Investor Profile: Scout Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Scout Ventures funding is for founders building technology that works in both commercial markets and national security. If you are asking how to get funding from Scout Ventures, understand its thesis first: the Austin-based, early-stage firm backs dual-use frontier technologies, often founded by veterans, intelligence community members and researchers from premier national labs. Its mission, in founder Brad Harrison’s words, is to build technology “so capable that it deters adversaries from ever firing a shot.”

Scout Ventures funding: thesis and stage focus

Scout Ventures invests at seed stage, with capital reserved through Series B, in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, space infrastructure, cybersecurity, quantum technology and advanced power — the technologies behind how modern forces shoot, move and communicate. It focuses on enabling technologies in infrastructure, autonomy, sensing and connectivity. Founded in 2013, it operates from Austin, Texas, with offices in New York and Washington, DC. Its edge is founder fit: it seeks founders from the military, intelligence and national research laboratories.

Fund size and cheque size

In March 2026 Scout Ventures closed its oversubscribed $125 million Fund V, backing AI, autonomy, space, cyber, quantum and advanced power technologies. The firm’s individual cheque size is not publicly disclosed in its own announcements, and third-party trackers disagree on the range, so no single cheque figure is claimed here. What is public is its stage discipline: seed-stage entry with reserves through Series B, plus expertise in winning non-dilutive capital.

Notable portfolio companies

Scout Ventures points to a strong recent run of outcomes. Tomahawk Robotics, a Fund III portfolio company, was acquired by AeroVironment; Voyager Technologies completed a successful initial public offering in June 2025; and ID.me, the digital identity company, achieved unicorn status. A signature recent investment is Havoc AI, whose $11 million seed round was led by Scout Ventures and co-led by Trousdale Ventures. Havoc AI builds ultra low-cost autonomous uncrewed surface vessels for defence and commercial markets, aiming for a single operator to command thousands of unmanned assets.

Team and support

The firm was founded by Brad Harrison, its founder and managing partner, a distinguished honor graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a former US Army Airborne Ranger captain. Cody Huggins is a partner at the firm. The investment team draws on operational experience across defence, enterprise and emerging technology, and supports portfolio companies with business development, talent acquisition, go-to-market strategy and navigating complex government and commercial customer landscapes. Havoc AI’s chief executive has publicly called the firm a “force multiplier” rather than just a capital partner.

How to apply for funding

Scout Ventures does not publish an open application form, so the verified route is to approach the firm through scout.vc, the site it lists in its own announcements, ideally with a warm introduction. The strongest introductions come through its own networks: veteran founders, intelligence contacts, national laboratory researchers and research universities. Founders should lead with the dual-use case — a commercial market and a national security application — and with evidence they understand the customer’s mission from direct experience.