Participated · Series B · Jul 2026

Venus Aerospace develops rotating detonation rocket engines (RDRE) and has shifted focus toward hypersonic weapons and high-speed space vehicles after a successful flight demonstration in 2025. The company was founded in 2020 by CEO Sassie Duggleby and CTO Andrew Duggleby. Its propulsion architecture emphasizes efficiency, throttling, reusability, and manufacturability aimed at defense and space customers. Venus has conducted about 600 engine tests with a longest-duration burn of 32 seconds to date, while customers require burns of roughly 6 to 15 minutes for operational missions. This year it received a grant from the Texas Space Commission to build a larger test stand to enable longer-duration testing. The company is using new equity from its $90M Series B to fund vehicle-specific testing and development with potential customers.

Led · Seed · Oct 2023

Velostics is a Houston, TX-based software-as-a-service company specializing in unified scheduling of appointments, dock and yard management, and digitizing the gate in/out process for shippers, brokers, freight forwarders and end customers. The platform automates communication between carriers and shippers’ warehouse and plant systems and logistics teams to schedule, check-in, and load vehicles faster and error-free. The company defines unified scheduling as the orchestration of inbound and outbound truck scheduling for shippers across their supply chain from vendors to end customers. Velostics raised $1.95M in a seed+ funding round led by current investor Starboard Star, with participation from Flyover Capital, Small Ventures USA and new investor Capital Mazapil. The company intends to use the funds to grow their network of shippers and their brokers, freight forwarders and 3PL providers. Gaurav Khandelwal is the founder and CEO. Velostics provides an AI-driven SaaS platform that automates communication between carriers, facility systems, and logistics teams to schedule, check in, and load vehicles faster and without paperwork. Its location-specific Velostics Pass™ and QR-code workflows enable contactless data exchange and eliminate manual scheduling and receiving delays. Customers (3PLs, manufacturing plants and bulk terminals) report roughly a 90% reduction in scheduling costs, a 60% reduction in manual check-in time, and a 7% improvement in gate-to-gate time and throughput. The company highlights its ability to minimize demurrage and errors and to deliver ROI in a matter of months. Velostics says this value positions it to capture a $37B inbound logistics management market that is separating from warehouse and yard management. The company also cites environmental benefits, noting orchestration of truck movement reduces idling-related emissions as described by its CEO.