Moonshots Capital

Knowing when to pivot or move on is one of the hardest decisions entrepreneurs face. Even with the toughest founders, some ventures simply don’t make it. This is why our Managing General Partner Kelly Perdew recommends building a personal “Board of Directors” who can provide objective guidance. These people will be honest with you about when its time to make a change. For more on this and other venture capital insights, listen to Kelly’s episode of the Veteran Ventures Podcast here. YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dggqC8tZ Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gTXSmCZb Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gzWPsazB #VentureCapital #Entrepreneur #Startups #Leadership

Our Co-founder and Managing General Partner, Kelly Perdew, joined Christopher Hines on the Next Round Ready Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership and investing. Drawing on his West Point training and military background, Kelly shared how principles like operating under stress and fast decision-making apply directly to startups. He discussed why leadership quality is the #1 factor Moonshots Capital evaluates, how founders can leverage personal branding to win in competitive markets, and the unique challenges of building defense and dual-use companies. Key topics: - Why extraordinary leadership can be taught and forged through experience - When founders need to let go and trust their team to scale - The most important red flags to notice in founders - Why Kelly backs founders solving problems that are intrinsically important to them Watch the full episode to hear Kelly's insights on these topics and more. https://lnkd.in/gHdFR3x9 #NextRoundReady #MoonshotsCapital #ExtraordinaryLeadership #VentureCapital #DefenseTech #DualUse #VeteranEntrepreneurs

Economic pressure and widespread adoption of AI are fundamentally changing how people shop. Our portfolio company Wildfire Systems, Inc surveyed consumers to understand what these two forces mean for retail. Key takeaways for brands: • Build trust with real rewards and protections • Educate your customers on what AI can bring to the table • Leverage “safe” personal data like size, preferred brands, and purchase history • Prove tangible time and money savings to drive shoppers to your product Swipe through to see the full breakdown of findings that are reshaping how we think about the future of ecommerce. Check out Wildfire Systems, Inc for the full report. #AI #Ecommerce #ThoughtLeadership #Startups

We are excited to introduce our Military Fellow, Major (P) Alan Villanueva, who supports our dual use and defense investments while ensuring that our work aligns with United States Department of War priorities. Originally from Guam, Alan is a logistics and acquisitions professional with over 24 years of US Army experience. He earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Guam and a M.S. in Systems Engineering Management at the Naval Postgraduate School. His distinguished service includes combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, key leadership roles including Company Commanding and Regional Contracting Office Chief, and numerous awards including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. Alan's extensive operational experience and defense acquisitions expertise provide critical insight as we evaluate technologies and support founders working at the intersection of innovation and national security. #Military #Defense #VentureCapital #DualUse

Engineering work that once took months or years can now be completed in days or weeks by Proteus Space. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration has selected Proteus to conduct a rapid spacecraft conceptual design study using MERCURY, Proteus’ AI-powered computational engineering platform. In just 45 days, the team will deliver a multi-mission spacecraft design featuring enhanced performance, rapid analysis, faster timelines, reduced costs, and improved reliability. Led by David K., Proteus is helping America win the new space race by transforming how spacecraft are designed, tested, and launched. We're proud to back this team as they continue to push the boundaries of aerospace innovation. #TheFutureIsFaster #Aerospace #NASA #Space

Food delivery volume has surged 368% since 2020, creating massive operational headaches for restaurants trying to manage orders across multiple channels. Our portfolio company, Cartwheel, just announced a partnership with PAR Technology to help solve this problem, bringing Cartwheel’s delivery management tools to PAR’s network of over 120,000 restaurants worldwide. PAR’s latest industry reports shows restaurants are regaining control of the customer brand experience: loyalty transactions are up 30% and direct ordering is up 21%, while third-party delivery dropped by nearly 6%. But managing deliveries across in-house drivers and third-party services gets complicated fast, especially when operating in multiple markets. Cartwheel’s platform handles the routing decisions automatically, figuring out whether to send an order to an in-house driver or a third-party service based, factoring in distance, cost, and driver availability. This AI-powered system helps restaurants boost efficiency without compromising customer experience. We’re excited to see how Cartwheel and PAR Technology will transform delivery operations and further delight their customers. #Logistics #AI #Innovation #Startups #RestaurantTech

When disaster strikes, logisticians become lifelines by coordinating food, water, medical support, and evacuations. Gallatin AI will now be supporting military humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations thanks to the new SBIR Phase I contract. Every decision is critical in live-saving missions. Gallatin’s AI technology will now empower logisticians to make faster and more informed decisions when stakes are highest. This award builds on Gallatin’s recently announced partnership with Palantir Technologies to embed Navigator directly into government customers’ existing Palantir environments. Through this integration, Navigator provides immediate operational benefits without rework, disruption, or risk to security, addressing a critical challenge in defense technology adoption: how to deliver advanced capabilities without forcing customers to abandon existing infrastructure. Rather than building separate systems, Navigator works within Palantir environments that customers already use and trust. For logisticians, especially in contested environments, this means access to predictive AI insights through familiar interfaces, transforming manual planning into real-time decision support. Gallatin’s founders, Woody G., Daniel Buchmueller, and Brian Ballard, are mission-driven leaders who understand the operational challenges our armed forces face and are dedicated to solving them. These are the extraordinary leaders that Moonshots looks for, and we are proud to have invested in their Seed Round led by 8VC through one of our syndicates. #Defense #Military #VentureCapital #AI #Tech

We are hiring a very important role for our VC Fund: Head of Platform and Content. You will be reporting directly to Co-founders and General Partners Kelly Perdew and Craig Cummings at Moonshots Capital. If you want to get a sense of how we think and operate check out our blog: https://lnkd.in/dkzEHmVU and watch this video: https://lnkd.in/dDu32Ysw Please follow the directions in the job description linked below. We are excited to meet our new team member! #Hiring #VentureCapital #AI #Editorial https://lnkd.in/dReZPcvh

Extraordinary leadership breeds extraordinary success: three of our portfolio companies, Cart.com, Wildfire Systems, Inc, and ID.me, landed on this year's #Inc5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies. The list recognizes companies who have sustained rapid growth year after year. Swipe through to learn more about these companies and the extraordinary leadership behind them. If you want to dive deeper into the minds of the founders who are building some of America’s fastest-growing companies, you can check out their firesides on our YouTube channel: Omair T.., Founder & CEO of Cart.com: https://lnkd.in/dDNk2mdJ Jordan Glazier, Founder & CEO of Wildfire Systems: https://lnkd.in/dCVkgnUt Blake Hall, Founder & CEO of ID.me: https://lnkd.in/dGw-8ua9 #Innovation #Startups #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #Inc5000 #Growth

AI-driven fraud is a $521 billion/year crisis threatening both financial systems and national security, and ID.me just raised $340 million of debt and equity to fight back. Blake Hall and team closed their Series E led by Ribbit Capital, valuing the company at over $2 billion. With 152 million users — nearly 60% of U.S. adults — ID.me's secure digital identity wallet is becoming critical infrastructure. Criminal networks from Russia, China, and Nigeria are weaponizing deepfakes and stolen identities to exploit vulnerabilities faster than traditional security measures can respond. ID.me’s technology is evolving at the same pace to stay ahead of these threats. The numbers are proof of extraordinary leadership driving extraordinary impact: - 20.4 million new wallets added in 2024 alone - 409 million successful logins (44% increase year-over-year) - $270 billion in unemployment fraud prevented across seven states during the pandemic - Virginia's digital claims jumped 173% while call center volume dropped 57% after implementing ID.me Kelly Perdew met Blake in 2010 and has served on the Board since 2011 another 15 year “overnight” success! Moonshots Capital has invested in every round. This milestone reinforces our conviction in his mission to create a single, secure digital identity for every American. #IDme #DigitalIdentity #NationalSecurity #ExtraordinaryLeadership #SeriesE #MoonshotsCapital #DualUse #Cybersecurity