Squadra News: Funding for Citra Space, SOF Week Up Next

We had a warm wrap up to winter, and not just because of the California sunshine. At last month’s LA Hard Tech Rooftop Social, the Squadra team joined portfolio company Launchpad Build AI to officially cut the ribbon on their new office space.

What was really special though was the opportunity to get to know so many people from across the region. From startups to primes to the mayor's office, we were joined by stakeholders and founders from all along El Segundo Boulevard.

With two portfolio companies now headquartered in LA, we’re excited to be a part of this West Coast community and appreciate the opportunity to bring it together.

Consider this your go-to snapshot of what's happening this month and how to engage.

In this edition you will find: 

🏆 Awards and recognition across the portfolio

🌴 Sunny skies on LA hard tech

🚀 Demos and reception in Tampa at SOF Week 

Company News to Celebrate

Citra Space Corporation raised $15M in Series A financing led by Washington Harbour Partners, with participation from Industrious Ventures, Reliable Properties, and existing investors including Scout VC, Squadra Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Flex Capital. Funding will be used to support development and deployment of the company’s space object identification technologies among commercial and government partners. Read the announcement in Space News.

Shift5 was named to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list in the defense tech category for protecting the onboard systems of military and civilian planes. The award recognizes two significant differentiators of Shift5’s capabilities — versatility across systems and domains from “fighter planes to your local bus,” and their radio-frequency-based approach to anomaly detection that can warn of GPS spoofing attempts from up to 200 nautical miles away. Read the feature in Fast Company.

Endolith was named a 2026 Pioneer by BloombergNEF, a strategic research provider covering disruptive trends driving the energy economy. The BNEF Pioneers program highlights companies whose technologies have the potential to meaningfully reshape how industries operate. Endolith's innovations in copper recovery and its effect on the critical mineral supply chain earned them a “wildcard” spot on this year's list. Read the announcement from BloombergNEF.

Overwatch Imaging was recognized as one of 12 of the most exciting “New to Market” technologies on display at this year’s Vertical Aviation International’s Verticon. The company’s Automated Sensor Operator product features a new “Multipoint Stare” capability allowing multiple targets to be identified and autonomously tracked through a single gimbal. Read the story on page 72 in Vertical Magazine.

Falcomm was published in the peer-reviewed Microwave Journal. As the debate over semiconductor supply chain independence continues to shape both policy and procurement decisions, the article “Chips, Power and Geopolitics: The Race to Control the Future” provided commentary on the long-term implications of the CHIPS Act for domestic RF and microwave manufacturing. Read the article in Microwave Journal.

Nudge CTO Jamie Blasco joined as an expert on the Cybersecurity Today podcast to discuss the Vercel supply chain exploit. The breach tied to OAuth grants exposes the looming threat of shadow AI, and the episode emphasizes the importance of auditing and visibility into third-party app access across environments. Listen to the interview on Cybersecurity Today.

Aurelius Systems announced Aurelius Manufacturing, a division set to domestically produce high-power fiber laser source modules and components. By manufacturing made in the US, ITAR-compliant components with end-to-end traceability, Aurelius aims to serve both defense prime contractors and civilian industrial users. Read the story in Axios.

Network Highlights to Share

Warm Welcome in El Segundo: Alongside Booz Allen Ventures, Squadra hosted the LA Hard Tech Rooftop Social to celebrate Launchpad Build AI’s new El Segundo HQ. This event brought together founders, operators, technologists and investors across the aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing ecosystem, and gave our team an incredible opportunity to connect in LA. Major congratulations to the team, CEO Jon Quick and President Yoav Zingher. Check out the recap on LinkedIn and read the press release.

Scaling Across Borders: Last month’s edition of our Building in the Beltway Series featured Andrii Chornous, a triple qualified attorney with experience in New York, London, and Kyiv. The conversation unpacked what it actually takes to structure, scale, and defend companies operating across global jurisdictions. Check out the recap on LinkedIn. 

Students Hacking for National Security: Squadra supported the first-ever Critical Ops Hackathon where over 150 students flew in from across the country to work on national security problem sets sourced directly from front-line operators and government partners. Teams worked for 48 hours and presented demos to government and industry leaders. Find the final demos on Devpost and read the recap on LinkedIn. 

Open Roles Across the Squad

🛸 PDW is hiring a Senior Electrical Manufacturing Engineer to lead production readiness, factory design, and production readiness across multiple small UAS platforms, delivering high-volume drone production. Location: Huntsville, AL

🛡️ Shift5 is hiring a Proposal Manager to own the full proposal lifecycle for DOW opportunities, from initial kickoff through compliance reviews and delivery, and driving continued growth in defense markets. Location: Arlington, VA

🌐 Tidal Cyber is hiring a Principal Frontend Engineer to own and level up their React-based SaaS frontend. The role will be the go-to expert for everything UI, setting direction, making technical decisions, and shipping fast. Location: Remote

📡 Overwatch Imaging is hiring a Production Technician to assemble optical and electronic components, maintain quality control and deliver documentation, for their line of AI-enabled airborne smart sensors. Location: Hood River, OR

📣 Copia Automation is hiring a Customer Success Manager to manage customer relationships, supporting them from onboarding to ongoing engagement sessions through to renewal. Location: New York, NY

Up Next this Month

Defense & Venture Reception at SOF Week — 5/19: Dan Madden and Dominic Ventimiglia are headed to SOF Week alongside portfolio companies PDW, Shift5, Overwatch Imaging, Primordial Labs and Aurelius Systems. There we'll be teaming up with Red Cell Partners to host the defense technology and military operations community at the Tampa Bay History Center for drinks, bites and conversation from 7:00-10:00 PM. Register on Luma. 

Colorado DeepTech Summit — 5/20: We’re excited to sponsor the Colorado Deep Tech Summit, convening founders, investors, researchers, and ecosystem leaders working to commercialize frontier technologies. Nav Vishwanathan will be moderating a panel exploring the ever-converging line between deep tech and national security and Endolith CEO Liz Dennett will take the stage sharing her work transforming critical mineral recovery through engineered microbes. Register on Luma.

Final Look from the Field

As part of the culmination of the Army xTech Autonomy Competition, Primordial Labs' natural language command and control system Anura was demonstrated at PM UAS Uncrewed Vehicle Control’s Soldier Operation Event in Huntsville, AL.

Soldiers simultaneously piloted multiple Group 1 UAS with Anura after just 10 minutes of training. Instead of learning a new controller or sitting through platform-specific training, soldiers can communicate goals and objectives to uncrewed systems across a formation using natural language. 

Squadra Ventures is a venture capital firm led by founder-operators that invests in early-stage national security companies advancing the critical edge.

Grounded in the belief that success is a combination of people, product, and planning, the Squadra team provides transformational support to startup leaders in the complex dual-use technology ecosystem. By applying a growth-stage mindset at the seed stage and a commitment to building alongside entrepreneurs, Squadra empowers extraordinary teams to win and leave a lasting positive impact on the world. 

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