001© 2026
MinasTirith/home
Venture capital for
the age of deterrence.
MinasTirith backs founders building autonomous systems, space infrastructure, and the software of national security — from first check to program of record.
Featured Investments
Portfolio Selection (2022 — 2026)
2025
Beacon
Aerospace.
Proliferated low-Earth-orbit sensing for missile warning and space domain awareness — from seed prototype to a constellation on orbit in 26 months.
2024
Rampart
AI.
AI-native command and control that fuses every sensor into one operating picture — fielded across three combatant commands.
2024
Helm
Robotics.
Attritable autonomous aircraft built at automotive cost and software speed — ten thousand flight hours and two programs of record.
Explore
Selected
Investments.
Recent investments across the domains where deterrence is decided.
Investment
Focus.
We invest where technology decides outcomes — the domains that will define deterrence for the next fifty years.
01.
Autonomous Systems
[ AIR, GROUND & MARITIME ]
Attritable aircraft, uncrewed vessels, and robotic ground systems that put mass back on the side of the free world. We back teams building autonomy at automotive cost and software speed.
- Pre-seed to Series A
- $500K – $15M first checks
- Hands-on DoD go-to-market
02.
Space & ISR
[ LAUNCH, SENSING, RESILIENCE ]
03.
AI & Decision Systems
[ C2, SENSOR FUSION, EDGE COMPUTE ]
THE WATCH
we keep.
"
The best deterrent is a defense industrial base that moves at the speed of software and builds at the scale of war.
Alexander WardManaging Partner
THE FIRMBased in Arlington, VA.
Deployed Globally.
Deployed Globally.
Beacon
Rampart
Helm
Warden
Anvil
Beacon
Rampart
Helm
Warden
Anvil
Beacon
Rampart
Helm
Warden
Anvil
Beacon
Rampart
Helm
Warden
Anvil
Founders &
Endorsements.
Long partnerships with the founders rebuilding the arsenal of democracy — in their words, not ours.
Space
Leon McCallister
Co-Founder & CEO, Beacon Aerospace
MinasTirith wrote the first check when we were two engineers and a whiteboard. Two years later they walked us into the program office that became our anchor contract.
Autonomy
Rick O'Connell
Founder & CTO, Helm Robotics
They understood attritable autonomy before anyone else on our cap table. When primes came knocking, MinasTirith knew exactly which doors to open and which to close.
Software
Elara Vance
Co-Founder & CEO, Rampart AI
Our ATO took nine months instead of three years because their operating team had lived the accreditation gauntlet before. That is the difference between a fund and a partner.
By the Numbers.
A snapshot of the fund and the measurable outcomes our portfolio has delivered for national security.
$0M
Capital Under Management0+
Portfolio Companies0
Programs of Record0%
Follow-On RateFund
Milestones.
Four years of compounding conviction — measured in contracts won, not press releases.
2026
Fund II Closed at $475M
Oversubscribed2025
Beacon Wins SDA Tranche Award
First Program of Record2024
Portfolio Passes $1B Contract Value
24 Companies2023
Fund I Closed at $165M
First Close in 90 Days2022
MinasTirith Founded
Arlington, Virginia
MinasTirith
/ The Frontier We Fund
STAGES.
CONVICTION AT THE EARLIEST STAGE. CLEAR TERMS, FAST DECISIONS, AND SUPPORT THAT OUTLASTS THE ROUND.
DISPATCHES
from the wall.
FAQFREQUENTLY
FREQUENTLY
ASKED
questions.
Straight answers for founders weighing us as a partner — before you ever get on a call.
Pre-seed through Series A, with first checks from $500K to $15M. We are comfortable being the first institutional capital on the cap table — often before a company has revenue or a contract.
MinasTirith®
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Pitch us.
Tell us what you're building — whether it's a prototype in a garage, a seed round, or a Series A on the path to production.
48-Hour Response.
Every pitch is read by a partner and answered within 48 hours — a clear yes, a clear no, or a clear question. Never silence.
Clear Next Steps.
If we engage, you get a defined diligence timeline, direct partner access, and a term sheet without games.
