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Ventures Launches New
Pre-Seed & Seed Fund Focusing on Aerospace & Defense
Innovation
Sept. 21, 2022
Starburst Ventures, announced
the launch of its new early-stage fund. Focusing on
aerospace, defense, security, as well as enabling
sciences and technologies, Starburst Ventures is
investing in the next generation of industrial,
software and hardware companies.
The fund's team will be led by
Starburst Ventures' Founder and General Partner,
François Chopard. A widely
respected industry veteran, Francois founded
Starburst in 2012, before A&D became the venture
investment category it is today. François is joined
by Benjamin Zeitoun as Investor. Together they hold
a significant track record of securing investment
and building startups from the early stage to IPO.
Joining them in an advisory capacity is Jacqueline
Tame, startup founder and former Deputy Director of
the United States Department of Defense Joint
Artificial Intelligence Center, and Natalya Bailey,
Head of Strategy at Bloom Energy and former founder
of Accion Systems, who was named top 15 most
influential women in Space per Business Insider.
Both will serve as hands-on advisors to provide
unrivaled support in selecting investments and
developing Starburst Ventures' portfolio companies.
"The Starburst Ventures fund
will be an imperative resource in developing the
next generation of aerospace & defense companies,"
said François Chopard, General Partner at Starburst
Ventures. "Having the opportunity to lead and
oversee something so impactful is a true honor. I
look forward to working with some of the brightest
minds across aerospace innovation and business
development."
Starburst Ventures' existing
investments include participation in a recent $7.1
million seed round for Outpost, a sustainable
satellite & Earth return company founded by Jason
Dunn and Mike Vergalla, and backed by Moonshot
Ventures & Draper Associates, as well as Strong
Compute, a startup that recently completed its $7.8
million seed round and helps developers speed up
machine learning training pipelines. Strong Compute
is led by Ben Sand and backed by prolific investors
including Sequoia Capital India, Folklore,
Blackbird; and Skip Capital (led by Principal Kim
Jackson). Other investments include companies
wishing to stay under the radar, working on mapping
the 27,000+ objects jamming Earth orbit to pave the
way for space infrastructure, Open Source
Intelligence platforms, and a revolutionary optical
sensing payload.
"All five of these companies
are at the cutting edge of aerospace innovation.
We're excited that our thesis drives our investment
in both deeptech and tech companies that have the
potential to make a real impact in our sector and
beyond," said Benjamin Zeitoun, Investor, Starburst
Ventures.
The Starburst Ventures fund's
portfolio is a reflection of its leadership's unique
ability to imagine the next wave of innovation in
space, aviation, and defense systems. Starburst
Ventures is an independent US venture capital firm
owned by its General Partners with a deep commitment
to building the future of
aerospace and defense.
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