Booz Allen Ventures has expanded to a $300m unit as it looks to compete against Chinese counterparts in areas like AI, quantum computing and cybersecurity.
US-based defence manufacturer Booz Allen Hamilton has expanded the capital available for its corporate venture arm to $300m and plans to make up to 25 investments through the unit in the next five years.
Booz Allen Ventures was launched in 2022 with $100m in capital and targets US-based startups in areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomous technology, cybersecurity, space and quantum computing. The decision comes after Travis Bales replaced Wes Blackwell as managing director of the unit in April.
“Our national defence requires fast, powerful technology solutions that deliver outcomes when they are needed most,” said Booz Allen Ventures managing partner Brian MacCarthy in a press release announcing the move.
“We’ve never lost sight of that mission; Booz Allen has been serving it every day for decades. Now, among fierce global technology competition and evolving geopolitics, this expansion gives us new capacity to collaborate and build with brilliant founders and deliver the best commercial tech to our nation at speed and scale.”
MacCarthy added in a LinkedIn post this week that Booz Allen Ventures is expanding its capital to work with the best domestic VC funds and keep pace with innovation from counterparts in China that are investing heavily in AI, manufacturing, quantum and cyber technology.
The unit has 17 portfolio companies including Hidden Level, the airspace monitoring and drone detection technology developer that achieved a $450m valuation earlier this year, as well as deep fake and AI detection software provider Reality Defender.
