Beaten Zone Venture Partners

Aero X Ventures is a specialized early-stage venture firm investing in innovative technologies that are transforming Aerospace and Defense (A&D). We are experienced investors focused on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and related A&D sub-markets with increased technology demand, competition, and M&A to generate competitive venture investment returns. Our Vision Within Aerospace & Defense (A&D), we see a meaningful opportunity to invest into early-stage companies with product traction in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Robotics & Autonomous Systems (RAS), & Smart Manufacturing. Each of these A&D sub-markets are utilizing key enabling technologies to drive scalable solutions to difficult problems and have both a military and commercial application. Within Defense, we see a positive trend and demand for private capital investment. We are particular to companies innovating and driving growth of critical technologies within the Department of Defense. We will support each portfolio company navigate market and optimize strategy. We will maximize the value of our social and intellectual capital to accelerate growth. Target companies seeking seed & series A equity financing with product-market fit Invest into companies up to $10M in annual revenue and post-money valuation up to $100M Leverage our domain expertise and network of public and private relationships Investment size of $500k to $3M Lead, Co-Lead or Participate in venture financing rounds Maximize our Strategic Advisory Board of experienced Aerospace & Defense executives and regulatory leaders

We invest $1-4M in early-stage Israeli defense tech startups and help them break into the US and scale globally.

In 2022, the free world was reminded how important it is to deny aggressors the ability to exert power over us. A new approach to defence innovation is required to make our societies more resilient. Our mission is to shorten the defence innovation cycle. We invest in technology-based start-ups that have the potential to disrupt the defence innovation cycle by 10x or more. We are looking for ordinary people in extraordinary teams with the ambition and stamina to persevere when others give up. We bring a deep understanding of the international defence innovation ecosystem and of what it takes to scale VC-backed start-ups. We add value by helping to secure customers, strategic partners and investors.

We fuel transformative change by investing in visionary entrepreneurs and commercializing path-breaking technologies from the world’s leading innovation ecosystems, with a high potential to disrupt and redefine strategic sectors of critical national importance.​ ​Together we build globally competitive ventures to deliver these innovations at optimal cost, impact and scale, while generating superior returns for our investors. ​In the process we help address critical challenges, technology gaps in national security and mission capability, through cross-border collaboration and innovation. We find, fund, and scale. We're dedicated partners, supporting our companies from early-stage to cross-border growth and successful exits. We’re venture builders and growth catalysts. We look beyond investing, seasoned operators with a hands-on approach, global execution and scale up experience with a clear focus on building the next generation of emerging technology companies, in high priority sectors. Unparalleled access to dual-use technology. We make highly selective investments and partner with companies with critical emerging, field-proven technology at the inflection point of growth. WHAT WE LOOK FOR Addressing trillion dollar segments with path-breaking innovation and opportunities to scale via an India-centric low-cost co-development and manufacturing model. We invest in mission-critical technologies with dual-use applications, for national security and strategic self-reliance.

At Snowpoint, we back dual-tech companies looking to navigate the complexities of government and commercial use. We lean on our deep industry knowledge and operational experience to help these businesses overcome the nuanced challenges and risks associated with creating innovations and cutting-edge technology that will protect our national security and deliver value to societies at large. We see a major technological shift on the global stage that is transforming all aspects of modern life and aim to be at the forefront of driving this necessary transformation across both defense and commercial markets all from the lens of rediscovering the roots of U.S. venture capital. With new technologies coming online faster than ever before and governments greatly increasing R&D spend globally we find ourselves at a precipice not seen before. In addition to continued consolidation in the defense industrial base a misalignment on incentives between the government and the commercial sector has been allowed to continue which has resulted in an inefficient process to rapidly develop and deploy innovative technologies leaving us exposed. An Innovation Mindset Cell phone, radar, GPS, the internet, and many other everyday use items owe their existence to research by governments pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. The internet’s origins date back to the late 1960s, when a DARPA-fueled research project created what was then called “Arpanet”. In the decades that followed, the world wide web emerged from Arpanet, satellites proliferated in support of global positioning systems, and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags were invented and placed on items for inventory tracking. Taken together, this set the foundation for what we now call the “internet of things” (IoT). As the IoT, the remote work movement, and geostationary orbit satellites deepen their footholds within the commercial sector, and as the battlefield grows increasingly distributed with each successive global conflict, edge communications are approaching another breakthrough age. In tandem, speed and distance with which business and militaries operate is continuously increasing, and their communications capabilities must keep pace. The world’s new level of interconnectedness has pushed many to value privacy over convenience - something that the defense sector has been doing for years. Thanks to the precipitous rise and continued exponential increase and adaptation in these technologically infused spaces, the potential on both sides of the dual-tech coin is far from being realized. We believe by backing this decade’s visionary entrepreneurs - those who create products or services which completely transform their customers’ businesses or livelihoods - will leave a tremendous impact on both the commercial and defense sectors. Inflection Point Commercial and government demand over the next decade will be vastly different than the past decades, and valuable developmental lessons learned in the late 2010s will illuminate the path forward for the next decade. Today’s robots appear to be reaching an inflection point - exponential growth in intelligence, computational power, and capabilities are accelerating. The rise in big data is creating a demand for a more efficient means of organization and analysis, setting the table for AI in dozens of verticals including healthcare, military, and industrials. The ever-tenuous geopolitical landscape is pushing billions of government dollars into developing new advances in technologies which have endless use-cases across all sectors. Against this backdrop, the major defense industrial complex in its current form lacks the processes and structure to blaze this new trail for the next generation of companies and technologies. Within this startup ecosystem, we see many compelling opportunities in the future - soon, technology will no longer limit this field’s ability to change the world. Instead, market conditions will be the greatest indicator for transformative potential, and we believe dual-tech business models will be among the most successful of all robotics, artificial intelligence, and data companies. New Frontiers As the world continues to watch tensions percolate and conflicts arise, we at Snowpoint believe that the startup ecosystem will be the answer to mitigating, protecting, and deterring. We are focused on backing and helping build exceptional companies that are intersection of both commercial and defense to further national security and societal resilience. Since 2021, there has been almost $100B invested into the Defense Tech space, which is nearly 40% higher than the prior 7 years combined. History has proven that entrepreneurs can succeed in breaking into the dual-tech space, they just need the capital to do so. The dual-tech overlap is larger than most investors realize and the ones that stand ready to back companies at the center of it will be heavily rewarded.

This structure provides us with the flexibility to construct a portfolio of the best, most innovative businesses, irrespective of stage, across healthcare, cyber, and national security, which combined constitute 24% of US GDP. Whether we are backing the most promising talent or company, we are committed to leveraging our team, network, and resources to accelerate growth and deliver meaningful outcomes to our investors and to society at large. Our values Mission: United by a shared sense of duty and deep belief in the power of innovation we are developing powerful tools and solutions to address our Nation's most pressing problems. Excellence: We believe that the great, game-changing companies of tomorrow will be created by passionate teams committed to delivering consistently excellent results in that which they do today. Collaboration: We win together and we fail together. Great results are not the products of individuals, they are the outcome of diverse perspectives, iteration, and fortitude. We root for collective success and we support each other through challenges big and small. Accountability: We are both willing and wanting to be judged based on results. Our actions and words are aligned. Always. We stand up for what we believe in and we show up for each other.