Picogrid
Updated in October, 2025
Headquarter: San Jose, California
Year Founded: 2020
Employees: ~25 | 2025
Business Status: Expansion
Industry Sectors: Defense technology, autonomous systems integration, command and control, military connectivity.
What is Picogrid?
Picogrid is a California-based defense technology company pioneering unified platforms that integrate sensors, autonomous vehicles, and command systems across land, air, sea, and space. Founded in 2020 by Zane Mountcastle and Martin Slosarik, Picogrid’s core mission is to break down the “stovepiped” fragmentation in defense operations by enabling open, modular, interoperable control of critical mission systems—empowering tactical and strategic operations for U.S. and allied militaries.
Why do we like it?
We find Picogrid appealing due to its platform’s ability to span both defense and commercial markets by providing critical “infrastructure” for integrating modern autonomous systems, sensors, and command interfaces across multiple domains (air, land, sea, space, and cyber). Picogrid’s technology directly addresses the military’s urgent need for open, interoperable systems that can unify siloed hardware and software—a challenge present not only in defense, but also in sectors like critical infrastructure, disaster response, and advanced industrial operations.
Core Reasons for Dual-Use Investor Appeal
Technology Platform: Picogrid delivers both hardware and software (“Legion” API and Helios/Lander/Portal platforms) that connect highly fragmented defense tools, making them usable for a broad set of government and civilian end users (e.g., military, border security, disaster response, wildfire detection, and commercial site security).
Commercial Applications: The same infrastructure powering defense missions can be adapted for commercial purposes such as critical infrastructure monitoring, security automation, and first responder support.
Scalability and Integration: Picogrid’s modular, open-architecture approach enables rapid scaling and adaptation to new market needs—allowing for quick pivots between military and civilian opportunities without extensive redevelopment.
Contract Traction: The company has secured major federal contracts (including a $1B Pentagon IDIQ and millions in U.S. Air Force, Army, and first responder programs), showing strong government validation and revenue stability while also building commercial partnerships.
What does Picogrid do?
Picogrid develops hardware and software for secure integration and real-time data orchestration across diverse defense assets. Their key product suite includes:
Legion Platform: API-first data fabric enabling unified command and control, fusing millions of data points daily from sensors, drones, radars, interceptors, cameras, and weapons systems.
Lander and Helios Edge Nodes: Rugged field hardware for sensor/data routing and AI/edge compute in contested environments.
Orion and Mission Software: Rapid integration tools for first responders, military bases, and expeditionary missions; in active use for wildfire defense and real-time ISR.
Picogrid’s cloud-driven approach gives operators complete visibility and unified action across disparate vendors—facilitating autonomous response, threat detection, and surveillance.
Operations and Strategic Partnerships
Major contracts: Over 20 DoD contracts, including a $1 billion Pentagon IDIQ for sensor integration and a recent U.S. Army contract for multi-vendor SIGINT interoperability.
Partner ecosystem: Collaborates with leading drone, radar, and air defense tech firms such as Skydio, Echodyne, and Alta Ares, enabling integrated ISR, base defense, and modular air defense for NATO and U.S. allied operations.
Manufacturing: Opened a second factory in Lawton, Oklahoma, to scale hardware production.
Market Position & Industry Impact
Strategic role: Backbone for multi-domain operations, with Legion deployed at over a dozen military bases and expeditionary sites integrating advanced sensors and ISR assets under a single operational picture.
Differentiators: Rapid system integration, open architectures, low-latency field hardware, and dynamic interoperability between both legacy and next-gen mission platforms.
AI fusion: Legion processes millions of sensor events daily and AI-enabled pipelines deliver live threat visualization and machine-speed response across land, air, and space.
Regulatory & Competitive Landscape
Sector: Defense middleware, integrated ISR/C2, open system fabric.
Competitors: Palantir (Foundry), Anduril (Lattice), Shield AI, defense primes; Picogrid’s focus is plug-and-play hardware/software for system-of-systems coherence.
Compliance: Conforms to Army’s NG C2, CMOSS, GRA, and modular open suite standards for easy adoption and upgrade
Challenges & Future Prospects
Scaling: Ramping up hardware factories and engineering headcount for demand from DoD, NATO, and allied commercial customers.
Standardization: Industry-wide need for rapid API/fabric adoption to counter emerging threats and enable joint force agility.
Innovation and Competitive Strategy
Open platform: API-driven interoperability across third-party hardware and software, supporting rapid field upgrades and affordability.
Dual-use focus: Systems support both defense and commercial missions—including base security, disaster response, targeting, and surveillance.
Partner network: Integrated with Skydio (drones), Echodyne (radar), Alta Ares (NATO air defense interceptor guidance), enabling field-proven collaborative autonomy and sensor-to-shooter solutions.
Courtesy of Caplight
Most Recent Financing Status
Recent Government and Strategic Funding
Picogrid secured a $3.2 million Air Force contract in September 2025 for expanding autonomous systems capability.
This contract focuses on upgrades to the Helios hardware platform and supports mass production and U.S. manufacturing.
Picogrid also won other government awards in 2025, including a $2.7 million Air Force program and a $1.75 million joint wildfire tech grant with MIT.
Last Venture Financing Round
The $12 million seed round closed in March 2024, led by Initialized Capital, supported by Starburst Ventures, Giant Step Capital, Credo Ventures, Domino Ventures, and Alumni Ventures.
Proceeds funded new factories in California and Oklahoma and expanded Picogrid’s Legion software and hardware platforms.
Recent partnerships and strategic collaborations include work with Palantir, Skydio, and Echodyne to extend platform integrations for defense and intelligence applications. Picogrid’s financing since the 2024 seed round has focused on government and strategic contracts rather than follow-on venture rounds, as of October 2025
IPO Potential
Picogrid is privately held; no public IPO plans. Early-stage funding, impressive contract wins, and expansion indicate substantial growth runway as defense and dual-use interoperability surge.
Picogrid Notable Investors
Picogrid’s most notable investors are primarily leading early-stage and sector-specialist venture capital funds. The investors who participated in its $12 million seed round in March 2024 are:
• Initialized Capital (lead investor)
• Starburst Ventures
• Credo Ventures
• Giant Step Capital
• Domino Ventures
• Alumni Ventures
Initialized Capital, known for backing transformative tech companies at the seed stage, was the lead investor. Starburst Ventures, a specialist in aerospace and defense, also participated, alongside several global early-stage VCs with strong records in dual-use, AI, and deep tech sectors.
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