Deterrence, a Fremont, CA- and Washington, DC-based defense technology company automating the production of energetics, raised a total of $10.1m in funding.
The round included a seed led by Riot Ventures with contributions from others including Definition Capital, Impatient Ventures, Valhalla Ventures, Banter Capital, and Dmitri Alperovitch.
Founded by Dhruva Rajendra, CEO, and Brian Jones, COO, former Co-Founders of Latch, and Henry Olgers, Head of Manufacturing, who was previously a team lead for 4680 battery cell manufacturing at Tesla, Deterrence builds ultra-scalable, ultra-flexible, ultra-precise manufacturing capacity for critical energetics—the explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnic materials that enable the high-energy effects needed for all weapon systems. The company’s hardware-software platform fully automates production and uses machine learning and robotics to improve worker safety, product quality, and scalability.
Deterrence’s production process is interconnected, enabling optimization and adaptability from raw materials to finished products. The platform’s design supports touch controls and object manipulation, addressing the core challenges of energetics manufacturing, including handling hazardous materials, cleaning, mixing, and ensuring quality.
The team also includes top engineers and operators from leading tech companies like Palantir, AWS Robotics, Rivian, and Rheinmetall, as well as veterans and special forces experts with extensive government and military experience.
