Daily Hard Tech Headlines:
- @orbitaldotinc has secured a $5M pre-seed round led by @speedrun. The Los Angeles-based startup is developing space-based AI data centers that use solar power and radiative cooling to support compute infrastructure in orbit.
- @reaxiomatic has launched and raised a $7.25M pre-seed round led by Scout Ventures and nvp capital. The San Diego-based defense startup still sits partially in stealth and was founded by Skyler Shuford, co-founder of Hermeus.
- @RheinmetallAG is partnering with ERC System to build out German production of heavy-lift drones for contested logistics, emergency management, and remote supply operations.
- @NATO has launched Task Force X-Arctic, an initiative to test networked uncrewed systems for persistent Arctic monitoring and multi-domain situational awareness across the High North.
- @NEURARobotics has secured up to $1.4B in Series C financing to scale the German robotics company.
- @ambrosiaenergy has launched. Founded by Benjamin Longmier and Sara Spangelo, the startup is building vertically integrated solar and battery power plants designed to deliver continuous renewable power on faster timelines. The company supports off-grid, grid-connected, behind-the-meter, and bridge power solutions, with an initial pilot operating in West Texas since January 2026.
- Ultra Maritime successfully completed the first in-water deployment trial of its next-generation Multistatic Active Receive Sonobuoy, advancing undersea threat detection and localization for anti-submarine warfare.
- @Seagate_Space has started cutting steel for an offshore rocket launch platform prototype at Tampa Ship in Port Tampa Bay, advancing its push to enable sea-based space launch.
- @ExiaLabsAI has launched Argus, a modular unmanned ground vehicle (pictured below) built on the Polaris Sportsman ATV platform. The platform is designed for missions including logistics resupply, medevac, and terrain mapping, and was selected as a finalist in the Army xTech Edge Strike: Ground competition.
Excited to finally make this (semi) public. While we're not yet releasing all the details, our beachhead is a strategic US Defense need, with giant existing spend, and no one approaching it in a way that I believe solves the problem.