Veteran Ventures Capital Closes Oversubscribed $60 Million Fund II Amid Record Aerospace & Defense Momentum

At a Glance

• Fund Size: $60M, 20% oversubscribed — 3× Fund I
• Focus: Veteran-led, dual-use national security tech
• Market Tailwinds: Record defense budgets; surge in A&D IPOs/M&A
• Core Sectors: Space, counter-UAS & autonomy, quantum sensing, robotics, edge computing, AI/ML, cyber
• Capital Efficiency: $250M+ in non-dilutive funding secured by portfolio companies; Fund I achieved >10:1 leverage
• HQ: McLean, VA — near DoD, policymakers, and defense venture ecosystem

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Veteran Ventures Capital (VVC), a venture capital firm investing in dual-use national security technologies, today announced the final close of Veterans Fund II at $60 million, oversubscribed due to strong investor demand. Across both funds, VVC-backed companies have already secured more than a quarter billion dollars in non-dilutive government funding—clear evidence of the capital efficiency and impact of the firm's model. The fund is triple the size of VVC's inaugural $20 million Fund I and positions the firm to accelerate mission-critical innovations at a moment of historic opportunity for the defense and aerospace sectors.

Historic Tailwinds
U.S. defense spending has reached record highs—over $900 billion in FY2025, with $145 billion allocated to research, development, test, and evaluation [1]. Budgets are expected to keep rising, driven by priorities in unmanned systems, AI integration, and the rapid fielding of advanced hardware solutions [2]. PwC reports that investment in space is also surging, as national security priorities converge with commercial opportunities—accelerating innovation across the sector [3].

Capital markets are reflecting this momentum. Objective IBV notes that aerospace and defense deal volume jumped ~20% in Q1 2025—the highest since 2022—with transaction multiples reaching 13.2× EBITDA [4]. Recent acquisitions—AeroVironment + BlueHalo, Applied Intuition + EpiSci, and Anduril + Dive Technologies—underscore a robust exit environment in the very sectors VVC targets.

For VVC and Fund II, these forces translate into a rapidly expanding addressable market and an urgency to deploy solutions faster. As defense and aerospace agencies commit greater resources to modernization, demand is surging for exactly the kind of dual-use, mission-critical technologies we back—especially in space situational awareness, in-space propulsion, counter-UAS, and autonomous systems.

Investor Confidence
Fund II drew strong support from institutional investors—including the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, the State of Tennessee, and university endowments—alongside Hersh Family Investments, prominent family offices, and leading wealth management firms. This diverse LP base reflects deep confidence in VVC's differentiated model: sourcing and scaling mission-critical, veteran-led companies; leveraging our team's unmatched blend of defense, operational, and venture expertise; and unlocking substantial non-dilutive government capital.

"VVC has consistently proven that veteran leadership at our portfolio companies paired with deep domain expertise can generate outsized returns while meeting urgent national-security needs," said Derren Burrell, Founder and Managing Partner of Veteran Ventures Capital. "Our ability to marshal private capital alongside significant non-dilutive government funding creates a powerful flywheel—one that accelerates the fielding of urgent dual-use technologies and helps our portfolio companies successfully bridge the much-feared valley of death within defense acquisition."

Proven Leadership for a Historic Opportunity
VVC's partners bring more than a century of combined experience in military leadership, strategic contracting, business development, M&A execution, and venture capital. They have managed multi-billion-dollar defense programs, driven billion-dollar business development pipelines, advised senior policymakers, and scaled frontier technologies in both government and commercial markets. This rare combination of mission experience, operational clarity, and capital markets expertise gives VVC unmatched access and insight to identify, fund, and scale the dual-use technologies most critical to U.S. and allied security.

"Our team invests with discipline, but we operate with urgency," said Josh Weed, VVC General Partner. "This oversubscribed Fund demonstrates the trust LPs have placed in our investment thesis, our team and most importantly the founders we support —mission-focused leaders who are building for the frontlines, whether in orbit, at the tactical edge, or across critical infrastructure. Fund II allows us to back more of them, and with more meaningful capital."

Early Portfolio Highlights
Fund II is already deploying capital into companies solving high-consequence problems in space, sensing, autonomy, and defense infrastructure. Early investments include:

• Agile Space Industries — chemical in-space propulsion leader addressing the global shortage of high-thrust systems via additive manufacturing and vertical integration. Backed by Lockheed Martin Ventures and national security space customers, enabling U.S. and allied orbital capabilities.
• Turion Space — proprietary DROID satellite architecture delivers high-throughput non-earth imaging and real-time space domain awareness at a fraction of industry cost. Backed by $30M+ in STRATFI/TACFI awards and integrated with the U.S. Space Force Unified Data Library.

"Our job doesn't stop at investment," said Steve Kiser, General Partner. "We work alongside our companies to unlock non-dilutive capital, scale defense go-to-market strategies and build resilient operations. That's how we deliver returns, and that's how we deliver national impact."

About Veteran Ventures Capital
Veteran Ventures Capital (VVC) is a veteran-owned investment firm dedicated exclusively to backing veteran-led companies at the nexus of national security and commercial technology. We focus on dual-use sectors where mission alignment and market opportunity intersect—defense, aerospace, advanced sensing, robotics, cyber, and emerging fields such as quantum sensing and edge computing.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, VVC's team combines decades of military command, defense acquisition, and venture investing experience. We leverage this operational expertise and deep national security connectivity to identify, fund, and scale mission-critical technologies, delivering national impact alongside competitive returns for our investors.

For more information, visit www.veteranventures.us or contact [email protected]

[1]: U.S. Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Overview, March 2025.
[2]: Deloitte, 2025 Aerospace & Defense Industry Outlook, January 2025.
[3]: PwC, Aerospace & Defense Review and Forecast, June 2025.
[4]: Objective IBV, Q1 2025 Aerospace & Defense Industry Report, May 2025.

SOURCE Veteran Ventures Capital