J2 Ventures, a business led mostly by the U.S. armed service veterans, introduced on Thursday that it has elevated a $150 million second fund. The Boston-centered company invests in startups whose products and solutions are bought by civilians and the U.S. Section of Defense.
While numerous rising VCs are having difficulties to elevate 2nd resources, J2’s newest motor vehicle is additional than double its $67.5 million debut fund from 2021.
At very first blush, the organization may seem to be to be benefiting from VCs’ rising curiosity in defense tech. But J2 has no interest in positioning alone as a protection tech investor.
“Our portfolio is nationwide-stability adjacent, but not protection-targeted,” mentioned Alexander Harstrick, J2’s running lover. The organization does not make investments in technologies that shield vital nationwide infrastructure or assistance deter attacks, these types of as drones, robotics, or surveillance tech.
Instead, J2 backs organizations whose solutions support maintain the properly-becoming and health care of virtually 3 million people utilized by the U.S. Navy.
Harstrick explained that the DoD has historically adopted new systems before they became common with civilians. And it is not just the world-wide-web, which was partially formulated by the military services.
“The Office of Veterans Affairs was the initial to use telemedicine,” Harstrick reported. “They ended up also the to start with to undertake digital wellness records.”
J2’s healthcare investments consist of Tasso, a maker of needle-totally free blood attract tech, and Lumia Wellness, a wearable unit that measures blood flow to the mind.
The company also backs cybersecurity, infrastructure, and advanced computing startups like Femtosense, a developer of electricity-successful AI chips for sensible equipment.
J2 backs firms at the pre-seed phase to Series A and writes checks that selection from $1 million to $5 million. The firm’s limited companions include things like JP Morgan and New Mexico State Financial commitment Council.
Harstrick served as a navy intelligence officer in the U.S. Military Reserve and was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just before setting up J2, he was an investor in the Defense Innovation Device.