Brian MacCarthy, managing partner at Booz Allen Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Booz Allen Ventures has had a breakout year – one that effectively shifts the company’s corporate venture arm into a new weight class. Under the strategic leadership of Brian MacCarthy, founder and managing partner of Booz Allen Ventures, the unit has moved far beyond expanding capital – it has expanded ambition, reach and strategic influence.
MacCarthy has defined a model that not only scales investment capacity but also sharpens how dual-use commercial technology can be identified, shaped and deployed to meet urgent US government mission needs. Supporting this vision is managing director Travis Bales, who helps operationalise the fund’s strategy and drive execution across portfolio sourcing, diligence and integration, enabling the strong leadership momentum MacCarthy has set.
Booz Allen tripled its venture commitment from $100M to $300M in the past year, positioning the fund as a front door between venture-backed dual-use technology and US government mission demand. The team now reports $300M allocated across 22 investments sourced from more than 3,000 companies, along with 40+ teaming agreements that help portfolio technologies reach real users faster.
One of the most consequential developments this year was Booz Allen’s $400M commitment to Andreessen Horowitz’s A16Z growth fund, creating a pipeline that aligns later-stage emerging tech with one of the most influential contractors in the federal market.
Launched in 2022 with an initial $100M, Booz Allen Ventures expanded to $300M in 2023 to accelerate delivery of disruptive technologies to defense and national security missions. Over the next five years, the unit aims to make up to 25 investments across “Five Eyes” startups in areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomy, cybersecurity, space and quantum.
“As global technology competition intensifies, our national defense requires fast, powerful solutions that deliver outcomes when they’re needed most,” said MacCarthy, in a recent announcement. “This expansion gives us new capacity to collaborate with brilliant founders and deliver the best commercial tech to our nation at speed and scale.”
Today, Booz Allen Ventures has become a standard setter for venture to procurement alignment: a CVC that pairs deep federal access with integration expertise to shorten the gap between startup capability and mission deployment. In defense tech, where success is measured not by paper markups but by operational impact, that model is increasingly crucial.
As defense tech investment accelerates, Booz Allen Ventures’ portfolio is positioned to play an increasingly central role in shaping the next wave of dual-use innovation, with several companies advancing toward major technical and market inflection points.
The GCV Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
Here’s a snapshot of their recent deals:
