Harpoon Ventures

Do you know our founder, Larsen Jensen, is a two-time Olympian? Larsen competed in the 400m and 1500m freestyles at Athens and Bejing and won a silver medal in the 1500m freestyle in Athens in 2004 and a bronze in the 300m in Bejing in 2008! The entire Harpoon Ventures is excited for the 2024 Paris Olympics! Lets gooo!!! ⇀

 Shoutout to the great team at Astranis Space Technologies, a Harpoon Ventures portfolio company, who just closed a powerhouse of a Series D! Astranis builds cost-efficient, flexible microsatellites in geostationary orbit that enable low-cost, dedicated broadband for connectivity anywhere in the world. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and co led by BAM Elevate. This brings their total capital raised to $750 million, and gets the team one step closer to launching 100 MicroGEO satellites by 2030 — and connecting millions to affordable internet. We are confident in the Astranis team’s ability to execute on their vision of connecting millions to affordable internet and anticipate continued growth and success and are excited for the future of their technology! ⇀

The fight against fake news just got a major upgrade. Harpoon Ventures portfolio company Cyabra is taking a major step forward with a decision to go public via SPAC. If you don't know them, the Cyabra team is seriously changing the game when it comes to fighting fake news. Disinformation is a serious threat, but Cyabra is on the front lines. Their tech is like having a super-powered detective squad that unmasks those pesky bots and troll accounts trying to spread misinformation. From protecting elections to saving brands from reputation disasters, Cyabra's got it covered. We've been backing Cyabra since the early days, and watching them grow into this major player in the fight for truth is beyond exciting. Their decision to go public is a huge step, and we can't wait to see what they accomplish next. We're proud to support Cyabra as they take the next step in their journey to protect democracy and businesses from the damaging effects of disinformation. 👉 https://lnkd.in/giKPBmyS ⇀

Kodiak, a Harpoon Ventures portfolio company, has just completed a groundbreaking step in the transportation industry: the first successful commercial driverless freight delivery in North America. 👇 This achievement not only demonstrates the incredible capability and reliability of Kodiak's autonomy technology but also shifts the company from the developmental stage to actual field operations. In collaboration with Atlas Energy Solutions, Kodiak is now poised to launch their first two autonomous trucks into commercial service early next year.  This initiative marks Kodiak as the brave pioneer in the autonomous trucking industry, transforming cutting-edge research into tangible, operational advancements. This partnership with Atlas is setting the stage for what could be a new norm in logistics—where technology meets practicality, leading to more efficient and safer freight transport. ⇀

Jack Ma, China's tech darling, has a criminally dirty secret...here's what you need to know 👇  Jack Ma, China's superstar entrepreneur, built an e-commerce empire (Alibaba) but got tangled with the government for criticizing them. Turns out, a shady billionaire named Xiao Jianhua was secretly invested in Ma's companies for years. Xiao was invested in Ma's companies for years, leveraging his connections to China's elite for personal gain. Xiao used his connections to China's elite to make a ton of money, and now both men are out of the picture. China's business world is messy and being a successful entrepreneur in China means playing by different rules. You might not even know who your investors are! So what? Jack Ma isn't so squeaky clean. Ma criticized government control, but it turns out he was linked to a corrupt billionaire. Xiao Jianhua is sus. This guy was basically a middleman for rich Chinese officials to move money around. The party's over for both of them. Ma is MIA and Xiao is in jail. This whole thing shows how risky it is to get on the wrong side of the Chinese government and investment. We are incredibly proud at WireScreen, a Harpoon Ventures portfolio company, for their work on this story. Read about it here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6WagrVJ ⇀

Did you know Harpoon Ventures has a newsletter? 👇 Sign up using the link below to never miss an update from the team, one of our live or virtual networking events, and to ensure you keep up to date on the great work our portfolio companies are doing for this incredible country. 👉https://lnkd.in/daRWTHcw ⇀

San Diego is absolutely crushing it in defense tech right now. With technology hitting major inflection points and a push to revamp our industrial base, this city’s ecosystem is top-tier. We’re talking: 1. A massive pool of defense talent 2. An impressive array of technology 3. Leading defense spending in the U.S. These are just a few of the reasons why we’re amped to keep our roots deep in San Diego’s defense tech scene. Oh! And we've got some great events on the horizon. Be sure to stay tuned so you don't miss an invite. ⇀

At Harpoon Ventures, we don’t do “casual” venture capital. 👇 In this relentless economy, only the fiercest, most driven founders survive. The time for VC hobbyists is officially over. We’re stoked for this shift—it’s filtering out the best, the unstoppable, the obsessive. These are the pioneers who aren’t just part of the future; they’re creating it. And we’re here to fuel their fire. Let’s go big or go home. ⇀

At Harpoon Ventures, we’re all about fueling America’s tech leadership into the future. 👇 Think of us as the go-to VC for the bold and the brave—those creating the tools and tech that’ll keep the U.S. on top. From AI and deep tech to software infrastructure and cybersecurity, we’re here to back game-changers. So far, we’ve pushed our startups to snag over $500M in contracted revenue and pull in another $1B in follow-on financing, popping out a few unicorns along the way. Ready to build something legendary? Let’s talk. ⇀

How do we fight tomorrow's wars with yesterday's playbook? It's time to rewrite military doctrine for the modern era of tech-enabled warfare. 👇 The Global War on Terror and the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan taught us valuable lessons on the need of refreshing doctrine. It took a bold leader like General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.) to masterfully craft the COIN doctrine and its accompanying field manual. Now, we need to do the same for tech-enabled warfare. This isn't just about drones and electronic warfare. It's about harnessing OSINT for next-gen intelligence, applying computer vision to tradecraft, and creating fully integrated, full-stack, combined arms drone and EW warfare. Our adversaries are evolving, and so must we. We need a full rewrite, a complete overhaul of our military doctrine, and our entire doctrine writing process so that it's refreshed at a speed of relevance. Who's working on this? I'd love to meet them, and I'd love to see if we can help.