Sponsored by TCI International Inc.
www.tcibr.com
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12 Jan 23. SpiderOak Raises $16.4m in Series C Round. SpiderOak, the leader in zero-trust cybersecurity solutions for next generation space systems, today announced a $16.4m Series C round led by Empyrean Technology Solutions, a space technology platform backed by funds affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners, a leading private equity firm based in Chicago. The Series C round included additional investment from Method Capital, and OCA Ventures. The oversubscribed round further validates the immediate need for end-to-end cybersecurity solutions to protect space mission systems.
“Today, space-based assets are mission essential in all civil and military operations and rapidly becoming mission critical for all national and corporate infrastructure. The Space Force and the space industry consensus is that a cyber-attack is the most likely and most damaging threat to these assets,” said Charles Beames, Executive Chairman of SpiderOak, Inc. “Space is a demanding environment in many ways and SpiderOak’s proven zero-trust solution, using its patented distributed ledger tech, is well positioned to address these cyber threats head-on. This oversubscribed Series C round by true industry leaders highlights their trust in our ability to solve this problem for both government and commercial customers.”
SpiderOak’s latest funding will allow the company to complete on-orbit testing and achieve flight heritage of OrbitSecure 2.0. The company will also establish its headquarters in Reston, VA, allowing a complete build out of SpiderOak Mission Systems’ program and engineering teams. Additionally, SpiderOak will also develop a unique space cybersecurity laboratory for hardware in the loop qualification testing for OrbitSecure and custom mission partner solutions.
“SpiderOak brings a wealth of industry experience in cybersecurity solutions to national security, an area we are already heavily invested in,” said Matt Norton, Managing Director and Head of MDP’s Business & Government Software and Services team. “Their proven track record in developing commercial zero-trust technology is backed by a substantial patent portfolio. Their successful demonstrations of OrbitSecure make them the clear new leader in the space cybersecurity arena. Through our existing platform, Empyrean Technology Solutions, we are thrilled to be their partners into the future.”
“SpiderOak’s software solution begins by securing every data record, both in transit and at rest,” added Dave Pearah, CEO of SpiderOak. “We have designed it to be backwards compatible with legacy space systems, to allow current on orbit systems to take the step to much higher cybersecurity protections. With its ultra-low storage and processor needs, OrbitSecure is the ideal solution for the next generation of mesh networks in proliferated LEO.”
SpiderOak’s zero-trust OrbitSecure software was developed for 21st century space needs and is also backward compatible to the Space Force’s existing on-orbit constellations. OrbitSecure utilizes a new fully decentralized key management system allowing for full availability and continued operations in space despite disconnected or highly contested networks. This new capability provides enhanced decentralized space resiliency to multi-vendor, multi-network, mesh proliferated low-Earth orbit (LEO) networks by significantly reducing the attack surface and the ability of adversaries to jam, disrupt, modify, or contest space communications and satellite services.
This latest round comes just months after SpiderOak announced a contract with the U.S Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to demonstrate OrbitSecure’s zero-trust protocol on-orbit. SpiderOak also has active contracts with several prime contractors in the space industry as well as other government and commercial customers.
About SpiderOak
SpiderOak is a 100% U.S.-owned and operated software company that delivers end-to-end cybersecurity solutions for civil, military and commercial space operations. Our commercially available products are built upon a foundation of zero-trust encryption and distributed ledger, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your most sensitive data in the space domain. For more information about SpiderOak products, services or business development opportunities, check us out at www.spideroak.com.
About Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC
Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (“MDP”) is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Since MDP’s formation in 1992, the firm has raised aggregate capital of over $28 billion and has completed over 150 investments. MDP invests across five dedicated industry verticals, including basic industries; business and government software and services; financial and transaction services; health care; and telecom, media and technology services. For more information, please visit www.mdcp.com. (Source: PR Newswire)
12 Jan 23. McNally Capital Announces Investment in Xcelerate Solutions.
McNally Capital (“McNally”), a lower middle-market private equity firm focused on founder and family-owned businesses, is pleased to announce an investment in Xcelerate Solutions (“Xcelerate”). Xcelerate is a leading defense and national security company, providing integrated solutions delivered through three service areas – Enterprise Security, Digital Transformation, and Strategic Consulting. McNally invested in Xcelerate out of McNally Capital Fund II, the firm’s committed buyout vehicle.
“Our partnership with Xcelerate aligns with our internal expertise in the Aerospace & Defense industry and our investment thesis in intelligence and national security,” said Michael P. Ember, Vice President at McNally Capital. “Xcelerate is a trusted partner to agencies directly responsible for the security and safety of the United States and has achieved exponential growth since its inception. We look forward to contributing to their continued growth through our new partnership.”
McNally Capital completed this transaction in line with its model of partnering with founder-owned companies, management teams, and industry experts to create value for its portfolio companies. McNally Capital partnered with Nio Advisors, LLC (“Nio”) in the acquisition of Xcelerate.
“I founded the business with one goal in mind: ‘To Help Make America Safer.’ Everything that we do is aligned toward that mission, and it’s why our organization exists,” says Mark Drever, CEO and Founding Partner of Xcelerate Solutions. “This partnership with McNally Capital and Nio Advisors aligns perfectly for us, particularly given their immense national security expertise. We are excited about the knowledge and significant continued growth McNally, Nio, and their strong network will contribute.”
Managing Partner and Founder of McNally Capital, Ward McNally, stated, “We are excited to partner with Xcelerate Solutions, and for the opportunities it brings to continue enabling growth for a founder-owned company. Given our industry expertise and ‘walked in your shoes’ approach, the partnership was a natural fit for both of us.”
McNally makes thesis-driven investments in the U.S. and targets founder- and management-owned companies. The firm partners in their investments with a bench of Industry Partners who provide incremental industry and operating knowledge and expertise. McNally focuses on investing in lower middle-market businesses with $5 to $20 million in EBITDA in the Aerospace & Defense, Industrial Products & Services, and Business Services industries. The firm is currently investing out of its committed buyout fund.
KippsDeSanto acted as the sole financial advisor, and PilieroMazza and McDonald Hopkins LLC acted as legal counsel to Xcelerate Solutions. Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to McNally Capital.
About McNally Capital
McNally Capital is a private equity firm targeting thesis-driven investments in the U.S., specifically founder and management-owned companies. Formed by the McNally family, who owned and operated Rand McNally & Company, McNally Capital is dedicated to upholding a 160+ year legacy as a family-owned and operated company. We look for businesses where flexible capital can provide a benefit to owners and management teams. Our mission is to harness the financial, intellectual, and human capital of our investor ecosystem to build value for our investors, management teams, and portfolio companies. For more information, please visit www.mcnallycapital.com.
About Xcelerate Solutions
Xcelerate Solutions is a leading defense and national security company, providing integrated solutions delivered through three service areas. We exist to manage risk from individuals to systems, create innovative solutions that deliver results, and accelerate time to value. Across our three service areas — Enterprise Security, Strategic Consulting, and Digital Transformation — we enhance the security and resilience of America’s personnel, physical, and cyber infrastructure. We are a trusted partner to Federal Law Enforcement, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community agencies that are directly responsible for the security and safety of the United States. For more information, please visit www.xceleratesolutions.com.
(Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
10 Jan 23. Thales won’t take stake in Atos’ spun-off unit Evidian.
Thales (TCFP.PA) will not take a stake in Atos’ soon to be spun-off unit Evidian, a spokesperson for the French defence and technology company said on Tuesday, following market speculation about Thales’ interest in the IT consulting firm. Atos (ATOS.PA) is planning to split into two publicly-listed companies by the end of June. The spun-off entity, Evidian, would include Atos’ most-coveted asset, cybersecurity division BDS. Thales also offers cybersecurity services to its clients.
Asked if Thales would be interested in a stake in Evidian, a company spokesperson said it would not, because it did not correspond to the group’s strategy and it “has no intention of diversifying into markets other than those it already serves”.
Atos, which generated net losses of 500m euros ($536.95m) over the first half of 2022, is striving to regain investors’ confidence following the sudden departure of its former CEO Rodolphe Belmer, which coincided with the announcement of its split-up plan last June.
French newspaper Les Echos reported last week that Airbus (AIR.PA), one of Thales’ top clients, had started talks to take a minority share in Evidian. Atos said then that it had begun “exploratory discussions with potential future minority shareholders” for Evidian, without elaborating.
($1 = 0.9312 euros) (Source: Reuters)
10 Jan 23. DISYS Acquires LinTech Global to Augment Federal Portfolio.
Acquisition expands leading workforce solutions firm’s strategy to address the dynamic employment environment. Following a year of significant growth and advancement, Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC (DISYS), a global firm specializing in IT and workforce solutions, today announced it has finalized its acquisition of LinTech Global, Inc. (LinTech), a leading federal prime contract holder with expertise delivering complex IT & engineering solutions to federal defense and civilian government agencies.
Mahfuz Ahmed, founder and Chief Executive Officer of DISYS, explained that the acquisition is part of the company’s larger strategy to continue to expand its portfolio and capabilities to provide a wider variety of staffing and IT solutions for today’s evolving employment environments.
“Today’s employment environments are dynamic. From talent to workplaces to intricate IT solutions and digital innovations, these challenges are constantly evolving. The federal space is no exception,” stated Ahmed. “As we expand our enterprise, we have taken a strategic position to further develop our capabilities and expand our offerings to deliver more, high-value workforce and IT solutions for our clients and consultants going forward. Our partnership with LinTech is another step in this evolution,” he concluded.
LinTech brings a strong combination of proven knowledge and experience in the federal space to the DISYS platform of services and solutions. Ahmed expressed that this addition provides crucial insight and experience and will help DISYS expand its federal workforce and IT solutions to support the digital transformation of clients in the federal market and help them achieve their critical mission-based directives to serve and protect the nation.
Michael Lin, LinTech Global President and CEO, says that joining the DISYS enterprise will allow his team to grow and evolve and continue to support the federal market. “For over 15 years, we’ve committed to address our clients’ most mission critical IT and engineering challenges. We have gained significant knowledge and trust in the federal market, which has positioned us as a strong player in this space,” he said. “By becoming part of the DISYS portfolio, our teams gain access to a global solutions platform with tremendous resources and reach. This will allow us to grow and create more value for our clients and our employees.”
The acquisition closed at the end of 2022. LinTech will operate as an independent business division within the larger DISYS portfolio.
About Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC (DISYS)
Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC (DISYS), with a portfolio that includes Signature Consultants and D2M, is a global managed services and staffing firm with over 70 offices worldwide. DISYS’ vision is to be a global business partner, delivering the highest quality and most consistent services at the best value to clients worldwide. Offering customized, outcome-driven solutions from IT staffing to direct placement services to managed solutions and consulting, DISYS annually deploys thousands of consultants to innovate, deploy, manage, and support their clients’ technology needs. For more information about DISYS, visit www.disys.com.
About LinTech Global (LinTech)
Founded in 2007, LinTech is Level 3 appraised for CMMI-DEV and CMMI-SVC and holds ISO® 9001:2015, ISO 20000-1:2018 and ISO® 27001:2013 certifications. LinTech is a graduated 8(a) small business, specializing in Financial Management, Agile Software Development, Enterprise IT Infrastructure Support, Cyber Security and Health IT. LinTech’s customers include U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Defense Health Agency, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG), NASA, EPA, Defense Language Institute, USPS OIG and other government clients. LinTech and its joint ventures hold a variety of critical and best-in-class prime contract vehicles including 8(a) STARS III, GSA Multiple Award Schedule, CIO-SP3, DIA SITE III, and the Navy SeaPort-e NG. For more information, visit https://lintechglobal.com/. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
10 Jan 23. Shares in Virgin Orbit fell more than 20 per cent in pre-market trading after the failure of Britain’s historic attempt to launch the first commercial satellites from western Europe. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket suffered an “anomaly” that prevented it from reaching orbit. The failed mission is a severe blow not just for the UK, which had hoped to beat rival spaceports in Norway and Sweden to claim the crown as Europe’s leading provider of launch services, but also to Nasdaq-listed Virgin Orbit, which was aiming to prove that its horizontal launch system could fly satellites from anywhere in the world with a suitable runway. The failure is also a significant setback for the seven customers that had satellites on the Virgin Orbit rocket, launched from Newquay airport, Cornwall, just after 10pm. They included a joint UK-US military research mission, Oman’s first orbital spacecraft designed for earth observation, a demonstrator satellite from UK start-up Space Forge and a payload designed to track maritime activity from the UK’s Satellite Applications Catapult. Virgin Orbit announced the “anomaly” 10 minutes before midnight, less than an hour after the rocket was launched from Cosmic Girl, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet converted to release LauncherOne at 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean. The mission appeared to be going so smoothly that Virgin Orbit prematurely posted on Twitter that its rocket had reached orbit. Cosmic Girl had released the rocket without a problem, and it had jettisoned its first stage. But at 11.46pm, just as the jumbo jet was returning to land safely in Newquay, Virgin Orbit suddenly posted on Twitter: “We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. We are evaluating the information.” (Source: FT.com)
10 Jan 23. Capella Space, a leading American satellite manufacturer and Earth observation company, today announced it has closed $60m in growth equity financing from the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (“USIT”). Capella will leverage this growth capital to expand its imaging capacity and develop new data products as customer demand grows for its frequent, timely and high-quality SAR imagery and analytics capabilities.
Based in the U.S., Capella is revolutionizing the way that critical industries across the public and private sectors collect and analyze Earth observation data to make informed and accurate decisions. Its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites can penetrate all types of weather conditions – clouds, fog, smoke, rain – to capture clear imagery day and night, delivering accurate and timely data about what is happening anywhere on Earth at any given moment. Coming off the heels of the company’s $97m Series C financing in April, this follow-on round reflects the rapidly increasing demand for Capella’s end-to-end radar-powered, high-quality SAR imagery and analytics services.
Access to reliable, 24-7, high-quality Earth observation data has never been more critical as the world today faces intense geopolitical, environmental and humanitarian challenges. This funding will enable Capella to build and launch its next-generation Acadia satellites, which the company manufactures entirely in the U.S. at its facilities in California and Colorado. This new technology offers an enhanced design to deliver higher resolution and quality, increased imaging capacity and faster delivery capabilities for customers, many of which rely on Capella’s data to inform mission-critical decisions. The company will also expand its automated, intelligent advanced analytics offerings within the Capella Console, the company’s on-demand tasking platform, to continue delivering the highest quality, highest resolution SAR imagery with the fastest order-to-delivery time.
“Technological competitiveness is vital to our country’s future,” said Thomas Tull, Chairman of USIT. “Capella’s cutting-edge SAR technology allows us to have accurate, real-time information about what is happening on our planet, enabling decision-makers to more quickly make critical decisions about pressing geopolitical challenges. This work that they are doing is essential to the world’s future and I’m proud that we are able to support Capella and their mission to democratize and innovate space data.”
This year has proven to be one of the company’s strongest to date. Capella announced it has tripled revenue since 2021, with a twofold increase in imagery collected, and grown its headcount by more than 50% in 2022. Capella Space expects to grow even more in 2023 as the company doubles down on sales and marketing efforts and explores new business lines.
Capella also announced three new members of its executive team. Chad Cohen joins Capella Space as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) to guide future expansion and growth for Capella as well as oversee Capella’s operations across the company. Cohen brings 25 years of experience, most recently as CFO of Adaptive Biotechnologies (NASDAQ: ADPT) where he led the company through its 2019 IPO, and prior to that he spent nearly 10 years at Zillow (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) where he also oversaw the company through its 2011 IPO. Capella also appointed Glen Elliott as the company’s first-ever Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Elliott joins Capella after nearly nine years of consulting with some of the biggest names in tech, including Adobe, Tesla, 23andMe and more. Prior to consulting, Elliott held various management and leadership positions at companies such as Google and HP. Finally, Paul Stephen joins Capella as the new Chief Information and Security Officer (CISO) to lead the IT, network operations and security operations functions of Capella Space. Stephen brings nearly two decades of IT experience, having managed entire technology stacks at companies like Zillow, Impinj (NASDAQ: PI) and most recently, Avalara.
“Our customers are solving some of the world’s toughest problems, from geopolitical conflicts to humanitarian crises, climate change, supply chain logistics, and more. They need high-quality, high-resolution Earth observation data to inform them of potentially life-saving decisions, and Capella Space is stepping up to ensure they have accurate, timely information,” said Payam Banazadeh, CEO and founder of Capella Space. “As we enter this next phase of growth, I’m excited to announce this follow-on round of funding from USIT, who understands our value to the world and will help us take Capella’s work to the next level. Expanding our leadership team with Chad, Paul and Glen underscores our growth, and they will all play key roles in helping us accomplish these goals.”
“Demand for reliable Earth observation data is at an all-time high, and Capella Space has proven it is leading the market with the highest-resolution, highest-quality SAR imagery commercially available. The company is at an important inflection point in its growth, and this capital will set Capella Space up well to expand into new markets,” said Cohen. “I look forward to working with Payam and the rest of the Capella Space team to advance the company’s goal of democratizing access to timely and accurate Earth observation data.”
For more information on Capella Space and how you can leverage SAR for your organization, visit https://www.capellaspace.com/data/sar-imagery-products/.
About Capella Space:
Capella Space is an American space tech company with data and satellite solutions for government and commercial use. A pioneer in the Earth observation industry, Capella is the first U.S. company with a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites, delivering the best quality, highest resolution SAR imagery commercially available. Capella provides easy access to frequent and timely information affecting dozens of industries worldwide, including defense and intelligence, supply chain, insurance, maritime and others. Its market-leading SAR satellites are matched with unparalleled data infrastructure to quickly deliver reliable global insights that sharpen our understanding of the changing world – improving decisions about commerce, conservation, and security on Earth. Headquartered in San Francisco, California with additional locations in Denver, Colorado and Washington, D.C., Capella’s satellites are operated, designed and manufactured in the USA. Learn more at www.capellaspace.com. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
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TCI International, Inc., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SPX Corporation. TCI provides turn-key solutions for spectrum management and monitoring, direction finding, geolocation and communications intelligence to civilian, government, military and intelligence agencies as well as antennas for communications and high-power radio broadcasting. TCI is headquartered in Fremont, California, USA. For more information, visit www.tcibr.com.
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