Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Booz Allen Ventures:

Advanced technology company Booz Allen Hamilton has announced that it is tripling its venture capital commitment from $100 million to $300 million. Booz Allen Ventures will use the capital to bolster American innovation and build new solutions through investments in early-stage technology companies poised to transform U.S. government missions. The company anticipates making 20–25 new investments over the next five years.

“The success of Booz Allen Ventures shows the power of combining our advanced technology and deep expertise with strategic investments in revolutionary start-ups,” said Matt Calderone, Chief Financial Officer at Booz Allen. “We are in a race for global tech supremacy, and America’s innovation ecosystem is our most important source of strategic advantage. Booz Allen is committed to fueling the solutions that will keep the U.S. strong, safe and prosperous.”

The expansion builds on the success of Booz Allen Ventures’ investments over the last three years, with strong performance among 17 portfolio companies to date, including Albedo, Hidden Level, Second Front, and Shift5. These investments have delivered mission value and strategic growth opportunities across Booz Allen’s global defense, national security, and civil businesses.

Booz Allen Ventures’ portfolio companies deliver advanced solutions in areas including artificial intelligence, autonomy, cyber, space, and quantum computing. In addition to capital, Booz Allen’s investments include strategic partnerships to co-create solutions, navigate risks and challenges in the federal environment, and bring cutting-edge technology to critical missions.

Edison Partners:

Edison Partners, a Nashville-based growth equity firm, announced the promotion of four team members across its investment, value creation, and marketing functions.

The four are:

1. Shelby McKeown and Felix Rauch, both promoted to Senior Associate;
2. Nonnie Egbuna, promoted to Director of Marketing & Value Creation; and
3. Hannah Kenney, promoted to Marketing Manager.

Edison Partners is a growth equity firm providing the financial and intellectual capital that Chief Executive Officers and their executive teams need to grow and scale their companies. The firm’s team brings more than 275 years of combined investing, operating, and sector experience to each investment, accessible via the Edison Edge value creation platform, which is tailored to each business’ strategy, stage, and operating needs. Edison targets high-growth vertical Software-as-a-Service, financial technology, and healthcare information technology companies located outside Silicon Valley with $10 million to $40 million in revenue.

Heritage Group:

Heritage Group, a Nashville-based healthcare-focused private equity firm, has announced the final closing of Heritage Healthcare Innovation Fund IV at more than $370 million, marking another significant milestone in the firm’s continued growth. Fund IV builds on Heritage Group’s successful strategy of making minority and majority investments in solution-oriented, high-growth healthcare services and technology businesses that address the industry’s most pressing challenges.

“We are grateful for the continued support from our longtime investors and excited to welcome several new limited partners to Fund IV,” said Jesse Bland, Partner at Heritage Group. “Their confidence reflects the strength of our strategic model and our ability to identify and scale businesses across some of the highest growth subsectors of the healthcare ecosystem.”

Heritage is backed by leading healthcare organizations, including major health systems operating more than 800 hospitals, payers insuring over 75 million lives, and other key healthcare service providers.

Mantis VC:

Pulse 2.0 reports that Mantis VC, a venture capital firm co-founded by Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, members of the musical group The Chainsmokers, has raised $100 million in commitments for its third fund. This amount marks a $20 million increase from the previous Fund II, which raised $80 million. With this new fund, Mantis VC now manages a total of $225 million across all three funds.

Fund III will be primarily used to support early-stage technology start-ups at the Seed and Series A stages. The firm focuses its investments in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, healthcare technology, data infrastructure, and emerging technologies like Web3 and gaming.

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