Dcode Capital will help startups emerging from the Dcode accelerator program.

Nearly 100 companies have graduated from the Dcode government technology accelerator program. Many of these reverted to the firm with requests for further funding. It, therefore, decided to form Dcode Capital, a venture capitalist that will invest in these companies. The capital investments will help these firms to advance national objectives, including technology and security. (fedscoop)

New VC: Dcode Capital

Dcode Capital is an “invitation-only network of angel investors, VCs, and technology and government legends.” It will invest in further funding for tech companies serving the federal government.

Dcode is, therefore, stepping out of its original remit of helping startups to shoulder government business. By floating Dcode Capital, it is putting investors in touch with promising startups targeting government business. Additionally, the new VC could serve as a magnet to attract other startups to the field.

CEO Meagan Metzger told fedscoop that the new VC had the opportunity to help startups develop better technology from the point of view of national security. At the same time, the availability of capital would discourage these startups from accepting investments from, say, Chinese investors.

The importance of VC in the virus crisis

Ellen Lord, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, said: “It’s critically important that we understand that during this crisis the [Defense Industrial Base] is vulnerable to adversarial capital, so we need to ensure companies can stay in business without losing their technology.”

Investments

To date Dcode Capital has invested $3 million in six companies. These companies are working to provide services in the fields of data analytics, AI and IoT to federal agencies.

Investors (not named by the company) include former senior executives, CIOS, and business leaders.

The quality of these investors is also a draw for tier-one VCs.

“Our last one was with Accel and Sequoia and big names that would be really impossible to get into otherwise,” Metzger said.

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