Investing up to $5M in founders solving problems critical to the USA 🇺🇸 We then help go to market, raise additional capital and connect with top mentors 🏴☠️
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Joined March 2025
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First checks up to $5M in founders building critical tech for America 🇺🇸 Nothing is too early: if you're building, we're in. Send us your pitch today: blackflag.vc/pitch
Happy Monday. Pitch us your science. We'll invest in it. Reviewing applications in t-minus 12 days. blackflag.vc/pitch
We want to meet founders early. Often times we meet founders before they even decide to start a company. We do this to help them navigate the questions they might have before taking the leap.
If you're thinking about starting a company...
blackflag.vc/pitch
More Pirates Only episodes rolling in through the end of the year. You've been asking for more, and we have some real nuggets ones incoming 🏴☠️
Check out all existing episodes, and keep a look out on blackflag.vc/pirates-only
Feedback Friday: Deep tech founders, your complexity isn't your edge. Making it simple is.
We see it all the time... A founder is building something hard, so the pitch tries to prove it. More diagrams. More acronyms. More physics.
But it doesn't always work. A confused investor doesn’t always lean in. They might quietly pass.
Building the hard thing is your job. Explaining it simply is also your job. That’s how you get the check.
Try this test. Can you answer these in plain words?
- What does it do?
- Why does it matter now?
- Why is your team the one to build it?
Nail those and your complexity becomes proof. Miss them and it’s just noise.
That’s a big part of what we do at Black Flag. We work with founders on this narrative all the time. The science stays intact, and the story starts landing.
Building in AI, aerospace, defense, energy, robotics, bio, manufacturing, or space? Send us your pitch. Even if it’s not there yet, we might be able to help.
blackflag.vc/pitch
"There's at least hundreds of gigawatts of waste heat that's just being vented essentially to our atmosphere, which if you had an economical operational solution like we're building here at American Supercritical, you've got... an economical way for good financial returns for the developers and also environmental returns for the planet."
We were lucky to have @Simon_Shuham, co-founder and CEO of @SupercriticalUS on the latest episode of Pirates Only. Andrew and Simon dive in to the biggest untapped power source for data centers: the exhaust heat from their own gas turbines.
Everyone is asking where the next gigawatt comes from. Data centers are going behind the meter and burning gas, but without a steam system, most of the heat from that burn gets vented. Simon's answer is supercritical CO2, an old idea that never got commercialized. The fuel is already being burned, so the same gas can produce up to 50% more power, with no extra gas and no water.
We also dive in to:
- Going from rocket engines to energy
- Why supercritical CO2 is the next generation of steam
- Data centers and the wasted heat behind the meter
- Finding the right technical co-founder
- Why incumbents like GE haven't built it
- Hiring and building a flexible culture in Denver
- Advice for future founders
Thanks for being on, Simon!
Watch the full episode here: blackflag.vc/episode/america…
Black Flag retweeted
Don't like forms? Don't you fret, you no longer need them to submit your pitch to @BlackFlagVC or @HarpoonVentures.
You can now pitch by email. Send your blurb, memo, deck, or even just the idea to [email protected]
No portal. No account. No hoops.
If you're building in AI, aerospace, defense, energy, robotics, biology, manufacturing, or space, we want to hear from you.
Send it.
Don't like forms? Don't you fret, you no longer need them to submit your pitch to Black Flag.
You can now pitch by email. Send your blurb, memo, deck, or even just the idea to [email protected]
No portal. No account. No hoops.
If you're building in AI, aerospace, defense, energy, robotics, biology, manufacturing, or space, we want to hear from you.
Send it.
Black Flag retweeted
“The first ten hires dictate the outcome of the company. It’s that severe.”
Alex Moore, Partner at @8vc and @PalantirTech first employee, on this week’s Fun Raising episode.
Most founders treat early hiring as filling seats. Alex says that’s the mistake. Hire real experts, give them real equity, and build a core you can rely on.
That was the secret at Palantir. Ten people the company could count on, some of whom are still there today.
Alex now runs defense at 8VC and sits on the boards of Palantir, Saronic, and Epirus. He has seen this play out from both sides of the table.
Watch the full episode here: vcsheet.com/fun-raising/alex…
All war is financial war.
When it costs $1m+ to intercept a $2k UAS, the world can become a hellscape quickly.
The only choices are to 1. lower your costs and 2. grow your financial pie. But, if others control the inputs needed to build more efficiently and grow domestically, they control your costs.
That’s why @BlackFlagVC will write $1m to $5m seed checks to builders and provide the support you need to grow quickly.
“Sell milestones, not vibes.”
Throwback to Sumant Sharma, CEO at EraDrive on Pirates Only with fundraising advice every hard tech founder needs.
Most raise their first round with a prototype. Some with just an idea. So you need a massive vision. Where the ecosystem is going, and how you’ll take the market.
But vision alone can be seen as smoke and mirrors.
Map every dollar to a concrete technical unlock. Be honest about where the tech is today. Show exactly what it takes to hit the next milestone.
Pitch it like a government grant, not a fever dream.
Watch the full episode here: blackflag.vc/episode/eradriv…
And if you're building something bold, no matter how early, we'd love to hear from you: blackflag.vc/pitch
Black Flag retweeted
Great visit with Material Hybrid Manufacturing in Miami this morning, which is developing innovative battery technology for drones like those made by Hextronics. Both startups have fewer than 25 employees but are meeting critical needs.
On Columbus Day and every day, America’s pioneering spirit is driving new frontiers in technology and national defense. 🇺🇸
Black Flag retweeted
Keep building. @BlackFlagVC is ready. $1 - $5m check and the support you need to build and grow.
Black Flag retweeted
Happy Monday. If you're building, keep on building.
And when you're ready (or even before then), we're ready too.
blackflag.vc/pitch
Happy Monday. If you're building, keep on building.
And when you're ready (or even before then), we're ready too.
blackflag.vc/pitch
$5M in dollar bills, stacked, is 1,792 feet tall.
That's taller than the Empire State Building.
It's also how much Black Flag writes into founders building critical technology for America.
Pre-traction. Pre-everything.
Pitch us and find out. blackflag.vc/pitch
Founders: You don't need to be overly secretive about your idea. And in some cases, it can hurt you.
Eric McShane, CEO of @ElectroflowTech shares some wisdom on the topic in our Pirates Only pod.
Watch the full episode here: blackflag.vc/episode/electro…
Black Flag retweeted
@BlackFlagVC has been ripping it.... Nearly all BF company has raised follow-on $$ from top-tier firms after the program.
Over half have won a government contract during or after the program..... ($40.7m in gov't deals so far)!
Black Flag invests $1–5M checks into formation-stage deep tech. The check that lets rebellious founder go after a whole industry.
If that’s you, apply. 🏴☠️
In the age of pirates, raising a black flag was a message for other ships to surrender. It was a signal, sent before a single shot was fired. It meant someone new was on the water, moving fast, and not asking for permission.
That's the kind of founders we back.
The ones building what's next in industries that have gone unchallenged for decades. The ones rebuilding how we defend, power, build, and explore. The ones who don't wait for incumbents to make room, because they plan to take the room.
If you're building in AI, aerospace, defense, energy, robotics, biology, manufacturing, or space, send us boldest idea.
blackflag.vc/pitch