Is Defense Technology in a Bubble?
By Sherman Williams, Forrest Underwood, James Palmer, Chris Porter, Cael McCormick, and Derek Reim We at AIN Ventures have been...
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Investing in those who dare
AIN VENTURES
Achieving Profit With A Purpose
We are a seed-stage focused venture fund that invests in dual-use technology and veteran-led startups
We seek founders that possess a unique mix of leadership, determination and grit. At the stage we invest we are hyper-focused on the founder
DUAL-USE TECH
We invest in technologies that make our country and its allies safer, operate more efficiently and have a strong commercial use case.
The dual-use technology sectors that we focus on include i) space technology, ii) civic technology, iii) healthcare technology, iv) sustainability technology, v) disaster technology and vi) defense technology
VETERAN LED STARTUPS
We invest in U.S. Military Veterans, and Veterans of other uniformed services
We are industry-agnostic when it comes to veteran-led startups but we mainly focus on veterans building software-focused companies
UNDERESTIMATED MINORITIES
The AIN team grew up in the most meritocratic portion of U.S. society, the U.S. military. The U.S. military was a leader in the movement to integrate U.S. society. AIN is continuing that leadership by ensuring we invest in underestimated minorities within our portfolio
Our Founders
Our combined experience enables us to source and diligence the right companies, and even more importantly, the right founders
Co-Founder / Managing Partner
Sherman Williams II
Sherman Williams is a co-founder and Managing Partner of AIN Ventures. Sherman has an extensive history investing in dual-use technology subsegments, such as space technology and healthcare technology. Sherman has been the
VC-in-Residence to several Techstars programs. Sherman is also a Kauffman Fellow ('26). Prior to becoming an early-stage investor, Sherman gathered six years of financial transaction experience as a Healthcare Technology M&A Investment Banker. Sherman started his career as a Naval Intelligence Officer.
Sherman holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy.
Co-Founder / General Partner
Emily McMahan
Emily McMahan is a co-founder and General Partner at the Academy Investor Network. Previously, Emily served as the Founder / Executive Director of Capitol Post, an incubator that taught military veterans and their spouses how to think and act like entrepreneurs. Capitol Post was also the home of Bunker Labs DC, a national 501(c)(3) organization network of military veteran entrepreneurs dedicated to helping the military-connected community start their own business.
Before starting Capitol Post, Emily was a partner and CFO at a successful startup technology firm serving the federal government. Emily holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Patriot Boot Camp based out of Boulder, CO and lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband and three children.
We are a pre-seed and seed-stage focused venture fund that invests in dual-use technology and veteran-led startups
We seek founders that possess a unique mix of leadership, determination and grit. Founders are the most important part of our investment decision process.
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OUR PORTFOLIO
Explore our portfolio to see the companies and ideas we've invested in. At AIN, we are dedicated to investing in disruptive and innovative ideas that have the potential to change the world. Dive into our portfolio to see the exciting projects we're supporting and changing the business landscape.
We invest in pre-seed and seed-stage deep tech companies. We also invest in veteran-led startups.
The Academy Investor Network provides opportunities for Service Academy graduates to invest into top-tier startups
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