Harpoon Ventures

Harpoon Ventures Research

Investment Thesis

Harpoon Ventures invests to secure American technological leadership for future generations. Founded in 2018 by Larsen Jensen, a two-time Olympic medalist and former Navy SEAL, Harpoon was built on a fundamental belief: technology will define geopolitics. The firm invests in what they call the "Freedom Stack"—foundational technologies critical to American national security and prosperity.

Unlike traditional VCs focused solely on financial returns, Harpoon combines venture capital with deep connections to the U.S. government and defense ecosystem. The firm has helped portfolio companies secure over $1B in U.S. government contracts, ranging from non-dilutive grants to programs of record exceeding $100M. This unique positioning makes Harpoon more than investors—they serve as tactical advantages for founders building mission-critical capabilities.

Sector and Investment Focus

Harpoon invests across multiple transformative sectors organized around national security and technological leadership:

Primary Focus Areas:

• AI & Compute: High-throughput AI chip design (MatX), AI drug discovery (Genesis Molecular AI), AI-native automation (n8n), AI data development (Encord)
• Aerospace & Defense: Advanced propulsion (Ursa Major), autonomous flight (Merlin Labs), satellite infrastructure (Astranis, Northwood, EraDrive), UAS platforms (Firestorm Labs), critical actuation systems (Salient Motion), autonomous vehicles (Kodiak)
• Biotech & Biosecurity: Gene therapy, protein sequencing (Glyphic Biotechnologies), virtual patient models (Valinor), cellular intelligence
• Cybersecurity & IT: Code security (Semgrep), application control (Oso), network security (Netography, Buoyant), threat intelligence (CyCognito), supply chain security (Truffle Security), cloud security (Netskope)
• Energy & Materials: Nuclear plants (Aalo Atomics), sustainable lithium extraction (Electroflow), chemicals industry transformation (Solugen), 3D printed batteries (MATERIAL)
• Software Infrastructure: Cloud cost management (Vantage), circuit board automation (JITX), stream processing (Decodable), LLM application development (Deepset), enterprise connectivity (Graphiant), data pipelines
• Manufacturing & Robotics: Advanced manufacturing, mission-adaptable hardware

Stage Focus

Harpoon primarily invests in early-stage companies, from pre-seed through Series A, with selective follow-on investments in later stages for high-performing portfolio companies.

Typical Investment Stages:

• Pre-Seed: Early product development, technical team formation
• Seed: Product-market fit validation, initial customer traction
• Series A: Scaling operations, expansion into new markets
• Series B+: Strategic follow-ons for proven winners

Check Size and Investment Dynamics

Check Size Range: $500K - $5M

• Pre-Seed: $500K - $1.5M
• Seed: $1M - $3M
• Series A: $2M - $5M

Lead Tendency: Harpoon frequently leads rounds, particularly seed rounds. They co-lead Series A rounds with other quality investors. The firm maintains ownership targets of 15-25% in seed investments.

Recent Activity and Portfolio Performance

Harpoon has been actively deploying capital from their most recent fund. Recent notable investments and portfolio company exits/milestones (2025-2026):

Recent Investments:

• January 2026: Northwood Space secured $100M Series B and $50M Space Force contract (TechCrunch)
• January 2026: Astranis signed 9-figure contract with MB Group for dedicated satellite communications
• January 2026: Salient Motion announced collaborations for aircraft systems manufacturing
• January 2026: MATERIAL announced $7.1M seed round (3D printed batteries)
• January 2026: Cellular Intelligence (formerly Somite) building universal virtual cell model
• December 2025: Valinor raised $13M for clinical trial success with ML models
• December 2025: EraDrive raised $5.3M for satellite autonomy software-hardware
• November 2025 & earlier: Portfolio companies across AI, space, defense, biotech

Exit Activity:

• Robust Intelligence: Acquired by Cisco (AI risk/safety testing)
• Airplane: Acquired by Airtable (internal tools platform)
• LeapYear: Acquired by Snowflake (secure data sharing)
• Akita: Acquired by Postman (API discovery)
• Truera: Acquired by Snowflake (model intelligence)
• Determined.ai: Acquired by HP (deep learning platform)
• Bluesky: Acquired by Microsoft (cloud data infrastructure)
• Netskope: IPO (cloud security)

Fund Status: Actively deploying with strong deal flow and recent exits validating the thesis.

Portfolio Company Highlights

Harpoon's portfolio includes 50+ companies across their core sectors. Notable active companies:

AI & Infrastructure:

• n8n: 15M+ installations, secure workflow automation
• Encord: Complete data development platform for AI training
• Genesis Molecular AI: Drug discovery operating system
• MatX: High-throughput AI chip design

Space & Aerospace:

• Northwood: Ground infrastructure for space missions ($100M Series B, $50M Space Force contract)
• Astranis: Dedicated satellite connectivity ($9-figure government contract)
• Merlin Labs: Autonomous flight for government and commercial use
• Firestorm Labs: Mission-adaptable unmanned aerial systems
• Ursa Major: Advanced propulsion systems
• EraDrive: Spacecraft autonomy software

Defense & Security:

• Vector: Reclaiming American tech superiority
• Kodiak: Autonomous vehicle platforms for military/fleet use
• Material Security: Defense-in-depth security infrastructure
• Semgrep: Code security for engineering teams
• CyCognito: Cybersecurity analysis and insights

Biotech:

• Glyphic Biotechnologies: Next-generation protein sequencing
• Valinor: Virtual patient models for clinical trials
• Cellular Intelligence: Universal cell-signaling models

Energy:

• Aalo Atomics: Mass-manufactured nuclear plants
• Electroflow: Sustainable lithium extraction and refining
• Solugen: Sustainable chemicals manufacturing
• MATERIAL: 3D printed batteries

Team and Decision-Making

Core Team:

• Larsen Jensen: Founder & General Partner. Two-time Olympian and former Navy SEAL. Brings military operational excellence and government relationships. Stanford MBA.
• Jeff Torrance: Managing Partner. Oversees operations, financial management, and deal structuring. Former PE fund manager.
• Investment team: 8+ investors including Riley Loftus (San Diego-based, led MatX, Aalo Atomics, Firestorm investments), Matias Zorrilla, Mat Vogels, Jake Windle, Andrew Couillard, Jeremy Stein, Clint Brown, and others.

Decision Process: Partnership-based with collaborative investment thesis. Larsen's military background and government connections are core differentiators. Team evaluates founders for commitment to mission-critical impact, not just financial returns.

Typical Timeline: Founder-first mentality with hands-on support. Decisions made quickly for strong mission fit. Historical speed from first meeting to commitment: 2-4 weeks for aligned opportunities.

Government Contracting & Non-Dilutive Capital

Unique to Harpoon: Deep connectivity to U.S. government buyers and procurement pathways. Portfolio companies have secured:

• Non-dilutive SBIR/STTR grants
• $100M+ programs of record
• Department of Defense contracts
• Space Force contracts
• Other federal agency relationships

This differentiator transforms Harpoon's role: beyond capital provision, they actively facilitate government customer acquisition and strategic positioning.

Founder and Company Preferences

Ideal Founder Profile:

• Mission-driven with commitment to American technological leadership
• Experienced technical founders (preferred background in aerospace, defense, AI, deep tech)
• Comfortable with government and national security implications
• Founder-first mentality appreciated
• Ex-military, ex-government, or ex-hyperscaler technical talent valued

Company Characteristics:

• Building foundational, mission-critical capabilities
• Addressing real government/defense procurement needs
• Technical defensibility and hard technical barriers to entry
• Early-stage but with clear market need validation
• Founders with skin in the game and long-term vision

Sector Categorization

Harpoon invests across what they call the "Freedom Stack"—organized around:

1. AI & Computing Power
2. Aerospace & Defense
3. Biotech & Biosecurity
4. Cybersecurity & Network Security
5. Software Infrastructure for National Advantage
6. Manufacturing & Robotics
7. Materials Science and Energy

Geographic Focus

Primary: San Diego, CA (headquarters), Silicon Valley, Seattle. Secondary: Government hubs (DC, Arlington), other West Coast locations.

Key Differentiators

1. Government Connectivity: Unmatched ability to facilitate government customer relationships
2. Military/Operations Expertise: Founder and team bring tactical military thinking to venture
3. National Security Alignment: Not just venture returns—focus on American technological leadership
4. Portfolio Support: Active involvement in government customer introductions, procurement navigation, strategic hiring for portfolio companies
5. Non-Dilutive Capital Access: Help companies access SBIR, government contracts, reducing dilution need
6. Deep Tech Focus: Comfortable with hard technical problems, regulatory complexity, longer sales cycles

Investment Decision Timeline

• First meeting to interest: 1-2 weeks
• Diligence period: 2-3 weeks
• Committee review and decision: 1 week
• Typical total: 4-6 weeks for aligned opportunities

Warm Introduction Requirement

Warm intros highly preferred. Best sources:

• Existing portfolio founders
• Government procurement contacts
• Defense/aerospace industry networks
• Stanford/MIT network (team alma maters)
• Navy/military community

Anti-Thesis

Harpoon explicitly avoids:

• Consumer apps without defensible technology
• Pure marketplace/network effects plays
• Non-technical business model innovations
• Companies with unclear government/national security relevance
• Offshore manufacturing or foreign dependencies
• Unproven technical approaches

Notable Testimonials

Portfolio company CEOs emphasize:

• Harpoon's infectious energy and founder-first mentality
• Willingness to open doors to defense sector customers
• Strategic introductions and government pathway facilitation
• Staying in the trenches with founders
• Board-level involvement and tactical advice

Fund Strategy and Philosophy

Harpoon raised three funds:

• Fund I: $3M (2018)
• Fund II: $60M
• Fund III: $125M (closed 2023), bringing total AUM to $300M

Each fund focused on building the Freedom Stack with increasingly large follow-on capacity for winners. The firm prioritizes companies that will define geopolitics and American technological advantage in AI, space, defense, and advanced technology.

Recent Fundraising Success

LPs include:

• Andreessen Horowitz (early backer)
• Lightspeed Venture Partners (early backer)
• Top-tier pension funds (nation's leading first responder pension fund)
• Endowments and institutional capital

Fund III's successful close at $125M (2023) validates investor confidence in Harpoon's thesis and execution.