US Innovative Technology Fund

About

US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT) is a venture capital and growth equity firm founded in 2022 by Thomas Tull, the billionaire entrepreneur best known as the founder and former CEO of Legendary Entertainment ¹². The firm is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ³.

USIT was established to invest in and rapidly scale dual-purpose technology companies with proven national security and commercial sector applications ¹. The fund initially sought to raise between $3 billion and $5 billion ¹². Guggenheim Partners is the sole limited partner of the fund ³⁴. The advisory board includes venture capitalist Jim Breyer, 8VC founder Joe Lonsdale, former Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, Rear Admiral Wyman Howard (commander of Naval Special Warfare Command), and Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd ¹².

As of early 2026, USIT has made approximately 26 investments across its portfolio ³. The fund’s portfolio includes three unicorns — Anduril, Saronic, and SandboxAQ — and has seen three acquisitions ³. In 2025, Tull also became co-chairman of TWG Global, a new investment group with Guggenheim CEO Mark Walter focused on AI capabilities across financial services and other industries ⁵.

The team includes Managing Partner Peter Tague, formerly an Executive Vice President at In-Q-Tel and a former leader of Citigroup’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions franchise ⁶⁷, and Managing Director Gaetano Crupi, co-founder and former CEO of Cabin Technologies ⁸.

Stated Thesis

USIT publicly describes itself as “an investment firm that backs early- and growth-stage technology companies with dual-use applications to the commercial sector and defense industry, including defense-tech, artificial intelligence, logistics, space, tech bio and future of compute” ³.

The fund’s stated mission centers on maintaining U.S. technological competitiveness against global rivals, particularly China. According to the fund’s fundraising documents, Chinese military investments and innovation “threaten the US-led global order that has been in place since World War II” ¹. Thomas Tull has stated: “As AI continues to rapidly evolve, it’s imperative that the U.S. remains a global leader in AI innovation” ⁹.

Peter Tague, the fund’s Managing Partner, has described USIT’s focus: “AI is revolutionizing the defense space, from intelligence gathering and threat analysis to decision support systems” ⁷.

The fund targets growth and early-stage companies in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, satellites, biotechnology, and space technology, with the explicit goal of investing in technologies that provide the U.S. strategic advantage ¹².

Inferred Thesis

Based on 12 verified investments (representing approximately 46% of the fund’s reported 26 total investments):

Sector breakdown: Defense technology and autonomous systems dominate the portfolio. Of 12 verified investments: 5 are defense-tech or autonomous systems companies (Anduril, Shield AI, Saronic, Gecko Robotics, Primer — 42%); 4 are AI infrastructure or computing (Lambda, Oxide Computer, Celestial AI, SandboxAQ — 33%); 1 is space/satellites (Capella Space — 8%); 1 is supply chain/logistics AI (Altana — 8%); 1 is semiconductor manufacturing (Halo Industries — 8%).

Stage distribution: USIT invests primarily at growth stage. Of 12 verified investments: 1 Series A (Saronic), 2 Series B (Oxide Computer, Halo Industries), 4 Series C (Gecko Robotics, Celestial AI, Altana, Oxide Computer Series C), 1 Series D (Stoke Space, Primer), 2 Series E (Anduril, Lambda, Shield AI Series E), 1 Series F (Shield AI), 1 growth equity (Capella Space). The fund skews heavily toward Series B and later — this is not an early-stage seed fund despite the stated “early- and growth-stage” language.

Check size: USIT writes very large checks. Verified lead investments range from $60M (Capella Space growth equity) to leading $510M rounds (Stoke Space). The fund has led rounds of $200M (Altana Series C), $175M (Celestial AI Series C), $200M (Oxide Computer Series C), $100M (Oxide Computer Series B), $80M (Halo Industries Series B), and co-invested in rounds of $1.48B (Anduril Series E) and $1.5B+ (Lambda Series E).

Geographic concentration: All 12 verified portfolio companies are U.S.-based, consistent with the fund’s national security thesis.

Dual-use pattern: The strongest pattern is the dual-use technology thesis — nearly every portfolio company has both commercial and defense/government customers. Gecko Robotics inspects military and industrial infrastructure; Capella Space provides SAR imagery for both intelligence and commercial applications; Oxide Computer serves enterprises requiring sovereign compute; Lambda provides AI compute for both commercial and government users.

Co-investor patterns: Frequently co-invests with Founders Fund (Gecko Robotics, Anduril), Andreessen Horowitz (Saronic, Anduril), 8VC (Anduril), ARK Invest (Shield AI), Eclipse (Oxide Computer), and Riot Ventures (Shield AI). The fund often takes board seats alongside its investments.

Board involvement: USIT takes board seats in key investments — Gaetano Crupi joined Gecko Robotics’ board in 2023 ⁸. This suggests an active, hands-on investment approach.

Notable gap: Despite stating “biotech” as a focus area, no verified biotech/life sciences investments have been identified in the portfolio. The “tech bio” thesis appears to be aspirational rather than reflected in actual investment behavior.

Portfolio

This table represents approximately 46% of the fund’s reported 26 total investments. Additional portfolio companies have not been independently verified.

In Their Own Words

“Automated defense capabilities will play an increasingly essential role in our defense programs and are critical to our ability to remain competitive.” — Thomas Tull, Chairman of USIT, Shield AI Series E announcement, December 2022 ¹¹

“Technological competitiveness is vital to our country’s future. Capella’s cutting-edge SAR technology allows us to have accurate, real-time information about what is happening on our planet, enabling decision-makers to more quickly make critical decisions about pressing geopolitical challenges.” — Thomas Tull, Chairman of USIT, Capella Space funding announcement, January 2023 ¹²

“Preserving American military superiority requires that we not only maintain, but also build and innovate our critical defense infrastructure. Gecko is at the forefront of pioneering a new era of military readiness with robots and AI-powered software that will improve the systems necessary to maintaining our national safety and fulfill America’s vital responsibilities around the world.” — Thomas Tull, Chairman of USIT, Gecko Robotics Series C Extension announcement, December 2023 ⁸

“The increasing number of military conflicts we have seen over the last 18 months unfortunately paints a sobering view of our future defense technology needs and the important role AI will play.” — Thomas Tull, Chairman of USIT, Shield AI Series F announcement, October 2023 ¹⁴

“The sophisticated work Celestial AI is doing on interconnectivity is critical to addressing key concerns across performance and energy efficiency to ensure the industry has the necessary infrastructure to continue to innovate and scale.” — Thomas Tull, Chairman of USIT, Celestial AI Series C announcement, March 2024 ⁹

“In this new era of globalization, it is crucial for all public and private organizations to shore up their supply chains and for the whole ecosystem to maintain a streamlined, unified information flow.” — Peter Tague, Managing Partner of USIT, Altana Series C announcement, July 2024 ⁶

“AI is revolutionizing the defense space, from intelligence gathering and threat analysis to decision support systems. Primer is developing cutting-edge decision support technology for national security and military organizations that has mission critical applications.” — Peter Tague, Managing Partner of USIT, Primer Series D announcement, June 2023 ⁷

“Launch capacity is now a defining factor in the U.S.’s ability to compete and lead in the space economy. Stoke’s pioneering approach to reusable launch systems directly advances our national security and commercial access to orbit.” — Thomas Tull, Chairman of USIT, Stoke Space Series D announcement, October 2025 ¹⁸

“We believe Lambda is well-positioned to solve the defining infrastructure challenge of our time: generating enough compute power for AI.” — Thomas Tull, TWG Global Co-Chairman & USIT Chairman, Lambda Series E announcement, November 2025 ⁵

“The most valuable infrastructure will convert kilowatts into tokens with minimal friction as AI scales.” — Gaetano Crupi, Managing Director at USIT, Lambda Series E announcement, November 2025 ⁵

“Oxide has met the moment, delivering the first truly integrated, cloud-capable infra solution that can be fully owned by the customer.” — Gaetano Crupi, Managing Director at USIT, Oxide Computer Series B announcement, July 2025 ¹⁷

“Given the pace of customer adoption and Oxide’s execution since our Series B investment, we recognized a compelling opportunity to increase our commitment.” — Gaetano Crupi, Managing Director at USIT, Oxide Computer Series C announcement, February 2026 ¹⁹

What Founders Say

“Our customers are solving some of the world’s toughest problems, from geopolitical conflicts to humanitarian crises, climate change, supply chain logistics, and more. … As we enter this next phase of growth, I’m excited to announce this follow-on round of funding from USIT, who understands our value to the world and will help us take Capella’s work to the next level.” — Payam Banazadeh, CEO and Founder of Capella Space, January 2023 ¹²

“This investment is designed to help supercharge our work ensuring the critical assets that our military relies on to protect our national security are ready. … we’re looking forward to having USIT and Founders Fund onboard helping us continue that growth.” — Jake Loosararian, CEO of Gecko Robotics, December 2023 ⁸

“This investor group is uniquely suited to accelerate our go-to-market efforts with both governments and enterprises globally.” — Evan Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Altana, on the USIT-led Series C, July 2024 ⁶

Sources