Booz Allen Hamilton launches $100M VC fund
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. has formed a $100 million corporate venture capital arm, the McLean-based Fortune 500 global management consultancy announced Wednesday. Named Booz Allen Ventures LLC, the arm will invest in early-stage companies and technologies across four categories: defense, artificial intelligence/machine learning, cybersecurity and deep technology. “We are proud and excited to cont[...]
Fluence to acquire renewable energy SaaS company
Arlington-based energy storage and digital application company Fluence Energy Inc. announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Nispera AG. Nispera is a Zurich-based artificial intelligence and machine learning-enabled software-as-a-service company that targets the renewable energy sector. It helps clients monitor, analyze, forecast and improve renewable energy assets’ perfo[...]
Amazon, Va. Tech partner on machine learning initiative
Virginia Tech announced Thursday morning that it is partnering with Amazon.com Inc. on an artificial intelligence and machine learning research initiative that will have a presence at both Tech’s Blacksburg campus and its emerging Innovation Campus in Alexandria. Dubbed the Amazon-Virginia Tech Initiative for Efficient and Robust Machine Learning, the program will include doctoral student [&[...]
Manassas bio research supplier wins $5.5M in federal grants
Manassas-based biological materials management nonprofit American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) announced Tuesday that it won three Defense Threat Reduction Agency grants valued at more than $5.5 million to identify new therapeutic approaches to viruses. “ATCC is committed to supporting this global health initiative by providing the novel scientific research and development solutions needed[...]
Guidehouse acquires McLean tech company
Tysons-based consulting company Guidehouse completed its acquisition of McLean-based Dovel Technologies Inc., the company announced Monday. Financial terms of the transaction, which was announced in September, were not disclosed. “With the Dovel acquisition now complete, we are thrilled to join forces and welcome our new colleagues to Guidehouse as we combine our technology-first business models[...]
Clarabridge to be acquired by Utah firm in $1.13B deal
Reston-based software company Clarabridge Inc. is being acquired by Provo, Utah-based data analytics firm Qualtrics International Inc. in a nearly $1.13 billion all-stock deal, the companies announced Thursday. Clarabridge’s platform uses artificial intelligence to provide conversational analytics — it is able to analyze customer feedback from indirect sources like social media, emails, suppor[...]
Shield AI acquires Alexandria-based defense contractor
Alexandria-based defense contractor Heron Systems Inc. was acquired by San Diego-based technology company Shield AI, according to announcement Thursday from Shield AI. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The companies will work on the deployment of artificial intelligent pilots for military aircraft. Shield AI is applying self-driving car technologies to military aircraft, acc[...]
Booz Allen Hamilton hires senior VP to lead AI practice for DOD
McLean-based Fortune 500 global management consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. has hired Matt Tarascio as a senior vice president in its Strategic Innovation Group, it announced Wednesday. Tarascio will lead the analytics and artificial intelligence business to support the Department of Defense. Tarascio was previously Lockheed Martin Corp.’s vice president of AI, and its […]
Leesburg anti-phishing tech company Cofense buys Israeli firm
Leesburg-based tech firm Cofense, which specializes in phishing detecting and response solutions, announced Wednesday that it has acquired Israel-based Cyberfish, a company that provides artificial intelligence-based technology to battle phishing emails and websites. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. According to a news release, Cofense plans to use the data it has gathered [...]
CounterFlow AI names new CEO
Charlottesville-based CounterFlow AI has named its chief product officer, Bill Cantrell, as CEO effective April 2, the network security firm announced today. Cantrell will succeed Randy Caldejon, who co-founded the company in 2017 and will continue as its executive chairman and vice president of engineering. Caldejon, whose Crozet Coffee Co. was acquired by Grit Coffee […]
Health care AI company bringing U.S. HQ to Loudoun
Zasti Inc., a health care-related artificial intelligence technology company, is investing $5.9 million to establish its U.S. headquarters in Loudoun County, creating 60 jobs, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. Founded in 2017 in India, Zasti, which is Sanskrit for “prediction,” develops AI-based risk screening, predictive analytics and climate change solutions for the hea[...]
Calif. company buys Progeny Systems division for $30M
Simi Valley, California-based unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) company AeroVironment announced Wednesday it has acquired Manassas-based Progeny Systems Corp.’s Intelligent Systems Group (ISG) for $30 million in an all-cash transaction. ISG develops artificial intelligence-enabled computer vision, machine learning and perceptive autonomy technologies for the Department of Defense and intelligence [...]