Autonomy, space and logistics startups detail their newest capital raises

Aventra

This maker of autonomous precision payload systems has collected $17.5 million in new capital to aid efforts in accelerating current production efforts and expanding the tech roadmap.

Aventra was founded in 2025 by Army veterans Michael Weigand, Brian Retherford and Jessup Meng to develop the systems for rapid fielding and employment from stratospheric altitudes.

The company built its flagship Piranha system to carry munitions for electronic warfare and kinetic missions, as well as for use in ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance). The Army has used Piranha for exercises and tests, while Aventra is touting the system as having delivered payloads and supported ISR operations across 400 flights.

Konvoy Ventures led the round that also included participation from Booz Allen Hamilton’s venture capital arm, which is a new investor in Aventra.

Other new investors include Sands Capital, Langford Industries and a funding facility from Western Alliance Bank. Lavrock Ventures is continuing its involvement after leading Aventra’s initial $3 million seed round in late 2025.

Aventra will use the capital to expand its manufacturing capacity, testing and demonstration capabilities, grow the engineering and production team, and look at new use cases. Aventra is also starting development work of a “new, unannounced platform” it provided no further detail on.

Fortastra

This developer of spacecraft for national defense programs has fetched $30 million in Series A capital from investors to aid efforts in accelerating the development of its core platforms, along with their related tech capabilities.

Fortastra was founded in 2025 by Dr. Mike Smayda, co-founder of Hermeus and a former SpaceX engineer, to develop maneuverable spacecraft that can protect commercial and military satellites from threats while in-orbit.

The spacecraft are designed to position themselves near the satellites being defended, evaluate surrounding activity and then respond to potential threats. Fortastra refers to its platforms as “bodyguards in space.”

Investment firm First In led the Series A round that also involved RTX Ventures, the blue chip defense hardware company’s arm for investing in startups. Upfront Ventures, Space Capital, Rsquared and Side Door Ventures also participated alongside other existing investors.

Fortastra will use the newfound capital to grow its engineering team, further iterate its software and autonomy capabilities and expand manufacturing infrastructure to build modular spacecraft buses.

The company is also looking to enhance its offerings in the field known as GNC – guidance, navigation and control.

Gallatin AI

This provider of software tools for military logistics missions has completed a $50 million Series A capital raise to aid its engineering workforce and product development expansion efforts.

Gallatin AI was founded in 2024 by CEO Woody Glier, as well as Chief Technology Officer Daniel Buchmueller and Chief Product Officer Brian Ballard, to develop technology that can help the Pentagon gain insights into supply chain and logistics functions.

The company built its flagship Navigator platform to help leaders look at data and workflows across military forces to use in vehicle readiness, supply and medical processes.

8VC and Silent Ventures are among the named Series A round participants, alongside other new and existing investors.

Gallatin touts Army and Air Force organizations as users of Navigator for the tactical, operational and strategic levels of military planning.

Gallatin will also use the newfound capital to further iterate the artificial intelligence functionality of Navigator amid the company’s push to grow its presence on four continents.