Inspired Capital @InspiredCap

Allen Control Systems has raised a $200M Series B led by Smash Capital, with participation from @craft_ventures, @rallyvc, and @InspiredCap. Low-cost drones are reshaping modern conflict, and the demand for proven counter-drone defense is accelerating. This funding enables us to scale Bullfrog, the most trusted kinetic solution built for the U.S. military and allied partners worldwide. We're hiring across manufacturing, engineering, and operations to scale the next generation of counter-drone defense.

Since meeting @StevenSimoni back in 2020 and backing @allencontrol at their pre-seed in 2024 as their first institutional partner, we've watched Steven, Luke Allen, Mike Wior, and the ACS team move with remarkable speed. Today, they're announcing a $200M Series B at a $2.2B valuation to change the world of defense for the better. Drone threats are growing faster than traditional defense systems can meet them. Commercially available drones have become one of the most urgent national security challenges of our time, and the existing solutions are expensive, scarce, and hard to scale. That's exactly the problem ACS is solving. Bullfrog, their AI-powered autonomous weapon station, is already deployed with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, and has demonstrated a 100% success rate at T-REX 26-1, one of the Department of Defense's premier counter-drone testing events. They currently have over $120M of U.S. government contracts. Congrats to the entire ACS team on this milestone. We've been fortunate to be on your team and in your corner. Read the Axios article: axios.com/2026/06/05/sma…

Congrats @MikeyShulman, @GeorgKucsko, @fut_ure (Martin Camacho), Keenan Freyberg, and the @suno team on their $400M+ round at a $5.4B valuation! When we put a small check into Suno a few years back, Mikey shared a vision that felt almost too big to imagine: a world where anyone could create music just by thinking of it. Today, 2 million subscribers are living that vision. Suno isn't just changing how music is made. It's changing who gets to make it. The shift from passive streaming to active creation is already underway, and Suno is leading it. We're so proud to have backed this team from the early days and thrilled to watch what comes next. Read the Blomberg article: bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Listen to Mikey Shulman's podcast episode on Inspired: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mik…

@nihalmehta @humanunicornpod @alexavontobel Can’t wait to listen🎧

What will our cities look like in a world of fully autonomous vehicles? After sitting down with @bsofman — one of the leaders behind autonomous trucking at Waymo — we got to imagine a very different future for cities, transportation, and the physical world. On this episode of Inspired, @alexavontobel is joined by Boris Sofman, co-founder and CEO of @BedrockRobotics, the company turning construction's most complex heavy equipment into fully autonomous machines. Bedrock is tackling one of the most urgent problems in the physical world: an industry facing record demand, a shortage of more than 500,000 workers, and no time to wait. In this conversation, they talk about what it actually takes to make heavy machinery driverless on an active job site, his predictions for autonomous vehicles in our cities, why he's skeptical about humanoids, and why physical AI may be the defining technology of the next decade. Listen to the full episode: Apple: bit.ly/4e2H1jx Spotify: bit.ly/43RlyFf Youtube: bit.ly/4uMvoUJ

If you're an engineer ready to build something that matters, Sweep is hiring! Sweep is building the defense layer for the AI age. They're already deployed in the world's highest-stakes environments: Olympic delegations, F1 paddocks, global tours, and executive protection units. As an early-stage startup, there's a real opportunity to shape the product from the ground up. Full Stack Engineer: Own user-facing systems and internal tools across web, mobile, and backend. JS + Python + Rust/Go, LLMs, production reliability. ML Systems Engineer: Turn raw signal into trusted decisions across device, cloud, and offline environments. Own the pipeline from ingestion to inference. Embedded Hardware Engineer: Own PCB layout and firmware for systems that leave the lab and operate under real conditions. Countermeasure Engineer (CEMA): Deploy globally, identify cyber-physical threats in the field, and turn those interactions into system learning. These roles would be a fit for you if: • You want to own problems end-to-end at the ground floor • You're comfortable operating where nothing is labeled and decisions have real consequences • You want pre-Series A equity and a team that moves fast with low ego sweep360.ai

We hosted our @inspiredcap AGM last week at our NYC HQ. Always one of my favorite days of the year gathering all of our favorite people in one room. We started Inspired seven years ago focused on building an enduring early stage venture brand. We were pretty opinionated on how to do that (@alexavontobel literally showed me a "25 year plan" when we first met): balance west coast ambition and east coast pragmatism, small/diversified partnership, concentrated fund model, fund size continuity, thesis oriented, hype avoidant, not competing on the vectors of "loud" or "most quoted" but rather operating towards one KPI: can we be a founder's first call at every phase of the journey? We are three funds and ~28% of the way through that initial 25 year plan. We've had the privilege of supporting 75+ founding teams. Nine are unicorns. Four companies have traversed the 300m revenue mark. Five more have crossed 100m. 25% of the overall portfolio has cleared 30m in revenue, with 40% north of 10m. Our first expected public company just filed their updated S-4. We've built a portfolio not around themes or trend cycles, but around extraordinary people solving problems that matter. Traction tends to follow. Lots of wood still to chop. But it's nice from time to time to stop and feel both momentum and gratitude. Onwards.

What if every employee at your company had a world-class coach in their corner? In a world of AI, human employees become more important than ever. On this episode of Inspired, @alexavontobel sits down with @_maxdshaw and @bdistel, two of the three co-founders of @trywindmill, the AI-powered people platform replacing the broken, once-a-year performance review with something employees actually love. Brian previously founded Yext, taking it public in 2017, and now the team is building what may be the most important missing system in every company. Inspired is proud to have led Windmill's recent seed round. In this conversation, they talk about why performance management is so broken, how AI is going to make managers dramatically more effective as their teams grow, and why the companies that win the next decade will be the ones that invest in their people, not automate them out. Listen to the full episode: Apple: bit.ly/4tMszSA Spotify: bit.ly/4dUj6Un Youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=vpv8YM…

Are you a payments operator looking to make a real impact at a high-growth startup? @Winible is hiring a Head of Payments and Risk. @Winible is building the infrastructure layer for the sports betting creator economy. Creators monetize their audiences through subscriptions, picks, and digital products, and Winible has already scaled to multi-million in monthly GMV. Now payments performance and risk management are core levers of growth, and they need someone to own them. This role would be a fit for you if: • You want to own the full payments stack: authorization rates, fraud systems, dispute strategy, and everything in between • You're analytical enough to diagnose issues from data and move fast enough to fix them • You're comfortable leading strategy and getting hands-on with execution DM us if you're interested.

What if the next Oscar winner made their film entirely with AI? On this episode of Inspired, @alexavontobel sits down with @c_valenzuelab, co-founder and CEO of @runwayml, the company that pioneered AI video generation and is building the world models that will power the next era of human storytelling. Now valued at $5.3 billion, @runwayml is used by Hollywood studios, gamers, architects, teachers, and everyday creators around the world. Cristóbal brings a uniquely historical lens to the biggest technological shifts in human history and genuine optimism about where humanity is headed. In this conversation, they talk about why AI is becoming a creative collaborator, what entirely new forms of entertainment world models will unlock, and why the future of work with AI is brighter than we think. Listen to the full episode: Apple: apple.co/42PDq2P Youtube: bit.ly/49yLzwn Spotify: bit.ly/4uAYSEW

Introducing Stand’s World Model, a physics-native frontier model for the built environment. This is how we help the world survive catastrophe: by computing how physical force acts on a structure, protecting property from fire, wind, flood, or earthquake.

Are you a marketer or partnerships builder who wants to join a category-defining company? Here are 4 standout roles in the Inspired portfolio: @arketafitness | Brand Marketing Director Building the operating system that helps modern fitness and wellness businesses manage and scale hybrid experiences. ShopMy | Senior Manager, B2B Marketing Building the infrastructure for creator-led commerce, helping brands and tastemakers scale performance-driven partnerships. @niuralHQ | Partnerships Manager, Head of Marketing and Growth Revolutionizing global workforce management with an AI-powered platform unifying payroll, compliance, and operations across 150+ countries. Share with your network, and if you're ready for your next marketing or partnerships role, join our talent portal or DM for the direct application link. inspiredcapital.typeform.com/to/HcKgoZad

@trywindmill @PrimaryVC @fcollective @oceansventures People matter more! Let's go Windmill!!

@TarkManner @trywindmill @bdistel @_maxdshaw Incredible! Congrats Mark, Max, Brian, and the entire @trywindmill team!!

@_maxdshaw 👏 let's go @trywindmill !

The most important decisions a company makes are about its people. Yet most organizations are still making them based on memory, instinct, and an annual survey. We're thrilled to share that Inspired Capital led @trywindmill's $8M seed round, bringing their total raised to $12M. Founded by @_maxdshaw, @bdistel, and @TarkManner, Windmill is building the context graph for your people: a continuously updated understanding of your workforce that starts with performance reviews that complete in 1/10 the time with 93% employee satisfaction. The signal about who is performing, who is growing, and who is ready for what comes next already exists inside your organization. Windmill makes it legible. Excited to welcome Max, Brian, Mark, and the entire Windmill team to the portfolio! Read Why We Invested: bit.ly/4ucyv7I Read more in Axios: bit.ly/4eLbjJl

Is AGI already here? @lorenc_dan thinks we might be closer than we realize. On this episode of Inspired, @alexavontobel sits down with @lorenc_dan, co-founder and CEO of @chainguard_dev, the company that secures the open source software that powers everything from your phone apps to critical systems worldwide. Dan reveals what the future of engineering looks like, what happens to software security when everyone can code, and how Chainguard is building the safety layer the entire software industry needs. Listen to the full episode: Youtube: bit.ly/4vHHsHM Apple: apple.co/4e8d17z Spotify: bit.ly/4mHDQSh

Across our @InspiredCap portfolio, teams are hiring full-stack engineers to build core product from the ground up! These are high-impact roles where you'll ship end-to-end and shape technical direction alongside founding teams. You might be a fit if you: • Have experience building production-grade products at high-growth, venture-backed companies • Work comfortably across the full stack • Like to partner closely with founders and product leads Companies hiring now include Arketa, Remark, @KalepaInsurance, @solacehealth_ , @GoodInside, and more! If this sounds like you or someone you know, join our talent network here: inspiredcapital.typeform.com/to/HcKgoZad

What happens when millions of small business owners retire and there's no one to take over? With nearly 90% of US small businesses owned by Boomers and Gen X, this isn't hypothetical. On this episode of Inspired, @alexavontobel sits down with @Teamshares founder and CEO Michael Brown, to talk about how he built Teamshares, a company that buys small businesses from retiring owners, why he believes going public is just the first inning, and the 200-year vision behind everything he's building. We've been proud to back Michael since 2020 and couldn't be more excited about what's ahead! Listen to the full episode: Youtube: bit.ly/3QDH5hj Apple: apple.co/3OCijO8 Spotify: bit.ly/4mvjYBI For important information related to the proposed business combination, see here: businesswire.com/news/home/2026…