Quindar, a Lafayette-based satellite operations software startup, has received backing from Booz Allen Ventures LLC, the venture capital arm of the McLean, Virginia-based technology and consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton.
Booz Allen (NYSE: BAH) made an investment in Quindar, the companies announced, but the size of the investment was not disclosed.
Quindar creates software to automate spacecraft command and uses artificial intelligence in what it develops. Booz Allen’s investment is part of its efforts to accelerate innovation for its federal clients, primarily the Department of Defense, whose satellite and ground systems are becoming obsolete and may be replaced with AI-enabled commercial systems, according to a recent release by the company.
“Together, we aim to transform how space missions are managed, making them more efficient, secure, and accessible,” Nate Hamet, CEO and co-founder of Quindar, said in a release.
Booz Allen's strategic investment in Quindar will help open a path to near-autonomous spacecraft command and control, the company said.
“This collaboration further demonstrates the power of dual-use technology and the need for partnership between the federal and commercial arenas,” the company said.
Booz Allen Ventures was founded in 2022 with $100 million to invest in AI, cyber and data focused companies to speed innovation for the Department of Defense and federal government.
In the last two years it has made 10 investments, two of which have been space-focused — its recent investment in Quindar and its previous investment in Broomfield-based Albedo Space Corp.
In a Jan. 23 statement announcing the firm’s investment in Albedo Space Corp Chris Bogdan, executive vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton and leader of the firm’s space business, described it as one of the firm’s “most forward-looking space investments” to date.
The investments demonstrate a larger push by Booz Allen into Colorado’s space sector.
In 2019, the company purchased office space in Aurora to expand their involvement in space industries. Colorado has one of the largest concentrations of aerospace industry employment with 36,870 people employed across 350 aerospace companies, according to a 2023 release by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.
