Visibility Without Vulnerability: Why We Invested in Hidden Level

An Urgent Need in Today’s World

Today, I’m thrilled to announce Costanoa’s investment in Hidden Level, which is – first and foremost – an absolutely remarkable technology. Using the most advanced radio frequency (RF) detection in the world, their system can detect and track aerial threats without revealing the location of the detection equipment or operator. 

This isn’t just an incremental improvement; it’s a fundamental breakthrough in spectrum management and airspace security. And a massive advantage for countering unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) whether you’re fighting in Ukraine, monitoring drones off New Jersey, or even protecting next week’s Super Bowl.

Jeff Cole and his co-founders have achieved what many thought impossible, combining best in class spectrum management and advanced detection while driving down footprint and cost and also using an innovative passive radio frequency (RF) technology so it is undetectable. At a human level, they combined their decades of expertise in RF technology with the creativity to solve problems in new ways, creating a solution that’s both unique and incredibly difficult to replicate. We believe Hidden Level is poised to become a foundational layer of national security infrastructure. 

The timing couldn’t be more critical. Having delivered a tour de force invention and engineered a product and manufacturing process that can deliver at scale, the Hidden Level team is now well-resourced to do just that. Last year, they were awarded a significant, 10-year order as part of the U.S. Army Program of Record, the holy grail of national security.  Their technology is being adopted on 6 different classes of Army vehicles this year, ramping up to full production in 2026, on path to growing the program to a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP). We think that’s a pretty great marker of product market fit.

The innovation here isn’t just technical – it’s strategic. In a world where aerial threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated, Hidden Level’s approach to enabling detection without disclosure is a game-changer. It’s the kind of technology that solves today’s problems and anticipates tomorrow’s challenges.

Hidden Level is a prime example of the kind of innovation and teams we love to back—driven, deeply technical, highly differentiated, and addressing an urgent, mission-critical need. This investment also represents an important evolution for us at Costanoa. Historically, we’ve made our initial investments into any company from our early stage funds, at or before Seed and Series A. In 2018, we launched our Opportunity Fund strategy to invest in later rounds of our early-stage winners. We always figured that, at some point, our sector expertise and network would lead us to an exceptional outside opportunity. Hidden Level is that company. It has not just met but exceeded our high bar for an “early growth” stage investment in our core sectors: National Security, Cybersecurity, Applied AI, AI and Data Infrastructure, and Fintech.

To Jeff and the Hidden Level team: Welcome to Costanoa! We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with you.