Atoms Not Bits

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - @neros_tech drone was used in a U.S. Marine Corps training exercise, launching from the ground before operators inside a UH-1Y Venom helicopter took control mid-flight. - @InLoopRobotics has launched. The startup develops robotic arms for warehouse operations. - SYOS Aerospace, the New Zealand aerospace and defense firm, announced a new unmanned underwater vehicle for missions including mine warfare and maritime security, with a maximum payload of 22 pounds. - Metro Nashville Police Department has begun testing a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program. - Perennial Autonomy, the Menlo Park startup, secured a contract with Joint Interagency Task Force 401 for kinetic C-UAS systems, with a potential value of up to $500M. - Qatar Investment Authority and COFIDES launched a €300M climate tech fund. - Polaris secured a sole-source contract with the U.S. Marines Corps to deliver its MRZR Alpha Ultra-Light Tactical Vehicle. The deal is valued at $98M.

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Nine quantum computing firms are set to receive more than $2 billion in planned U.S. government funding, including @diraqQC, a silicon-based quantum startup expected to receive up to $38 million. Several of the agreements may also involve government equity participation. - Thales Australia, Lockheed Martin Australia, and Northrop Grumman Australia have completed a warhead production and detonation test in New South Wales. The effort was completed in under 11 weeks and supports Australia’s push to build sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capacity. - @EdgeRunnerAI has launched EdgeRunner 2, a new suite of large language models built for defense operations at the edge. The models are designed to run on-premise and without internet connectivity in austere environments. - Bow Capital has launched a dual-use incubator at UCSD, which will deploy $100K into five UCSD-affiliated startups across American critical industries such as AI, defense, robotics, autonomy, space, biotech, and critical infrastructure. - @RocketLab secured a $90 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to develop two geostationary orbit satellites. - ScaleWolf, the European VC firm, has opened an office in Alexandria, Virginia, focused on investments across defense, energy, and infrastructure. - GE Vernova is expanding its automation capabilities through a planned acquisition of Robotech Automation, a Canadian robotics integration firm. - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has delivered a new Mogami-class frigate to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The vessel is built for multi-mission operations, including electronic warfare, mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and broader maritime security missions. - Alfons Håkans, the Baltic maritime services firm, has agreed to procure an ASD Tug 3413 ICE vessel built for Arctic conditions and heavy ice operations. The vessel is being built by Damen. - Synphony has launched. The YC startup develops strawberry-picking robots. - Metrea, the D.C.-based national security firm, has secured a contract with the Australian government focused on border surveillance and security.

BREAKING: UCLA has launched a semiconductor hub focused on R&D and upskilling, with $125M being deployed into the effort and backers including Broadcom, Applied Materials, GlobalFoundries, Meta, and Synopsys. This is critical as one of the nation’s top schools moves to support U.S. semiconductor sovereignty amid growing demand for domestic semiconductor talent.

Shoutout those moving hard tech forward: @billclerico, @Tri_Stanisaurus, @LifeofRileyATX, @Xaraphim, @jordanbramble, @GoingBallistic5, @WarcMeinstein, @Rewkang, @Julie_Bush_, @mcan_cath + many more!

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - @convectivecap, the VC fund focused on fire tech and disaster resilience, has secured $85M for its Fund II. - NVIDIA and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. plan to build a Bay Area robotics development center, targeting mobility and medical robot development first. - @RatioDrones has launched. The Austin, Texas startup is developing heavy-lift UAVs for contested logistics. - Robert Bosch GmbH, the global German engineering firm, has partnered with Humanoid to manufacture humanoid robots. - @AntaresNuclear secured a deal with Urenco, the uranium enrichment company, to supply enrichment services for HALEU fuel for Antares’ microreactors. - Reaction Dynamics, the Canadian launch startup, has signed an MOU with Hanwha Ocean focused on advancing Canadian sovereign launch capability. - Australia has approved a $1.6B rare earth mining project in Northern Australia, set to become the third-largest rare earths operation in the country. - HANMI Semiconductor, the Korean semiconductor packaging firm, is entering the American market with its U.S. HQ in San Jose, California. - @RoboStrategy has listed on Nasdaq. The investment fund focuses on robotics and physical AI companies across private and public markets. - @valinortech has opened its manufacturing and R&D facility in Cookeville, TN, for Dispatch, its modular charging node product for powering autonomous systems. - Canadian Armed Forces are looking to procure sUAS integrated with laser range-finding capabilities that can operate in contested environments. - @asylonrobotics is using robotic security dogs (pictured below) to support farm security operations at Bayer’s Hawaii sites. The platform can be remotely operated and includes thermal and optical cameras.

BREAKING: Nvidia and Kawasaki Heavy Industries plan to build a Bay Area robotics development center, targeting mobility and medical robot development first.

BREAKING: Australia has approved a $1.6B rare earth mining project in Northern Australia, set to become the third-largest rare earths operation in the country. Output is focused on neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide, which is critical for high-performance permanent magnets.

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - @anduriltech has launched Voyager Gateway 1, a new compute and communications system for operators. The low-power, waterproof device is designed for rugged environments and brings together communications, compute, and edge networking, enabling AI to run on-prem. - @AmcaInc has secured a $300M Series B led by @caffeinatedcap, reaching a $1B+ valuation. The El Segundo startup designs and manufactures critical aerospace & defense components, and has acquired 6 component shops nationwide. - Orbit Robotics has launched out of stealth. The Swiss startup is developing humanoids for space stations and space research. - The U.S. Department of Energy is deploying $45.7M across 19 projects focused on American critical mineral and material security. - Boskalis, the global marine firm, has purchased a new-age cable lay vessel, enabling the large-scale installation of subsea cables. - @aramco, in partnership with @pasqal_quantum, the French quantum computing firm, will put Saudi Arabia’s first quantum computer online. - The Swiss Armed Forces have begun training with @OrqaFPV drones as part of broader live drone warfare trials in Elm, Switzerland. - The Dallas Police Department has launched a new Drone as First Responder program, with eight drones docked on top of fire department infrastructure. - @colossal, the Dallas-based biotech firm, has successfully hatched live chicks using its fully artificial egg system.

BREAKING: @AmcaInc has secured a $300M Series B led by Caffeinated Capital, reaching a $1B+ valuation. The El Segundo startup designs and manufactures critical aerospace & defense components, and has acquired 6 component shops nationwide.

Breaking: Varda’s W-6 capsule has landed in Australia, validating autonomous hypersonic navigation and next-generation thermal protection systems.

Shoutout those moving hard tech forward: @danwrightSF, @jimbelosic, @andrew__reed, @matthuang, @brandontseng2, @ethanrthornton, @zebulgar, @MiguelArratia + many more!

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - @armada_ai secured a $230 million Series B. The startup develops forward-deployed modular data centers, and co-lead investors include Overmatch Ventures, BlackRock, and 8090 Industries. The company will use the capital to build out its Galleon Forge One manufacturing facility, which will span up to 400,000 square feet. Additionally, Armada secured a Global Framework Agreement with Johnson Controls focused on modular data center systems. - @sendcutsend secured $110 million in funding. The Reno, Nevada-based company produces custom sheet metal and CNC parts for America’s industrial base. Investors include @sequoia, @paradigm, and Patrick Collison and John Collison, who founded the fintech giant @stripe. The capital will be used to bring more factories online. - @shieldaitech will integrate its Hivemind autonomy package onto Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System drones under a new Pentagon deal. - @vast, the Long Beach space company, is now developing high-power satellite buses. - Hellbender Inc., the Pittsburgh startup, secured a $12.5 million seed round led by Magarac Venture Partners and Veredas Partners. The company develops cameras, sensors, and computing hardware for edge computing applications. - @Mach_Industries has acquired Exquadrum, the Victorville aerospace and defense manufacturer that develops technologies in areas such as rocket motor propulsion and energetics, and operates a 700,000-square-foot facility. The deal size is reported at $50M according to the WSJ. - @VardaSpace W-6 reentry capsule completed a successful landing at Southern Launch’s Koonibba Test Range in South Australia. - Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, the Canadian mining firm is building out their  Hope Bay mining project in Canada, focused on gold (2.5B) - Cellula Robotics Ltd., the underwater robotics company, has partnered with Metron Inc. to integrate mission autonomy capabilities onto Cellula’s AUVs for defense applications. - Re:Build Manufacturing and Enigma Aerospace signed an MOU to produce Enigma’s contested logistics drone. - @nandux_mining, the El Segundo and Chilean mining tech firm, secured an agreement with Expande from Fundación Chile to further develop the country’s mining industry. - @WeAreHII and MetalCraft Marine Inc., the high-performance aluminum boat manufacturer, built two USVs (pictured below) for the Marines through Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and have already delivered and tested them on the water.

Breaking: @HelsingAI, the German defense firm, has partnered with OHB SE to develop a joint venture focused on space-based ISR and targeting systems.

CC: @chadwahl dell.com/en-us/blog/del…

Breaking: Palantir bets on the edge. Edge computing is becoming core infrastructure for America’s critical industries. Defense, mining, energy, manufacturing, logistics, and critical infrastructure are all bringing more sensors, autonomous systems, and AI-enabled workflows online. That creates a major need to process data on-prem, reduce latency, improve security, and maintain tighter control over sensitive operational data (data governance) in environments where public cloud deployment may not be feasible. Today in Las Vegas, Palantir announced a partnership with Dell focused on building an AI operating system for on-prem and air-gapped environments. The core thesis is simple: AI deployment across critical industries has been limited by fragmented data, multi-cloud complexity, security requirements, and the difficulty of running advanced models at the edge. The partnership brings Palantir’s Foundry, Ontology, and AIP on-prem through Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA, Dell’s enterprise AI infrastructure stack for deploying secure AI systems outside the public cloud.

@Seagate_Space @OndasHoldings x.com/atomsnotbits/s…

@AtomsNotBits @OndasHoldings Come on ... bullet #2 no doubt deserves a standalone post!

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - @OndasHoldings is planning to acquire Omnisys, which develops battle resource optimization software. The deal size is $199M. - The United States Air Force is exploring ways to repurpose offshore oil rigs for reusable rocket recovery. - Faraday Future secured $25M in new funding for the development of humanoid, wheeled, and four-legged robots for the security, education, and tourism end markets. - @Playground_VC has launched a $475M Fund IV focused on deep tech investments. - Orion Edge Group Inc., the Florida electronic warfare startup, has secured a $3M seed round led by Backswing Ventures. The startup has already delivered systems to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. - DZYNE Technologies demonstrated its Long-Range Grasshopper autonomous aerial resupply system during Exercise Trojan Footprint 2026 in Europe. The system was deployed from an aircraft to support contested logistics missions. - @regentcraft, the Rhode Island seaglider startup, partnered with Schneider Electric and World4Solar to demonstrate remote charging for its Viceroy Seaglider prototype. - The Bald Hill lithium mine in Western Australia is restarting operations in mid-summer. The mine is operated by Mineral Resources Limited. - Boston Dynamics showcased its Atlas humanoid robot picking up and moving a small fridge. - Nishati, Inc. and @chariotdefense recently trained National Guard warfighters on an integrated expeditionary power setup, combining NPT hybrid generation and solar systems with Chariot’s Amphora 24 power storage and distribution system. - Rheinmetall and Destinus have built a new deep-strike cruise missile with containerized launch capabilities. - Booz Allen Hamilton partnered with Anduril Industries to integrate its C2, cyber, RF effects, and zero trust capabilities with Anduril’s Menace systems and Lattice software. - Sean Plankey has joined UFORCE as U.S. CEO. Plankey previously served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security and held roles at the National Security Council and the Department of Energy. - Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) has rolled out a $30M VC fund focused on deep tech investments. - @transloadAI has launched. The startup turns existing warehouse security cameras into freight measurement and warehouse intelligence systems for logistics operators (pictured below).

Shoutout those moving hard tech forward: @CeoOndas, @billythalheimer, @AdamWarmoth, @juliusscheel, @nilsboern, @jagowahl.

Breaking: The U.S. Air Force is exploring ways to repurpose offshore oil rigs for reusable rocket recovery. The concept would allow rockets to land on or near modified offshore rigs as launch cadence increases and recovery infrastructure becomes more constrained.

Announcing from Tokyo 🇯🇵: I’ve taken an ownership stake in Atoms Not Bits, one of the fastest-growing media platforms covering hard tech, deep tech, defense, AI, space, robotics, energy, advanced manufacturing, venture, private equity and the broader New Frontier economy. Too many of the world’s most important companies are being built quietly without the media attention they deserve. @AtomsNotBits is changing that. Together with the Internet Marketing Association, we’re building a powerful global community of founders, investors, policymakers, and operators shaping the future. Atoms Not Bits will also serve as the Official Media Partner of IMPACT 250 in Washington, D.C. this fall, delivering exclusive coverage on the leaders building America’s next chapter. From Tokyo to D.C. — let’s build. #HardTech #DeepTech #AI #DefenseTech #SpaceTech #VentureCapital #Innovation @IMA_Network @AtomsNotBits