Booz Allen Ventures LLC, the McLean consulting giant's venture capital arm, is backing its second space startup.
The company said Thursday it has made an investment in Quindar, a Colorado-based software development and satellite operations company. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
Quindar, , makes software to automate spacecraft command using a satellite operations platform and artificial intelligence. Booz Allen said the startup's software will boost development of near-autonomous fleet commands.
The investment reflects efforts by the federal contracting giant (NYSE: BAH) and others to fund technology such as AI, quantum computing and robotics to boost efficiency for clients like the Department of Defense. Booz Allen Ventures, founded in 2022 with $100 million to invest, has made 10 investments, including Quindar.
A Booz Allen spokesperson said the investment in the seed-stage startup is one of its earliest.
Quindar, founded in 2022 and based in Denver, closed a funding round in January after raising $6 million to further its software development. The funds served as an extension of a 2023 seed funding effort that raised $2.5 million. Investors included Fuse, Y Combinator and Founders Fund.
Nate Hamet, co-founder and CEO of Quindar, said in a release that the startup will partner with Booz Allen to support the United States' goal of autonomous command and control of hybrid fleets.
"Together, we aim to transform how space missions are managed, making them more efficient, secure, and accessible," Hamet said.
This is the second space-focused investment for the company. Last year Booz Allen invested in Albedo Space Corp., also based in Colorado and backed by Y Combinator. That investment in Albedo's optical and thermal imagery allowed Booz Allen's clients to speed up decision-making.
Booz Allen has added many artificial intelligence technology companies to its portfolio since launching two years ago. The firm used technology from Latent AI and Synthetaic, which it previously invested in, to sell its Bighorn Artificial Intelligence Kit to clients for expanding datasets and running AI across several devices.
