Mode VC

Pre-seed defense and space investors

30 of 40 pre-seed defense and space firms that report a preference say they can lead. 4 active since September.

Can leadMostly followsNot reportedRecently active
Alpaca VCActive Sep 22
New York
Ryan Freedman, Aubrie Pagano+3 on the team
Pre-seedSeedLeadsProptech +5
$500K to $3MCan lead
Mercury FundActive Oct 14
Texas
Blair Garrou, Adrian Fortino+5 on the team
Pre-seedSeedLeadsVertical AI +10
$100K to $10MCan lead
Valhalla VenturesActive Sep 30
Florida
Devan Malhotra, Rohan Pujara
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDeep tech +4
$500K to $10MCan lead
137 VenturesActive Sep 24
United States and Canada
Justin Fishner-Wolfson, Alex Jacobson+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ASeries BFintech +3
$1M to $10MLead not reported
ACME Capital
California · Fund $240M (2022)
Hany Nada, Scott Stanford+3 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ASeries BLeadsDeep tech +4
$1M to $30MCan lead
Bluelake
Florida · Fund $50M (2026)
Jamie Rutledge, Chris Cesareo+1 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ALeadsDeep tech +6
$250K to $3MCan lead
Champion Hill Ventures
North Carolina
Josh Manchester, Robert Haddick
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDeep tech +1
$250K to $500KCan lead
Construct Capital
District of Columbia · Fund $300M
Dayna Grayson, Rachel Holt+4 on the team
Pre-seedSeedLeadsIndustrial +3Confirmed by the firm
$1M to $10MCan lead
Conversion Capital
New York
Christian Lawless
Pre-seedSeedSeries ASeries BLeadsDev tools and infra +3
Check size not reportedCan lead
Cortado Ventures
Oklahoma
Mike Moradi, Nathaniel Harding+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ASeries BLeadsIndustrial +4Confirmed by the firm
$500K to $3MCan lead
Costanoa Ventures
California · Fund Approximately $2.8B AUM
Greg Sands, Amy Cheetham+10 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ALeadsFintech +3
Check size not reportedCan lead
Felicis Ventures
California · Fund $900M (2025)
Aydin Senkut, James Detweiler+7 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ALeadsCybersecurity +4
$1M to $30M+Can lead
GOVO Venture Partners
Florida
Brian D'Ambrosio, Jonathan Kilman+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ALeadsDefense and space +5
Check size not reportedCan lead
Infinite Capital
Florida
Nathan Doctor, Sean Doctor+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ASeries BLeadsDefense and space +3
$3M to $30M+Can lead
Inflection
Massachusetts · Fund $40 million
Alexander Lange, Jonatan Luther-Bergquist
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDefense and space +4
$500K to $1MCan lead
New North Ventures
New Hampshire
Jeremy Hitchcock, Bryan Mabry
Pre-seedSeedSeries ALeadsDefense and space +2
$1M to $3MCan lead
New Stack Ventures
Illinois · Fund $42.6M Fund II
Nick Moran, Luke Skertich
Pre-seedSeedLeadsVertical AI +7
$500K to $3MCan lead
Oceans Ventures
New York
Josh Rahn, Steven Rosenblatt
Pre-seedSeedLeadsEducation and work +2Confirmed by the firm
$1M to $3MCan lead
Olive Tree Capital
Massachusetts
Nichola Eliovits, Johnny Hatem+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ALeadsDeep tech +2
$250K to $10MCan lead
Outliers Fund
California
Poseidon Ho
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDeep tech +2
$1M to $10MCan lead
Point72 Ventures
New York
Dan Gwak, Sri Chandrasekar+7 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ASeries BLeadsConsumer +1Confirmed by the firm
$250K to $30MCan lead
Promus Ventures
Illinois
Mike Collett, John Lusk+3 on the team
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDeep tech +2
$500K to $10MCan lead
Prototype Capital
Location not listed
Andreas Klinger
Pre-seedLeadsDeep tech +2
$100K to $500KCan lead
Quest Venture Partners
California
Andrew Ogawa, Maarten 't Hooft+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDeep tech +3
$100K to $3MCan lead
Radius Capital
California
Peter Shannon, Luka Tomljenovic
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDefense and space +2
$100K to $1MCan lead
Ravelin Capital
California
Lucas Vaz
Pre-seedSeedLeadsIndustrial +1Confirmed by the firm
$250K to $500KCan lead
Ridgeline
Tennessee · Fund >$180M
Andrew McMahon, Ben Walker+1 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ALeadsDefense and space +3
$500K to $10MCan lead
Space VC
Texas
Jonathan Lacoste
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDefense and space +2Confirmed by the firm
$500K to $1MCan lead
Stout Street Capital
Colorado
Clay Gordon, John Francis+1 on the team
Pre-seedSeedLeadsDeep tech +3
$100K to $500KCan lead
Substance
California
Soso Sazesh
Pre-seedLeadsDefense and space +11Confirmed by the firm
Up to $500KCan lead
Trucks Venture Capital
California · Fund $70M Fund III (2025)
Jeffrey Schox, Kathryn Schox+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedLeadsLogistics and mobility +2
$500K to $3MCan lead
8090 Industries
New York
Kerem Ozmen, Rayyan Islam+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries AClimate +4
$500K to $10MMostly follows
AIN Ventures
New York
Emily McMahan, Sherman Williams
Pre-seedSeedDefense and space +4
$250K to $1MMostly follows
Blackwing
California
Chad Cazel, Pete DiSalvo
Pre-seedSeedSeries ADeep tech +3
Check size not reportedLead not reported
Breakwater Ventures
Washington
William Finney
Pre-seedSeedIndustrial +5
Check size not reportedLead not reported
Commonweal Ventures
New York · Fund $54M
Nate Loewentheil, Ron Bloom
Pre-seedSeedClimate +2
$500K to $3MLead not reported
Cubit Capital
Texas
Trevor Rees-Jones, Guilherme Hadlich+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ADeep tech +6
Check size not reportedLead not reported
Dolby Family Ventures
California
Andrew Krowne, Pascal Levensohn+5 on the team
Pre-seedSeedSeries ALife sciences +5
Check size not reportedLead not reported
Earthrise Ventures
New York
Scott Norman
Pre-seedSeedSeries ADefense and space +1
Check size not reportedLead not reported
Entrepreneur Ventures
United States
Jonathan Hung, Bertrand Folliet+2 on the team
Pre-seedSeedAI and data +4
$250K to $3MLead not reported

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Questions

How many pre-seed defense and space investors are there?

Mode VC tracks 54 firms on this list as of 2026-10-15. 4 have been active since September 2026.

What check size do pre-seed defense and space investors write?

The most reported band is $1M to $3M, reported by 24 firms on this list.

Which pre-seed defense and space investors lead rounds?

30 of 40 firms that report a preference say they can lead. Turn on "Leads rounds" to see only them.