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- Cyrus Ventures Radar - June 2025
Cyrus Ventures Radar - June 2025
Icarus wins SOF Week, El Segundo ecosystem thrives, tech giants secure 9 GW+ of nuclear capacity, defense unicorns hit record valuations.
June 2025 Edition
This edition celebrates Icarus winning the SOF Week pitch competition and their expansion into a new El Segundo facility where they hosted Mayor Chris Pimentel for Tacos and Beers. Arbor's progress toward in their hyperscaler contract redlines and evaluating a new defense manufacturing opportunity. Recent successes include closing the Chaos Inc. SPV and impressive traction across our previous investments. Plus insights on Honda's space ambitions, the $20B+ nuclear gold rush, and how global conflicts are reshaping defense tech opportunities.
Portfolio Spotlight
Cyrus is proud to support innovative companies in defense tech and energy:
Arbor Energy: Our portfolio company continues advancing toward a major announcement with their hyperscaler partner. Testing sites are on track, and the contract negotiation process is proceeding smoothly. We expect significant positive developments by year-end along with plenty of opportunity to reinvest in upcoming rounds.
Icarus: Continued momentum after the team won the SOF Week Pitch Competition. Trailing customer feedback reflected that "Icarus is a unique solution with promise." They've successfully moved to Phase II of defense program (IWTSD) worth millions, and hosted the mayor of El Segundo in their new space which provides 5x more room for scaled production.
Emerging: We’re in active term sheet discussions with an emerging defense manufacturing company which we hope to announce next month! The team aligns with our thesis and technical criteria and we look forward to welcoming them to the portfolio!
Icarus’ official test pilot reaches for the stars!
Investment Opportunities & Recent Successes
I’m working to secure allocations in several high-profile opportunities and wanted to provide some key updates from recent investments:
Emerging Opportunities : I’m actively pursuing allocations in OpenAI, XAI, and Apptronik for interested investors. While these allocations aren’t guaranteed, early conversations are promising and I will keep all interested investors updated as the opportunities continue to develop.
Recent Investment Traction:
Chaos Inc.: We just closed an SPV for a portion of their Series C round. With former CIA Director George Tenet joining as Executive Chairman, the company has remarkably achieved a program of record in just 3 years - nearly unprecedented in defense tech.
Anduril Industries: The company secured a $642M Navy contract for counter-drone systems this month and partnered with German defense giant Rheinmetall to expand into European markets. Their Arsenal-1 facility in Ohio remains on track for July 2026 production start.
Impulse Space: Fresh off announcing their multi-launch agreement with SES in May, Impulse's latest Helios vehicle will transport 4-ton satellites from LEO to GEO in just 8 hours versus months with traditional propulsion. Their first mission is scheduled for 2027.
Stoke Space: Stoke achieved a critical milestone with their first Zenith engine hot-fire test on June 5, becoming only the second entity after SpaceX to successfully test a full-flow staged combustion engine. The company is on track for orbital test flights by end of 2025.

Impulse Space’s Helios vehicle concept - enabling rapid 8-hour transfers to orbit for SES satellites
Team & Strategy
Our advisory team continues to provide invaluable insights as we evaluate opportunities in both defense tech and energy markets. Their deep industry knowledge has been instrumental in identifying promising companies while helping us avoid investments in teams that lack the technical depth to execute.
Excitingly, one of the Cyrus advisors is exploring the formation of a new venture, which speaks to the entrepreneurial energy within our network. I’ll share more as this develops, but it's a testament to the caliber of talent on the team and the opportunities they see in the market along with their capacity to execute on it.

The Cyrus team got together for food and drinks to celebrate the fund’s recent traction!
Market Insights
Here are notable developments from recent months across defense and energy:
Honda's Surprise Space Entry: Honda successfully launched and landed its first reusable rocket on June 17, reaching 271 meters in a 56-second flight. This positions Honda alongside Toyota in Japan's push to double its space industry to $55B by 2030, validating the growing convergence of automotive and aerospace technologies.
Tech Giants Commit $20B+ to Nuclear Power: The AI energy crisis has catalyzed unprecedented nuclear investments. Microsoft leads with a $16B+ commitment to restart Three Mile Island, while Google secured 2.3GW across partnerships with Kairos Power and Elementl. Meta signed for 1.1GW from Illinois' Clinton plant, and Amazon invested $1.15B+ including $500M in X-energy. This nuclear renaissance directly validates Arbor Energy's market timing.

Commitments span 2027-2039
Defense Spending Surge from Global Conflicts: The Israel-Iran escalation, Ukraine war, and South China Sea tensions have created a generational opportunity for defense tech. Israel's defense budget surged 65% to $46.5B, while regional spending hit $243B. U.S. defense stocks gained 3-5% during recent conflicts, with companies like Rafael achieving 27% revenue growth. The combat validation of missile defense systems and rapid munitions depletion are driving massive follow-on orders.

Anduril leads at over 5x the nearest competitor
Golden Dome & Market Acceleration: The Golden Dome missile defense program continues gaining momentum with bipartisan support for $24.7B in initial funding. Combined with record defense tech valuations (Anduril at $30.5B, Chaos at $2B) and accelerating contract awards, the sector offers exceptional growth potential for patient capital.
Until Next Time
The convergence of AI, energy infrastructure, and global security challenges is creating unprecedented opportunities for forward-thinking investors. From Icarus' government validation to the nuclear gold rush driven by hyperscaler demand, we're seeing our investment theses play out in real-time.
I'll be attending the Reindustrialize conference in Detroit this July - if you're planning to attend and would like to discuss our strategy and emerging opportunities, please reach out. As always, I believe successful investments grow from relationships built on trust, and there's no substitute for meeting face-to-face.
Regards,
Jordan Yashari
Founder & General Partner
Cyrus Ventures

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