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Draft:Defense Unicorns

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Defense Unicorns
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2021; 5 years ago (2021)
FoundersRob Slaughter (CEO), Jeff McCoy (CTO), Andrew Greene
HeadquartersSan Antonio, TX (Corporate Office), Colorado Springs, CO (Registered Office), U.S.
Websitedefenseunicorns.com

Defense Unicorns is an American, veteran-owned defense tech company headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2021 by Rob Slaughter, Jeff McCoy, and Andrew Greene, the company develops open source, airgap‑native technologies for secure development and delivery of mission software to mission-critical environments (cloud, on-prem, tactical edge)[1]. Defense Unicorns’ software is used in national security mission systems across the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, and Space Force.[2]

In 2026, the company reached a $1B valuation during a Series B financing round led by Bain Capital, making it an official “unicorn” startup.[3] Also in 2026, Defense Unicorns appeared as #38 on Silicon Valley Defense Group's NatSec100 list which highlights the top 100 venture/PE-backed American defense companies.[4]

History

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Founding (March 2021)
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Defense Unicorns was founded in March 2021 by Dr. Rob Slaughter, Jeff McCoy, and Andrew Greene, who had previously worked on U.S. Department of Defense innovation and DevSecOps communities. The founders established the company to address challenges in delivering software to air‑gapped and mission‑critical environments. Early work focused on aligning services with product development, beginning with Zarf, a tool for packaging and delivering software into disconnected systems.[5]

In February–March 2024, Defense Unicorns raised 35 million dollars in a Series A funding round co‑led by Sapphire Ventures and Ansa Capital. The funding was intended to accelerate product development and expand the company’s open source software and AI capabilities for national security systems.[6]

Series B and unicorn valuation
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In January 2026, Defense Unicorns announced a 136 million dollar Series B funding round led by Bain Capital. The round valued the company at over 1 billion dollars, making it a unicorn‑status startup. Investors in the round included Ansa Capital, Sapphire Ventures, and other strategic backers.[7]

Products

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Defense Unicorns creates products that deliver advanced software capabilities to authorized government systems. The company focuses on solving three significant issues: air-gapped systems, complex cybersecurity requirements, and user accessibility.[8]

Unified Defense Stack (UDS)
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UDS is an integrated software delivery system that is hardware-agnostic, open source, and meets compliance standards for the War Department.[9] It enables mission teams to deploy and operate applications in any supported environment with a secure run-time platform, facilitate obtaining an Authority to Operate (ATO) with documentation evidence to support that controls are met, and leverage open-source tools.

UDS Registry
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In June 2025, Defense Unicorns launched UDS Registry, an OCI-compliant registry specifically designed for the DOW to manage and deploy UDS packages to any mission environment.[10] It functions as an app store where warfighters can quickly select and download software specific to their missions. The software applications can be instantly integrated into weapons systems including fighter jets, submarines, and cloud environments.

Open Source Projects

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Defense Unicorns develops and maintains several open source projects aligned with its delivery platform.[11]

Zarf
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Zarf is the generic bundler and installer for UDS. It simplifies the packaging and delivery of applications, including simplifying the installation, updating, and maintenance of DevSecOps capabilities such as Kubernetes clusters and Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) compliance out of the box. The open source tool delivers platform infrastructure and applications in a declarative state via a collection of Zarf packages while reducing the need for mission personnel in constrained or classified environments to be Kubernetes or platform experts. Zarf was donated by Defense Unicorns to the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) to ensure open governance.[12]

Pepr
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Pepr is the core project that enables the agnostic runtime of applications into any UDS environment as Pepr will adjust the application configuration to be compatible with the target environment.[13] It streamlines the integration process, enabling application teams to leverage a wide range of pre-built bundles and packages without the need for extensive manual configuration.

Customers and Contracts

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Defense Unicorns’ software is used in national security mission systems for U.S. defense customers. The company won a $15 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreement from SpaceWERX to modernize IT and software at U.S. Space Force ranges.[14] Defense Unicorns often works in collaboration with integrators including BAE Systems[15] and SAIC.[16]

In March 2026, Defense Unicorns and the US Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) Software Directorate demonstrated rapid software delivery to the F-22 Raptor.[17]In April 2026, the U.S. Navy selected Defense Unicorns to test software prototypes for its ships. [18]

Reception and Impact

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Technology and defense media have described Defense Unicorns as part of a new wave of venture-backed technology startups focusing on software for military applications.[19]Commentary from defense officials, industry analysts, and the media highlights how Defense Unicorns helps the U.S. military close the gap between commercial and warfighting software.[20] Coverage of the 2026 funding round highlighted the company’s focus on air‑gapped software delivery and its unicorn valuation. Commentators have noted the company’s emphasis on open source tools and air‑gap‑native architectures for national security systems.[21]

Company Culture and Identity

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Defense Unicorns emphasizes a mission-driven culture. The company operates in a remote-first environment and prioritizes family and work-life balance.[22] Defense Unicorns also is an authorized SkillBridge provider, allowing service members to gain civilian work experience.

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References

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  1. ^ "Why UDS?". uds.defenseunicorns.com. February 5, 2026.
  2. ^ "Defense Unicorns".
  3. ^ 🖉Capital, Bain (January 13, 2026). "Defense Unicorns Raises $136 Million Series B to Build the Software Backbone of the Department of War | Bain Capital". www.baincapital.com.
  4. ^ 🖉O'Brien, Erin (May 26, 2026). "Exclusive: A First Look at SVDG's NatSec100".
  5. ^ https://blog.system76.com/ name="auto">🖉"System76 sits down with Defense Unicorns to discuss open source". System76 Blog. January 16, 2024.
  6. ^ 🖉"Defense Unicorns Raises $35- Million- Series- A- to- Advance- National- Security- through- Open- Source- Software".
  7. ^ https:///news/defense-unicorns- name="auto2"/-136-million-series-b-build-software-backbone-department-war
  8. ^ 🖉"Veteran-led 'Defense Unicorns' works to modernize US software infrastructure".
  9. ^ https://uds.defenseunicorns.com/overview/why-uds/
  10. ^ "Software repository gives warfighters access to mission-critical apps on demand". September 5, 2025.
  11. ^ https://blog.system76.com/post/defense-unicorns-interview
  12. ^ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240626960909/en/Defense-Unicorns-Announces-Contribution-of-Zarf-to-OpenSSF
  13. ^ ​​https://pepr.dev/
  14. ^ 🖉RFLc11LFRCite web|url=https://spacenews.com/space-force-selects-startup-defense-unicorns-to-update-software-at-launch-ranges/%7Ctitle=Space Force selects startup Defense Unicorns to update software at launch ranges|first=Sandra|last=Erwin|date=March 13, 2024}}
  15. ^ "BAE and Defense Unicorns Selected to Provide Scalable Secure Software Delivery Solutions for the US DoD's Platform One Solutions Marketplace | ASDNews". www.asdnews.com. July 7, 2025.
  16. ^ https://investors.saic.com/news-releases/news-release-details/saic-and-defense-unicorns-partner-transform-software-delivery
  17. ^ RFLc13LFRCite web|url=https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/defense-unicorn-f22-raptor/%7Ctitle=Defense Unicorns demonstrates rapid software delivery to F-22 Raptor|first=Jangoulun|last=Singsit|date=March 18, 2026}}
  18. ^ 🖉Pomerleau, Mark (April 9, 2026). "Navy selects Leidos, Defense Unicorns to test software prototypes for ships".
  19. ^ "Defense Unicorns bags $136 million in funding to deliver secure military software updates". January 13, 2026.
  20. ^ https://defensescoop.com/2025/09/05/defense-unicorns-uds-registry-software/
  21. ^ News, Industry (March 7, 2024). "Defense Unicorns raises $35 million to enhance national security through open-source software". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ "Defense Unicorns | Careers". defenseunicorns.com. December 29, 2025.
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