March 2026 Edition

As a Persian, I’m proud to see the US trying to free Iran

March was a defining month. Operation Epic Fury reshaped the defense landscape overnight, Iran's strikes destroyed over $1.4B in U.S. radar infrastructure, exposing exactly the vulnerabilities our portfolio is built to address. Oil surged past $100/barrel. And while legacy systems failed, our companies executed.

Arbor Energy announced a landmark 5GW partnership with GridMarket, their first major commercial deployment agreement. Anduril won a $20B Army enterprise contract, began Fury production at Arsenal-1 ahead of schedule, and was selected alongside Palantir to build the software backbone for Golden Dome. Antares remains on pace for July 4 criticality. The thesis isn't theoretical anymore, it's operational.

If you're in LA, reach out. Always happy to connect.

Portfolio Spotlight

Cyrus is proud to support transformative companies building the physical backbone of American dominance:

Arbor Energy: This was Arbor's biggest month since their Series A. On March 25, the company announced a partnership with GridMarket to supply up to 5GW of baseload power via approximately 200 HALCYON turbines, a potential $1B deal. The agreement marks Arbor's pivot from carbon removal narrative to direct clean energy provider for AI infrastructure. CEO Brad Hartwig's February POWER Magazine interview confirmed the first 25MW turbine online by 2028, with manufacturing capacity reaching 1GW annually by 2030. The company also hired Nishad Pai as Chief Commercial Officer, formerly of Heirloom Carbon, Google, and Amazon, a signal that commercial pipeline development is now a core priority.

Icarus: The Iran conflict highlighted exactly the Icarus use case: persistent surveillance over contested airspace at a fraction of traditional ISR costs. At $100K per unit versus millions for legacy platforms, the economics are increasingly compelling to defense planners facing the Strait of Hormuz reality. The company continues building on seven-figure government revenue as the DOD's Drone Dominance Program accelerates the broader defense drone ecosystem.

Volund Manufacturing: Alpha Delta Ventures announced their first-ever investment in Volund this month, citing "meaningful early traction across dual-use customers" and a "software-first mentality to scale effectively." The Redondo Beach facility continues running qualification batches for defense primes. With Iran placing real-world stress on the defense industrial base, the urgency around domestic turbojet production has never been greater.

Investment Opportunities & Updates

Our SPV positions continue to demonstrate significant momentum:

Anduril Industries: March was arguably Anduril's most consequential month ever. On March 23, the company began production of the YFQ-44A Fury at Arsenal-1, three months ahead of schedule. On March 14, the Army awarded Anduril a 10-year enterprise contract worth up to $20B, one of the largest defense contracts ever awarded to a non-legacy prime. And on March 24, the Wall Street Journal reported that Anduril and Palantir are co-developing the software backbone for Golden Dome's $185B missile defense architecture, with legacy primes serving as subcontractors, a notable inversion of the traditional hierarchy. The company also announced the acquisition of ExoAnalytic Solutions, adding a 400-telescope global network for space domain awareness.

Antares Nuclear: The team remains on pace for July 4 criticality at Idaho National Laboratory. Iran's destruction of $1.4B in U.S. radar infrastructure dramatizes exactly the energy resilience problem Antares solves, distributed, deployable nuclear reactors for forward operating bases are now an urgent procurement priority rather than a theoretical capability. The 300,000 sq ft Torrance facility can produce dozens of microreactor units per year once qualified.

Chaos Inc.: The Iran conflict delivered the most dramatic real-world validation of the distributed radar thesis in modern history. In the opening hours of Operation Epic Fury, Iran destroyed a $300M AN/TPY-2 THAAD radar in Jordan and a $1.1B AN/FPS-132 early warning radar in Qatar, precisely the centralized, single-point-of-failure systems that Chaos's architecture is designed to replace. The EU also published its Action Plan on Drone and Counter-Drone Security in February, establishing procurement frameworks that represent a meaningful expansion market for VANQUISH in the NATO theater.

Critical Loop: The company received a feature in the LA Business Journal's "Who's Who in Tech" series this month. CEO Bala Ramamurthy and co-founders spoke to the core thesis: mobile microgrids that bridge the gap between grid constraints and immediate power needs. With oil above $100/barrel and 2,300+ GW stuck in interconnection queues, the demand signal for flexible, deployable power solutions continues strengthening.

Hemispheric AI: The company remains quiet with plans to publicize their development and traction later this year. CEO Hagai Lalazar continues developing the "decoding-first" approach to non-invasive brain-computer interfaces, with applications spanning defense, healthcare, and human-machine teaming.

Impulse Space: On March 10, the company announced a new 20,000 sq ft manufacturing facility outside Boulder focused on GNC development for Mira and Helios, plus propulsion machining. Helios flights remain on schedule for 2026, with the first Caravan rideshare mission to GEO fully manifested. Anduril also confirmed an RPO mission partnership with Impulse targeting 2026.

Stoke Space: Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 14 is ready. March brought clean-pad aerial views and infrastructure readiness posts, the 121-foot umbilical tower is up, propellant farms installed, flag raised. Nova's first launch remains targeted for later this year, which would unlock competition for $5.6B in NSSL Phase 3 contracts. The $860M Series D extension continues fueling operational momentum.

Market Insights

Iran Exposes the Infrastructure Gap: Operation Epic Fury validated our thesis in real time. Iran's opening salvo destroyed over $1.4B in fixed radar infrastructure—systems that took decades to build, gone in hours. The lesson is clear: centralized, high-value assets are liabilities. Distributed systems, deployable power, and autonomous platforms are the future. Our portfolio is positioned accordingly.

Oil Prices Surge: Brent crude spiked above $100/barrel following the Strait of Hormuz disruptions, with recent prices hovering around $99-100. The volatility is accelerating hyperscaler interest in fuel-flexible and grid-independent power solutions—exactly Arbor's positioning.

Drone Warfare at Scale: Iran and its proxies have launched an estimated 2,000+ Shahed-type drones during the conflict, with some penetrating defenses and damaging infrastructure. The cost asymmetry is brutal: ~$30K attack drones versus missiles costing multiples more to intercept. Interception rates of 85-96% sound impressive until you calculate the economics at scale. This is the Chaos thesis playing out in real time.

Global Defense Spending Accelerates: The conflict has triggered defense spending increases across NATO, Gulf states, and Asia-Pacific. The EU published its Action Plan on Drone and Counter-Drone Security. Countries whose systems proved obsolete are now procurement customers. The addressable market for distributed radar, counter-drone systems, and resilient power infrastructure is expanding rapidly.

Until Next Time

March proved the thesis. Fixed infrastructure failed. Distributed systems, deployable power, and autonomous platforms are no longer theoretical advantages,they're operational necessities validated under fire.

Arbor landed a 5GW deal. Anduril won $20B in contracts and started Fury production ahead of schedule. Antares is months from criticality. Chaos's distributed radar architecture is being discussed in Senate Armed Services hearings. The convergence is here.

If you're in LA, reach out. Always happy to connect.

Regards,
Jordan Yashari
Founder & General Partner
Cyrus Ventures