Amanda Johnson
Director Of Events
Startup profile
Darkhive
Series BSan Antonio, Texas, United States$30M raised
Open roles4
Total raised$30M
Team size11-50
Founded · Stage2021 · Series B
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Get StartedAbout the company
What they build and who they serve.
Darkhive is a San Antonio, Texas-based defense technology company founded in 2021 by U.S. Special Operations veterans John Goodson and Steve Turner. The company designs and manufactures U.S.-made, NDAA-compliant tactical uncrewed aircraft systems along with open autonomy software aimed at military and public safety users, targeting per-unit costs well below legacy defense drones. It has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Defense from inception, winning multiple SBIR and AFWERX contracts to field small UAS and edge autonomy platforms.
Team & contacts
Key people at the company—reach out on LinkedIn or email.
Why it matters
Signals from funding, traction, and product direction.
- CEO John Goodson stated Darkhive chose not to oversubscribe the pre-seed round due to strong early traction on the government-contract side.
- In 2022 Darkhive had already won five U.S. Department of Defense research-and-development contracts totaling roughly $1.6 million, including an award from the Defense Innovation Unit National Security Innovation Capital program.
- The startup targets a starting price of $4,999 for its YELLOWJACKET drone, versus $12,000-$80,000 for comparable military-use drones, with a long-term goal of pricing units under $1,000.
- Darkhive employed five people in San Antonio at the close of the pre-seed and was actively expanding its team to support defense and public-safety pilot customers.
- Round closed on the heels of Darkhive being awarded a $49.7M Pentagon APFIT contract in March 2026 — the single largest in APFIT program history.
- RTX Ventures (the corporate VC arm of $88B-revenue defense prime RTX) led the round, with new investors Draper Associates and Bison Capital and follow-on from Ten Eleven Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Alamo Angels, and Stellar Ventures.
Funding history
Rounds and investors over time, newest first.
Series B
$30MBison CapitalStellar VenturesDraper AssociatesAlamo AngelsCrosslink CapitalTen Eleven VenturesRTX Ventures · LeadSeed
$1.1MAlamo Angels
In the news
Press, announcements, and coverage about this company.
Investors
Bison CapitalStellar VenturesDraper AssociatesAlamo AngelsCrosslink CapitalTen Eleven VenturesRTX Ventures
Focus areas
SeedDefenseDrones & UAVsPublic Safety
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