22 VC firms investing in aerospace & defense at the Growth stage.
F4 Fund tracks 22 VC firms that actively invest in aerospace & defense at the Growth stage, with check sizes ranging from $200K – $500M (median: $25.1M – $25.1M). As of June 2026, and 86% lead or co-lead rounds. Rankings are based on F4's proprietary analysis of 1,355+ researched VC firms, scored by data completeness, portfolio depth, investment recency, and stage alignment.
| # | Firm | Check Size | Portfolio | Leads? | Activity | Decision | Intro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ▶ Initialized Capital Passion and vision matter more than pedigree. We seek founders with grit, audacity, and a spark of rebellion—regardless of background. We invest early, before success is inevitable, and support founders from 0-to-1 through Series A. San Francisco | $250K – $2M | 184 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 2 | ▶ Red Swan Ventures Thematic-driven investor backing ambitious founders building for big outcomes across critical domains. Core conviction: defensible businesses create competitive advantages by transforming data challenges and market opportunities into sustainable value. We Go Deep, Not Wide. Focus on AI (defensible AI turns data challenges into advantages), Consumer (vision and strategy to break through attention economy), and Defense Tech (modern solutions for global stability). Active operational partnership beyond capital provision. | $250K – $100M | 65 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 3 | ▶ Point72 Ventures Point72 Ventures backs ambitious founders building for big outcomes across critical domains. Going deep, not wide—the firm focuses on specialized investment theses in AI, Consumer, and Defense Tech, bringing deep sector insights, partnership, and hands-on support from seed to pre-IPO. New York | $250K – $50M | 203 | Both | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
| 4 | ▶ Seraphim Capital Space has a unique role in addressing the world's most pressing problems and represents a $trillion investment opportunity. We back visionary entrepreneurs transforming science fiction into science fact using space technology and space-based data to solve challenges in sustainability, connectivity, and digitalization at global scale. London | $250K – $25M | 30 | Both | Active | ~2 mo | Open |
| 5 | ▶ Robostrategy Embodied artificial intelligence and robotics represent the most significant technological frontier and capital deployment opportunity. We invest in companies advancing humanoid robotics, general-purpose physical intelligence, medical robotics, industrial automation, and defense/autonomous systems. The future of intelligence is in motion. San Juan | $1M – $150M | 12 | Leads | Active | ~1 mo | Req'd |
| 6 | ▶ Elad Gil Invest in market-creating companies with exceptional founders and large addressable markets. Prioritize market size and dynamics, then evaluate product-market fit through personal usage test. Focus on founder quality and execution capability over other factors. San Francisco | $250K – $50M | 39 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 7 | ▶ 137 Ventures 137 Ventures provides structured liquidity — equity loans against shareholder stakes, direct secondary purchases, and anchoring company-organized tender offers — to the founders, executives, and early employees of category-defining private technology companies. The firm supports generational companies through decade-long private lifecycles with flexible, founder-friendly capital structures. San Francisco | $25M – $150M | 56 | Both | Active | — | — |
| 8 | ▶ Founders Fund Back revolutionary technologies and visionary founders who think in first principles. We invest across all stages when conviction exists, providing patient capital and board-level partnership to founders building consequential companies that reshape industries. San Francisco | $500K – $50M | 33 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
| 9 | ▶ General Catalyst We back founders venturing beyond to build transformational companies that create positive, enduring change. Applied AI and global resilience are fundamental forces reshaping industries. | $2M – $50M | 38 | Leads | Active | — | — |
| 10 | ▶ Centre Street Partners Partner with technical operators and SMB owners to execute technology-led middle-market buyouts. Capture outsized economic value from AI at the ownership layer of services providers rather than pure-play tech. New York | $5M – $50M | 24 | Leads | Active | ~1 mo | Req'd |
| 11 | ▶ Upfront Ventures Early investors and long-term partners. We back exceptional founders solving real problems across sectors. When you hit a bump in the road, we're there solving problems alongside you with operational expertise and network leverage. | $1M – $15M | 46 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
| 12 | ▶ Intel Capital Scalable, defensible innovation at the intersection of software, hardware, and intelligence. Champion founders driving the next wave of technological innovation across Cloud, Devices, Frontier, and Silicon domains. Breakthrough technologies emerge from convergence of multiple domains. Santa Clara, California | $1M – $50M | 29 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 13 | ▶ Alumni Ventures We democratize venture capital by providing individual accredited investors with professional-grade access to elite venture opportunities. We leverage our massive 850,000+ community network and 11,000+ investors to create unique value for founders, sourcing and diligencing deals alongside top-tier VCs (a16z, Sequoia, Khosla) without leading rounds. Our network is our competitive advantage—it compounds value for all stakeholders. Manchester, NH | $250K – $5M | 58 | Follows | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 14 | ▶ Caffeinated Capital Support founders pursuing their life's work with an alternative to the hype cycle: the luxury of long-term thinking. We support founders building category-defining companies across all sectors that will last for lifetimes. San Francisco | $1M – $5M | 18 | Leads | Active | — | — |
| 15 | ▶ K5 Global K5 Global backs category-defining companies from inception to IPO. The firm leverages exceptional networks across media, entertainment, politics, finance, and technology to provide strategic value beyond capital. We believe the best companies are built by founders who can access world-class talent, capital, and strategic relationships. Los Angeles | $1M – $3M | 31 | Leads | Active | ~1 mo | Open |
| 16 | ▶ SpeedInvest Backs globally ambitious technology companies from pre-seed and seed through selected growth rounds using specialist EMEA sector teams and a platform model for capital, customers, talent, follow-on investors, and operational support. Vienna | $250K – $30M | 49 | Leads | Active | — | Open |
| 17 | ▶ Riot Ventures Modernize critical industries through deep technology. We are dedicated to backing ambitious, technically sophisticated founders solving hard problems in traditionally underserved sectors. We provide capital, operational guidance, board partnership, and network access—supporting companies from pre-seed through growth stages. | $500K – $100M | 25 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 18 | ▶ Battery Ventures Battery Ventures operates as a stage-agnostic firm backing technology-driven category leaders across all growth stages from seed to buyout. The firm believes the best tech investments span the entire founder journey, and they practice collaborative, research-focused investing with embedded operational support through their Portfolio Services platform. They seek technical founders with deep domain expertise and experienced operators building in four core sectors: Application Software, Infrastructure Software, Consumer, and Industrial Tech + Life Science Tools. Boston | $1M – $500M | 23 | Both | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 19 | ▶ Tiger Global Management Leading global companies that leverage technological innovation across public and private markets. Proven founders (especially ex-Googlers, AWS, Stripe) with large TAMs (billions+), product-led growth, and global ambitions. Conviction-based investing post-2022 correction emphasizing quality over quantity. New York | $1M – $100M | 21 | Leads | Active | ~1 wk | Req'd |
| 20 | ▶ Bessemer Venture Partners We partner with entrepreneurs from their early days through every stage of growth, focusing on innovative solutions in technology, healthcare, and financial services. Redwood City, California | $5.8M – $34.3M | 6 | — | 1mo | — | — |
| 21 | ▶ Gaingels Equity of access and representation in venture capital delivers positive returns. Diverse and underrepresented (including LGBTQ+) leaders of high-growth companies deserve capital access. When these founders succeed, they influence ecosystems and open doors for historically excluded groups. New York | $200K – $500K | 29 | Follows | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 22 | ▶ Evolution Venture Capital Partners Culture-Tech companies that disrupt and define how we live, work, play, and interact with the world every day. We invest in passionate founders building transformative products that change cultural behaviors. New York | $500K – $6M | 28 | Leads | Active | ~1 wk | Open |
Investors on this page also frequently invest in these sectors
What other stages do these firms also invest in?
What other sectors do these firms also invest in?
F4 Fund tracks 22 VC firms that actively invest in aerospace & defense at the Growth stage. These firms are ranked using a composite score that weighs data completeness (30%), portfolio depth (30%), investment recency (25%), and stage alignment (15%).
Based on F4's analysis, the median check size for growth aerospace & defense investors is $25.1M – $25.1M, with a full range from $200K – $500M. The distribution breaks down as: 1 firms in the <$500K range, 1 firms in the $1M-$2M range, 4 firms in the $2M-$5M range, 1 firms in the $5M-$10M range, 15 firms in the $10M+ range.
Among the 22 firms tracked, 86% lead or co-lead rounds, and 9% typically follow. Founders seeking a lead investor should filter for firms marked "Leads" or "Both" in the rankings table above. Lead investors typically set deal terms and anchor the round.
The best growth aerospace & defense investors combine domain expertise with an active portfolio in the space. Among these firms, 33% prefer warm introductions, and the average firm has 48 portfolio companies. Look for firms whose check size matches your raise, whose stage preference aligns with yours, and who have a track record of supporting companies in your sector through multiple growth phases.
Firm profiles are continuously updated through F4's research pipeline, which combines LLM-powered web research, portfolio analysis, and transcript extraction. The ranking data refreshes every 12 hours. Editorial analysis is reviewed weekly. Individual firm profiles are re-researched on a 30-day cycle or when new information surfaces.