The Deep End #77
Golden Dome tech gets $40M boost, Silicon Valley launches innovation zone
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Quantum Space Raises $40M Series A to Build Defense-Focused Spacecraft
Quantum Space is building the maneuver-first space infrastructure required for today’s contested domain. Its flagship platform, Ranger, enables dynamic, persistent capabilities supporting national security and commercial missions across all orbital regimes. The Ranger platform is uniquely suited to support next-generation initiatives like Golden Dome, and we believe Quantum Space can help reshape how the U.S. operates in orbit.
Regulatory Radar
Introducing Frontier Valley: A new special regulation district in Silicon Valley
Located at Alameda Point, the proposed district will focus on enabling advancements in hard tech across robotics, energy, chip technology, materials science, and more. It will operate under a lower regulatory framework to accelerate hard tech development.
Tech Terrain
Future Mobility
Why this matters: This high-altitude airship enables real-time methane leak detection, offering a powerful new tool for targeting industrial climate emissions.
Sam Altman-backed autonomous vehicle company Coco Robotics raises $80M
Defense Tech
U.S. MV-75 rotorcraft advances to replace Black Hawk after successful flight test
Why this matters: The MV-75 shows how the Army is modernizing aviation with tiltrotor tech, rapid acquisition, and digital systems to boost reach and survivability for future conflicts.
Primordial Labs Secures $1.9M Army Contract for Uncrewed Systems Integration
Energy
Nuclear startup Oklo to raise $400M in share offering
Trend to watch: Oklo’s market value has more than tripled this year, reflecting surging interest in nuclear energy.
Standard Nuclear raises $42M in funding for TRISO fuel production for advanced reactors
Advanced Computing
IBM aims to build the world’s first large-scale, error-corrected quantum computer by 2028
Why this matters: IBM aims to overcome quantum errors, the field’s biggest hurdle, to unlock transformative advances in drug discovery, materials science, and optimization.
Space
Impulse Space raised $300M for space electric propulsion tech
Trend to watch: The new round, called a “preemptive raise” by Impulse in a statement, comes less than a year after the company raised $150 million in a Series B round
Muon Space closes $146M Series B funding for mission-optimized satellite constellations