.e. products that serve both commercial and defense customers. In 2021, Embedded signed a cooperation agreement with the US Space Force, which Noon says has become an “open dialogue” between the firm and the military arm.
“Venture investors are often the first to see new technologies,” Noon said. The firm’s relationship with the Space Force is about “how we get it to the eyes and ears of the people who make decisions about what to accept or where to put things like Congressional funding,” he said.
From left to right: portfolio company Embedded Ventures KittyCAD, CTO Hanna Bollar and CEO Jesse Frazell, and Jordan Noon and Jenna Bryant.
Embedded Enterprises
Noon and Bryant also said they have hired operating partner Mandy Vaughn, who most recently headed the homeland security subsidiary. virgin orbit and oversees the government side of the venture firm’s business development.
While Embedded declined to specify how much of the $100 million it raised during its first close, Noone said it was a “substantial” amount and the raising is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter.
Embedded is starting the due diligence process with six new potential investments, Noon said, noting the strength of his young portfolio.
None of the companies he has invested in have had layoffs or “downgrade rounds” of valuation, Noon said.
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