McLean firm raises $12M, with Lockheed Martin’s help, to level up cyber services

Private companies across the DMV reported multi-million dollar raises this past month, along with a major acquisition and different financial partnerships in the higher education space. 

A cybersecurity firm in McLean, Virginia landed millions for staff and customer base growth. Another cyber company in Silver Spring, Maryland also announced a major raise, while a multinational Virginia-headquartered IT corporation is buying a local engineering firm. 

Keep reading to get the details on those and more Money Moves in the region. But first, check out our monthly look at which companies are hiring for tech jobs in the area.

RunSafe Security raises $12M

The McLean firm plans to expand its sales and marketing teams, and its customer base, with the Series B funds, per the cofounder and CEO Joe Saunders. 

The firm primarily works with large enterprises, including the federal government and private companies across several industries, that are manufacturing different technologies and software to prevent cyber attacks. 

“We really did need to invest in sales and marketing at this point, because we're hitting a significant growth curve,” Saunders told Technical.ly. “And we saw lots of good signals coming from strategic investors who wanted to participate.”

RunSafe Security raised a Series A in 2020, and several of the same investors from that round participated again. Critical Ventures and SineWave Venture Partners co-led the latest round, with participation from BMW i Ventures, Working Lab Capital, Lockeed Martin Ventures and other firms. 

Several involved investors stood out because they offer a connection to global companies working in software, per Saunders. For example, RunSafe Security is already working with Lockheed Martin on an enterprise software agreement, he said. 

The firm, founded in 2015 but operationally ramped up in 2018, contracts with the Army and Navy, as well as with private companies. RunSafe Security works with the infrastructure technology company Vertiv, formerly known as Emerson Network Power, which provides services for data centers. Other customers include Loudoun County-headquartered GE Aviation and Schneider Electric. The firm has 14 issued patents. 

IT contractor acquires engineering company 

The publicly traded company CACI, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, announced its purchase of the Fairfax firm Azure Summit Technology for $1.275 billion. 

“I am confident that CACI will offer outstanding career opportunities to our talented and dedicated employees,” said Thomas Green, Azure Summit’s president and CEO. “The alignment between our cultures, technology and engineering heritage will drive continued innovation and growth under CACI leadership in the future.”

Leaders anticipate the acquisition will build its national security contracts with the Department of Defense, specifically in high-performance radio frequency technology, per a press release. 

Silver Spring software company secures millions

Maryland cybersecurity firm Aembit announced a $25 million Series A, building toward its total of $45 million raised so far, per an announcement. 

Acrew Capital led the round while existing investors Ballistic Ventures, Ten Eleven Ventures, Okta Ventures and CrowdStrike Falcon Fund also participated. Aembit has an existing integration with CrowdStrike, according to its website. The beleaguered cybersecurity giant’s global outage over the summer led to grounded flights and disruptions across various government agencies. 

“Aembit is tackling one of the most pressing challenges in modern enterprise security,” said Mark Kraynak, founding partner at Acrew Capital. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Aembit to bring a new approach to the market.”

Other DC-area raises and awards

• The Maryland Department of Commerce is working with universities throughout the state to fund research professorships, including at the University of Maryland, College Park. 
• Data analytics company Demex Group, which works with insurance providers with weather-related claims, raised a $10.25 million Series A
• Fairfax IT government contractor ITC Federal landed a $25 million investment from Blue Delta Capital Partners in Tysons to pursue acquisitions, the Washington Business Journal reported. 
• DC-based nuclear energy startup Last Energy raised a $40 million Series B to build out its product development in Europe. 
• The University of Maryland and College Park’s IonQ announced they’re expanding their existing partnership to provide students, faculty and staff access to quantum computing tools. 
• Rethink Impact, a DC venture capital firm, raised $250 million to support women-led tech firms, the Washington Business Journal also reported.

State funding agency investments

• State of Maryland-founded TEDCO announced a $100,000 investment in the AI threat detection firm PerVista in Oxon Hill.
  • TEDCO also landed $10 million through a program led by the US Department of Treasury to support small businesses across different industries, including tech startups. 
• The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation issued a $75,000 grant to the Falls Church software quality assurance startup Magna Labs. 

More moves found in Securities and Exchange Commission filings

According to recent submissions, the following companies raised millions:

• $5 million for Fairfax’s NextgenID.
• A pair of raises for Arlington’s EarthOptics on Sept. 12: an equity deal of $38.38 million and a debt deal of $16.6 million.
• $6.98 million for DC’s OptoVista Holdings.
• $12.57 million for DC’s Rivet Industries. 
• $10.31 million for DC’s AltScore. 
• $18.5 million for Alexandria’s pgEdge. 

This article references investments by TEDCO, a Technical.ly client. That relationship has no impact on this report.