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Tag: artificial intelligence

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, according to the news release. In 2020, Heron’s AI-pilot defeated a U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot during the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s AlphaDogfight trials, a three-day competition designed to demonstrate algorithms capable of performing simulated, within-visual-range air combat maneuvering, according to DARPA.

“Truly special AI companies are incredibly rare assets in the defense market. Heron has developed the most advanced AI-pilot for fighter aircraft in the United States,” Shield AI cofounder and CEO Ryan Tseng said in a statement.

Heron Systems will operate as a wholly owned division of Shield AI.

“What stood out about Shield AI for us is that they’re really the only ones who have an operational AI pilot that can operate on the edge without GPS or comms, and this has been proven on combat operations,” said Heron Systems Vice President Brett Darcey.

Shield AI was founded in 2015 by Ryan Tseng, Andrew Reiter and former U.S. Navy SEAL Brandon Tseng. The company has more than 150 employees.

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 first chief data and analytics officer before that. Tarascio also held senior roles at Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky Commercial Aircraft and Services company in the innovation, engineering, programs and strategy departments.

Steve Escaravage, the senior vice president of Booz Allen’s analytics practice and AI services business, said in a statement: “Matt’s extensive domain knowledge, combined with his understanding of the unique needs of clients operating in the defense sector, make him a tremendous asset to Booz Allen and our clients.”

Tarascio hails from Australia and has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland’s Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center.

Booz Allen Hamilton wins $674M DOD contract

McLean-based Fortune 500 global management consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. was awarded a five-year, $674 million contract from the General Services Administration to maintain and support the growth of the Department of Defense’s Advana data analytics platform.

“In response to increasingly advanced threats from global adversaries, the Department of Defense has placed a clear priority on enabling ready access to data and analytics across its enterprise so its teams can make faster, smarter decisions that benefit their business, operations, and mission,” said Leslie DiFonzo, an executive vice president at Booz Allen, in a statement. “We are proud to take part in helping the Department of Defense continue the meteoric growth of the Advana platform by providing full lifecycle IT support, data engineering and analytics capabilities.”

Under the contract, Booz Allen will provide services to DOD utilizing data engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning operations, data visualization and cloud computing.

Led by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Advana integrates hundreds of DOD business systems, ranging from financial and medical data to personnel and logistics information, into one platform accessed by more than 20,000 users across 42 DOD organizations.

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 on phishing “to train and evolve Cyberfish’s machine-learning algorithms to block malicious emails in real time.”

“Together, Cofense and Cyberfish will offer a one-stop shop for an organization’s email security needs, eliminating the need for many expensive and slow-to-deploy legacy solutions,” said Cofense CEO and co-founder Rohyt Belani in a statement. “With organizations increasingly working to consolidate technology vendors, we are laying the groundwork to support our customers in this endeavor and maintain the high quality they expect in whatever solutions they adopt. This includes our ongoing commitment to the MSP ecosystem Cyberfish has developed. Disrupting the email security market is in Cofense’s DNA, and we look forward to advancing phishing detection and response capabilities for more organizations and MSPs in 2021.”

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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 late last year, also owns vineyard and ag-tech incubator Fidelis Farm in Crozet.

“Bill’s seasoned understanding of today’s network security landscape — and how to best compete — make him the perfect fit for leading CounterFlow AI during this next growth phase,” Caldejon said in a statement. “He’s proven how to scale solution offerings for high-growth and disruptive companies in the security marketplace.”

Cantrell holds a degree in electrical engineering from Capitol Technology University and previously worked for another company co-founded by Caldejon, nPulse Technologies Inc., where he served as vice president of product management. That company became FireEye Inc.

Cantrell, who joined CounterFlow AI in 2019, says the company is tackling new kinds of network security that are better able to address concerns that come with a surge in encrypted traffic.

 

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MWAA sells facial recognition system to Pangiam

VeriScan, a facial-recognition system developed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, has been sold to Alexandria-based Pangiam, a security and travel services provider, the company announced Friday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

More than 40 airlines use veriScan’s traveler verification system, which is an integrated biometric facial recognition program that debuted in 2018 at Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports, which MWAA oversees. MWAA developed the technology in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the system was sold to other airports beginning in 2018. According to Pangiam’s news release, 1.3 million passengers have been processed by veriScan since 2018, with 99% accuracy.

Although facial recognition programs have become commonplace at airports, there has been considerable controversy over the technology’s use elsewhere, particularly by police. Some states, including Massachusetts, have started passing regulations that limit the use of facial recognition technology, and the American Civil Liberties Union has called for the Biden administration to halt its use, calling it a “threat to civil rights and civil liberties when it works, and when it doesn’t.”

Pangiam’s purchase of veriScan is its first acquisition since the merger of Alexandria software company Linkware LLC and Pangiam, which were purchased by Florida-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners LP in November. The combined entity now operates as Pangiam in the commercial space, and the Linkware brand is still used for government customers.

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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 health care industry. The company’s Loudoun-based headquarters will develop and embed its AI platforms in diagnostic devices and enterprise IT systems.

“Virginia represents a confluence of values given its workforce diversity, commitment to the environment and a strong academic research setting,” said Zasti CEO Krish R. Krishnan in a statement. “It is a great place for a transformative, vision-driven business like ours to thrive. Our AI platform offers valuable health risk screening and early disease detection for communities in need while creating low-carbon pathways for our stakeholders. With continued support from Loudoun County and Virginia, we hope to grow our workforce well beyond 60 jobs.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with Loudoun County to secure the project for Virginia, which was in competition with Maryland. Northam approved a $150,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Loudoun with the project. VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program will provide funding and services for employee training activities.

“Virginia continues to push new boundaries in artificial intelligence, and we are excited to welcome a global company that is advancing both the technology and healthcare industries with its innovative platform,” Northam said in a statement. “Our commonwealth has the second-highest concentration of technology workers in the country, and Zasti’s Loudoun County operation will tap into the deep well of talent in the region to build on its mission of using artificial intelligence to address our most pressing challenges.”

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 community. The company reported more than $10 million in 2020 revenues and employs 40 people. All employees will continue in their current roles under the acquisition.

ISG will become part of AeroVironment’s MacCready Works Advanced Solutions team, which focuses on research and development.

“Acquiring ISG will enhance the intelligence of our growing, multidomain robotic systems portfolio, increase customer-funded research and development revenue and deepen our relationships with strategically important customers,” AeroVironment President and CEO Wahid Nawabi said in a statement.

The ISG facility in Manassas will operate as AeroVironment’s Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center, where the company will work on new AI capabilities.

 

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SAIC hires senior VP of artificial intelligence

Reston-based Fortune 500 defense contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has hired Michael Scruggs as senior vice president of artificial intelligence, effective immediately.

“In this newly created role, Scruggs will be responsible for driving organic growth through AI technology delivery and solutions development,” SAIC said in a statement. “He will broaden SAIC’s portfolio of AI technology delivery and customer relationships, as well as oversee strategic partnerships and development of the company’s solutions related to predictive analytics, machine learning, robotic process automation, and intelligent edge.”

Scruggs formerly worked for IBM Corp., working in cloud, data science and AI divisions.

SAIC employs more than 25,000 people and has pro forma annual revenues of $7.1 billion.

McLean-based NuWave merges with Md. firm to form AI company

McLean-based federal technology contractor NuWave Solutions LLC and Columbia, Maryland-based PCI Strategic Management announced Tuesday the companies have merged to form BigBear.ai.

NuWave CEO Reggie Brothers will become CEO of BigBear.ai and Sean Battle, former co-founder and CEO of PCI, will serve as vice chairman and chief strategy officer.

Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed. NuWave and PCI are both portfolio companies of Boca Raton, Florida-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners LP. AEI acquired NuWave in June 2020 and PCI in October 2020. Founded in 1999, NuWave Solutions offers data management, analytics, artificial intelligence and cloud technology services to government and business clients. 

“This merger instantly creates a formidable player of scale as we take the next step in realizing our vision of creating a decision dominance platform that is uniquely positioned to address the growing threats of hybrid warfare,” AEI Principal Jeffrey Hart said in a statement. “BigBear.ai serves a critical role in national security, and we look forward to supporting management to continue to innovate to provide its customers with the latest technology solutions to better address their needs.”

BigBear.ai will provide services including artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, advanced analytics, cybersecurity, digital engineering, cloud solutions and systems integration. Its customers include the Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense and the federal government. 

“This combination is a game changer for the industry,” Brothers said in a statement. “…The company’s comprehensive and seamless approach to handling and analyzing data allows our customers to better manage risk and be more prepared for the future.”

 

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