AtomsNotBits

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Firestorm, the San Diego-based UAS and additive manufacturing startup, has been selected by the U.S. Air Force for a STRATFI PY25.1 award. Firestorm will focus on developing a "software-driven, battlefield-adaptive UAS" with production at scale. - Newcleo, the French SMR nuclear player, has signed an MOU with Danieli, a major developer of iron and steel plants. This will initiate the exploration phase of potentially powering Danieli's steel plants with Newcleo’s lead-cooled fast reactors. - The Royal Canadian Navy has contracted Irving Shipbuilding to build three River-class destroyers. The contract is valued at $5.5B. - Aligned Climate Capital has raised $85M for its second fund. It invests across Seed to Series B in verticals such as EVs, carbon capture, renewables, and energy efficiency, according to the WSJ. - Waymo has expanded operations across Silicon Valley, including Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, and certain areas of Sunnyvale. - TST Fab & Machine, the Norfolk-based metal fabrication and machining company, is investing $3M to expand its Norfolk, Virginia HQ, which supports the U.S. Navy. The investment will create 56 new jobs. - The U.S. Army has chosen Textron Systems to build a Robotic Combat Vehicle. Textron will utilize its Ripsaw M3 platform.

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Circ® has raised $25M, led by Taranis. The Virginia-based startup focuses on textile-to-textile recycling. - LeoLabs, the orbital intelligence startup, is developing a next-generation radar site in the Pacific. The $60M agreement will be funded equally by private investors and SBIR/Defense funding. - Miami Beach has announced that it is now utilizing Skydio drones as part of a First Responder program and a real-time intelligence center. Miami Beach PD becomes the first department in Florida to adopt DFR technology. - AtmoCooling has raised $2.6M. The startup focuses on enabling natural atmospheric cooling at scale within the world's deserts. They "create microclimates from 10 to 10,000 hectares in size, cooling the natural environment by up to 15 degrees Celsius without using any fresh water." The round was led by Nucleus Capital & Revent. - The U.S. Marines have awarded Anduril Industries a $642M contract for counter-drone defense at Marine installations - Russell Varone has joined UNION as the head of engineering. UNION is developing the next generation of American energetics production. - Qualcomm has acquired Edge Impulse, which develops artificial intelligence for edge devices such as IoT systems. - Eric Schmidt has joined Relativity Space as its new CEO. Eric was formerly the CEO of Google. - Siemens is investing just under $300M to open two manufacturing facilities: one in Pomona, California, and one in Fort Worth, Texas. - Volund Manufacturing has come out of stealth. The Orange County-based startup focuses on "producing attritable micro jet turbine motors to unlock the next generation of UAS integrators." The startup was founded by Eric Hostetler, who formerly led Deployment Operations at Anduril. - Voyager Technologies has announced a deeper partnership with Palantir Technologies. The partnership fuses Palantir's AI technology with Voyager's hardware, expanding collaboration across ML and the space domain. - Sikorsky, developed by Lockheed Martin, has successfully completed multiple test flights. The UAS weighs 115 pounds and can fly like both a plane and a helicopter.

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - CaPow has raised a $15M Series A. The startup is developing energy management technology for warehouse automation. - ABB, the Swedish industrial, electrical, and automation manufacturer, has announced a $120M investment to develop a facility for low-voltage electrification products in Selmer, Tennessee. - Alpine Eagle has raised €10.25M for its airborne counter-UAS system. The company is based in Germany, and the round was led by IQ Capital. - BPH, the Australian biotech firm, has discovered gold and copper traces in marine algae. - xAI is expanding its Memphis data center footprint with the acquisition of a one-million-square-foot piece of land. - CMA CGM has announced a $20B investment in the American shipping and logistics industry. - UCSD researchers focused on developing next-generation brain implants that can record brain activity have been granted $5M by the NIH. - Naval Base San Diego is deploying battery storage via Eos Energy and its zinc-based batteries. - Defence Australia has integrated Squad Packable Utility Robots via a $16M contract with Babcock Australia & New Zealand. The robots will be used for ISR, focusing on detecting IEDs.

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Rio Tinto has acquired Arcadium Lithium for just under $7B, creating Rio Tinto Lithium. - The U.S. Air Force, along with the Defense Innovation Unit, has selected Anduril and Zone 5 Technologies to move on to the second phase of the Enterprise Test Vehicle program. The program focuses on developing a modular air-launched weapons platform. - Shield AI the San Diego-based defense autonomy company, has raised $240M to scale its HiveMind software, enabling autonomy across all domains. - Epirus has raised a $250M Series D. The round was led by Washington Harbour Partners LP and 8VC. - Anduril has partnered with Scale AI. The partnership will integrate Scale AI’s LLM capability into its Lattice advanced modeling and simulation infrastructure to enhance mission planning. - A high-speed landing craft is being developed by Japan Maritime United Corporation and BMT for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. - REGENT has announced that its seaglider has entered the water, making it the world's first seaglider to do so. The seaglider is 100% electric-powered. - The Ariane 6 rocket has launched. Developed by Airbus and Ariane Group, the rocket lifted off from French Guiana.

𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐌 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐎𝐩𝐬 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧 Get ready to experience the next generation of urban smart city tech at the upcoming Code Metal 𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐌 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐎𝐩𝐬: 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧, proudly sponsored by the City of Boston. Watch our exclusive pre-event sizzle reel for a sneak peek at the cutting-edge ideas and transformative solutions that will strengthen security, resilience, and operational readiness in urban environments. 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐌 Join us for a hands-on challenge uniting professionals and students in IoT, RF, AI, and cybersecurity as they craft real-world solutions for the U.S. Special Operations Command—advancing secure, adaptive, and mission-ready operations in complex urban settings. 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? Army, Air Force, DARPA, USSOCOM...and others! 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 Our Friday and Sunday sessions will feature guest speakers including Eric Rosenbach, Former Pentagon Chief of Staff and Director of the Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, as well as leaders from the City of Boston and the Department of Defense—specifically, the United States Defense Innovation Unit and United States Special Operations Command. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 -March 14-16, 2025 - On Location: One Boston Place, 201 Washington Street (18th Floor) -$16,000 Prizes up for grabs -Hardware Provided: SDR, Compute, and FPGA 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 -Friday: VIP Cocktail Night -Saturday: Hackathon Kickoff -Sunday: Closing Ceremonies 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞? Apply to participate, only the best will get in - REGISTRATION LINK IN COMMENTS

Robotics for industrial applications, AUVs at the forefront, and American manufacturing returning at scale. Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - The U.S. Air Force will develop landing pads for reentry vehicles as part of its Rocket Cargo program. The landing pads, pending environmental review and other approvals, will be constructed on Johnston Island, an atoll over 700 miles from Hawaii in the Pacific. - NAES, the largest independent power operator in the U.S., has partnered with Gecko Robotics to deploy advanced robotics, sensors, AI, and data analysis. The initial $100M deal is expected to grow beyond $250M, enhancing efficiency and reliability across power plants. - Orpheus Ocean has raised a $2.8M pre-seed. The startup focuses on developing deep-sea AUVs that will collect seafloor data. The round was led by Propeller Ocean, with participation from Village Global, Jet Stream, and Climate Capital. - One Stop Systems has renewed $6M in DoD contracts focused on sonar sensor processing and other edge computing capabilities. - The Swedish Armed Forces have selected Teledyne Marine to deliver an AUV for various mine countermeasure operations. - Amidon Heavy Industries, an AUV startup, has deployed its first testbed vehicle in just 32 days, beating its target goal of 90 days. The company focuses on AUVs for maritime security and global infrastructure. - ARQUIMEA, the Spanish defense technology firm, has revealed its C-UAS system, designed to neutralize UAVs and persistent threats. - TSMC is planning to invest an additional $100M into its Arizona chip manufacturing projects, expanding to five fabrication facilities. - Honda has moved production of Honda Civics back to the U.S. from Mexico, producing over 200K units per year. - Rosendin Electric, a large-scale electrical contractor, has begun testing robots for solar construction developed by ULC Technologies. - Riverside Research has acquired Cog Systems, which develops IoT/mobile secure virtualization and cryptographic solutions, securing connected devices. - Solcoa Industries, Inc. has raised a $1.5M pre-seed extension, bringing its total pre-seed funding to $2.1M. 8090 Industries funded the pre-seed extension. Solcoa Industries, Inc. tech is focused on domesticating & decarbonizing metals. - Jay Li has launched Proception.AI, a Bay Area startup developing the "most advanced dexterous robotic hands." - General Atomics has successfully tested its MQ-9B SeaGuardian drone. During the tests, the drone effectively detected, tracked, and examined underwater objects while collecting vital acoustic data.

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Claros has launched and raised $9.75M, with funding from Red Cell Partners, General Catalyst, and others. The startup is developing various products, including a modular data center design and a voltage regulator for grid efficiency. - Sage Geosystems Inc. has received the first geothermal well permit from the Railroad Commission of Texas. - Skylo has raised $30M to expand its satellite-to-device connectivity solutions. - Varda Space Industries W-2 spacecraft has begun reentry. - Figure has moved its timeline for humanoids in the home up by two years. - Epirus & Peraton have announced a teaming agreement, stating: "Together, we'll collaborate on a Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Information Analysis Center (IAC) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) recently awarded by the U.S. Air Force’s 774th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron." - Exia Labs has introduced Blue, a copilot for military operations that automates tasks such as terrain analysis, mission analysis, and decision support templates. - 4D Surgical has announced a major breakthrough in surgical robotics, enabling a robot to operate inside an MRI machine, something traditionally impossible due to the MRI's strong magnetic field.

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Seagate Space has come out of stealth. The Florida-based startup is focused on developing offshore launch platforms. The team includes experts in mobility and maritime, with backgrounds at Google X, Sea Launch, Crowley Maritime, and Deloitte Mobility. - Rune Technologies has raised a $6.2M seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participating investors including Point72 Ventures and XYZ Ventures. Rune is developing software and AI technology to streamline military logistics. - Starcloud (YC S24) has raised $10M more for its seed round, bringing the total to $21M. - Billy Thalheimer (CEO) of REGENT has announced an initial agreement for a joint venture with the UAE's Strategic Development Fund, focused on manufacturing and services for seagliders in Abu Dhabi. - Shield AI has announced a collaboration with L3Harris "to enable an electronic warfare (EW) operation with AI-enabled unmanned systems that will sense, adapt, and act while simultaneously executing physical and electromagnetic movements." This partnership combines Shield AI's Hivemind with L3Harris' DiSCO software. - The U.S. Army has selected Forterra and Carnegie Robotics to develop an autonomous transport vehicle system. - Robotic Plus has been acquired by Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA. Robotic Plus specializes in autonomous agriculture solutions. - AstroForge launches its ODIN spacecraft today.

- Ondas Holdings has announced a partnership with Volatus Aerospace. The partnership allows Volatus to market and support American Robotics’ Optimus System, an autonomous drone platform for aerial security and intelligence, targeting end markets such as border surveillance. - Magdrive has raised a $10.5M seed round. The company develops spacecraft propulsion technology. The funds will support expansion to LA and a new U.K. manufacturing facility. - Mitico has raised a $4.3M seed round. The Pasadena-based company develops industrial carbon capture technology. - Airloom Energy, the startup developing next-generation wind turbines, has announced that their first Meteorological Evaluation Tower (MET Tower) has been set up at their Wyoming pilot site. - Skanska has launched a new American business unit focused on developing and building semiconductor manufacturing facilities, along with other high-tech industries. - Foresight Autonomous Holdings, the UAV developer, has announced the integration of NVIDIA Jetson Orin with their depth-sensing technology. - Apptronik has announced a partnership with Jabil. The partnership will allow Jabil to build Apptronik's humanoids and integrate them into their production lines. - Beyond Gravity has announced the assembly of the Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, supporting NASA’s lunar station. It will serve as the electric propulsion pointing mechanism.

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Anduril Industries has partnered with Mahindra Group, the Indian technology firm, to develop and produce maritime autonomy technology, C-UAS tech, and more together. - Leonardo DRS has announced the expansion of their submarine manufacturing facility, specifically focused on naval propulsion. - BlueHalo & MARSS Group have announced a partnership. The partnership will focus on incorporating BlueHalo’s Titan RF-based counter-UAS detection into MARSS’ NiDAR system to enhance threat detection and more. - Maritime Fusion - YC W25 has launched out of YC; the startup looks to develop fusion reactors for the maritime market. - Orbital Operations has launched out of YC, focusing on "developing a high-thrust, reusable space vehicle that will be stationed in orbit to perform rapid, dynamic space operations for the military." - Apple is deploying $500B to expand their U.S. manufacturing operations. The plan includes a new Houston facility for server production and boosting their investment in their advanced manufacturing fund by injecting $10B in capital, which will be used for an upskilling training academy and more. - 80 Acres Farms has raised $115M, the Ohio-based startup focused on vertical farming. General Atlantic, Siemens Financial Services, and others participated in the raise. Plantae Biosciences was also acquired by 80 Acres; Plantae develops crop improvement technology.