Steve Blank

Sacramento Joins the "Tech Triangle" including San Francisco • Sacramento • San Jose with new $50M commitment from Meta! Historic news for California’s Capital Region — Sacramento is now stepping into its role as a technology and innovation hub alongside Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. Meta has just committed $50 million to support a transformative downtown California State University-Sacramento campus project, helping convert under-utilized state buildings on Capitol Mall into a vibrant mixed-use destination that will include: = Affordable student and faculty housing = A new School of Public Affairs = Room for cutting-edge academic programs and an AI Center = Cultural and community spaces contributing to downtown revitalization This landmark investment isn’t just about construction — it’s about AI innovation, investment, equity, workforce development, and economic revitalization. It positions Sacramento as a place where talent is cultivated and retained, not just trained and exported. 📍 Read more here: Meta pledges $50M to help build a new Sacramento State campus downtown — CBS Sacramento: https://lnkd.in/gkJNHZy9 This partnership between Meta, Sacramento State, and state leadership signals a new chapter for Sacramento’s role in the technology ecosystem — bridging academic excellence, innovation, and community prosperity. #Sacramento #Innovation #HigherEd #TechEcosystem #DowntownRevitalization #Meta #SacState #AI #EconomicGrowth Eric Ball, Saurabh Suri, Saurabh Ranjan, Vikas Datt, Jennifer Baker Khan, John Hooker, Aaron Mondell Anderson, Patrick Bumpus, Yatish Mishra, Sean Mishra, Dan Wadhwani, Brad Squires, Mihran Berejikian, Jackson Crawford, Jason A. Vita, Peyton Crawford

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AMAZING free resource for technology startups in California brought to you by California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)! Check out the $100K grants, technical assistance, and resources available at 13 innovation accelerators across the State. Dr. Tara Lynn Gray Trelynd Bradley E. Kaina Pereira Vivian Shimoyama Wade Martin Sunstone Cities https://lnkd.in/g4QpPrhE

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🚀 We’re thrilled to announce our investment in Samara Aerospace’s $10 million Seed round to help bring more stability to satellites in orbit and enable high-sensitivity radio frequency (RF) detection for defense (e.g. hypersonic missiles) and commercial (e.g. vessels) applications.  The round was led by Balerion Space Ventures, with participation from IllinoisVentures GP LLC, MFV Partners, and Access Holdings Samara’s vision: Samara is building a new generation of high-stability satellites, called Hummingbirds, designed to detect the faintest RF emissions from Earth and its atmosphere. The problem: Modern satellites are optimized for cost and speed, at the expense of: ⚠️ Signal instability reducing data quality and reliability ⚠️ Limited ability to detect aircraft radar, ship transponders, and advanced weather systems ⚠️ Inefficiencies that translate into lost time, resources, and data What Samara does differently: At the core of Hummingbird is MSAC (Multifunctional Structures for Attitude Control), an active vibration-cancellation system. Instead of passively damping movements and jitters, MSAC actively eliminates them, allowing for: ✅ Extreme satellite stability for ultra-weak RF signal detection ✅ Support for much larger antennas and solar arrays without sacrificing agility ✅ Cut satellite size and weight without impacting performance Traction: Samara recently launched its technology demonstrator, “Cicada” with SpaceX and received Non-dilutive funding including a $4M SpaceWERX Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) award and a NASA Phase I contract. These are in addition to more than $800m in LOIs that Samara holds with aerospace contractors and companies. Samara's plans to deploy a full constellation of these stabilised satellites, enabling faint radio signals detection for dual-use application: Defence: tracking fast-moving targets, including hypersonic missiles, with precision beyond existing technology.  Commercial/Civil: providing continuous monitoring and awareness of assets across the globe such as vessels and airplanes. What’s next: 🚀 First mission Hummingbird-1 planned for 2027 🏭 Scaling operations with a new 11,200-sq-ft production facility We’re excited to back Samara Aerospace alongside Balerion Space Ventures and What If Ventures, and are excited for what’s to come. You can read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/enZyy2Xu 💡 Want access to breakthrough ventures like Samara Aerospace? Join our investor network 👉 https://lnkd.in/g4AedRck Note: This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. #SpaceTech #Aerospace #DefenseTech #DeepTech #VentureCapital

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The Department of War is transforming how they acquire and deploy technology. We need to transform how we build technology to better support the DoW and our government. We co-founded Valinor with Julie Bush to transform time-to impact for defense tech innovation. In under a year, we've launched 5 product companies, delivering value with government contracts across the DoW, the Intelligence Community and civilian agencies. Today, we announce our Series A bringing total capital raised to $85MM. Listen below to see how Valinor Harbor's forward-deployed modular field hospital went from concept to fielding in six months. Technology by itself is not enough, we need new business models to deliver critical innovation for our government. #GlobalResilience General Catalyst

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Impressive progress from our portfolio Array Labs with a $20m Series A to scale radar manufacturing and prepare for launch. Designing radar systems for mass manufacturing, borrowing from consumer electronics and telecoms, is a powerful unlock for cost, speed, and deployment at scale. The traction speaks for itself: nine-figure contracted revenue, multiple government awards, and expanding product lines. Exciting to see this next phase of execution begin. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e93jz4k8 #SpaceTech #DualUse #Radar #DefenceTech #NewSpace

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Sources: Masayoshi Son is pitching a Shenzhen-like $1T AI and robotics manufacturing hub in Arizona, codenamed Project Crystal Land, in partnership with TSMC 

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🚀 Turning Space Ambition into Venture-Ready Companies I’m excited to see Seraphim partner with Space Florida to launch the #SpaceTech Investor Readiness Program, an initiative helping high-potential SpaceTech startups become investment-ready. By combining Seraphim’s global investor network with Florida’s rich space ecosystem, this program connects founders with the right investors, partners, and guidance to scale. The pilot brings together seven standout Florida-based companies and will culminate in a showcase at SpaceCom Orlando in January. Congratulations to: Aloft Biotechnologies AMROK Arachnid Systems BlackStar Orbital Eta Space Micro-gRx X-Lumin Florida is a great example of how strong local ecosystems and global connectivity create the conditions for lasting SpaceTech success. 🚀 Exciting times ahead for SpaceTech innovation... For more info reach out to the team: Alexander Holt, Ellie Gyaurova, Alessandro Braglia, Aida Khalil, Isabella Simmonds Read the full release here: https://lnkd.in/eFUA2QNe #SpaceTech #VentureReady #NewSpace #Aerospace #Investing #GlobalCapital #Startups #SeraphimSpace #SpaceFlorida

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