What Decisive Point does

Decisive Point is a privately held venture capital firm, founded circa 2021 by Thomas Hendrix (a former Green Beret and Blackstone alumnus) and headquartered in New York with additional offices in Washington D.C., Boston, and Beacon, NY. The firm invests in critical technologies for defense, energy, and infrastructure across eight focus areas — robotics and autonomous systems, high-performance computing, power generation and battery technology, mobility and logistics, artificial intelligence, human health, space awareness and in-orbit services, and advanced materials and manufacturing — across a portfolio of more than 20 active companies including Standard Nuclear, Radiant, Scout AI, Scout Space, HavocAI, Pendulum, and Pison.

The firm's underlying capability is a proprietary Portfolio Services methodology that layers full-stack advisory onto the venture investment: a government contracting engine handling compliance, opportunity screening, proposal writing, and contract administration; expertise in rapid acquisition authorities (Other Transactions, Commercial Solution Openings, Middle Tier Acquisition); and congressional appropriations and government relations support. This is complemented by the NSIN Propel accelerator, operated on behalf of the DoD's National Security Innovation Network with cohorts in New York (AFRL, 2022) and Hawaii (U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet, 2023), and ecosystem partnerships with The Engine at MIT, Techstars, and Newlab.

Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring management fees on assets under management from limited partners, carried interest from successful portfolio exits, and professional services fees from portfolio advisory and government contracting engagements. Pricing, fund size, and LP composition are not publicly disclosed. The firm co-invests with a syndicate including Washington Harbour Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Chevron Technology Ventures, Konvoy, Starship Ventures, and Lowercarbon Capital, and has grown its team to approximately 14 members including a Partner who is a Medal of Honor recipient and an advisor who is a retired Lt. Gen. (Michael K. Nagata).

Name

Decisive Point

Legal name

Decisive Point Group LLC

Website

https://decisivepoint.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Decisive Point is a venture capital firm investing in critical technologies for defense, energy, and infrastructure, pairing early- and growth-stage capital with embedded portfolio services covering federal contracting, rapid acquisition authorities, and congressional appropriations for deep-tech startups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital and Defense Technology Investment

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)

Keywords

• Defense technology venture capital
• National security investment
• Deep tech startups
• Government contracting advisory
• Critical technology investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Beacon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Venture Fund Management Fees: Recurring management fees earned on assets under management from limited partners, providing predictable baseline revenue to fund the firm's investment operations and advisory practice.
2. Carried Interest / Fund Performance: Performance-based economics on successful portfolio exits across the firm's defense, energy, and infrastructure technology investments.
3. Portfolio Advisory & Government Contracting Services: Professional services revenue from providing bespoke advisory, government contracting, program management, and customer discovery services to portfolio companies and select government/industry clients.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Core offering

Decisive Point is a venture capital firm that invests in critical technologies for defense, energy, and infrastructure, and provides portfolio companies with embedded advisory, government contracting, federal acquisition, and program management services. The firm operates the NSIN Propel accelerator in partnership with the DoD's National Security Innovation Network, running cohorts to connect deep-tech startups with Air Force Research Lab and U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet mission needs.

Product overview

Decisive Point is a venture capital firm (not a packaged software product) whose offering is structured as a core venture fund plus two service-line modules. The core offering is Decisive Point Ventures, which invests in critical technologies for defense, energy, and infrastructure across eight technology focus areas (Robotics & Autonomous Systems, High Performance Computing, Power Generation & Battery Technology, Mobility & Logistics, Artificial Intelligence, Human Health & Disease Prevention, Space Awareness & In-orbit Services, and Advanced Materials & Manufacturing). Layered on top of the fund are two service modules that operate across the portfolio: Portfolio Services, which provides government contracting, federal acquisition, appropriations, and program-management expertise to portfolio companies, and the NSIN Propel Accelerator, which runs DoD-affiliated cohorts (e.g., Air Force Research Laboratory in New York in 2022 and U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet in Hawaii in 2023) in partnership with NSIN, The Engine at MIT, Techstars, and Newlab to de-risk dual-use technologies for government adoption.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Decisive Point Ventures: Venture capital investment arm of Decisive Point, focused on critical technologies for security, energy, and infrastructure.
• NSIN Propel

Products and services

• Decisive Point Ventures Venture capital fund that invests in early- and growth-stage deep-tech startups building critical technologies for defense, energy, and infrastructure. Designed for founders on a mission, with an investment approach that amplifies impact by combining capital with embedded government-market expertise.
• Portfolio Services Bespoke advisory and government contracting services covering compliance, opportunity screening, proposal writing, negotiations, contract administration, customer discovery, program management, and congressional appropriations support, with specialized expertise in rapid acquisition authorities (Other Transactions, Commercial Solution Openings, Middle Tier Acquisition). Targeted at deep-tech portfolio companies entering the federal market.
• NSIN Propel Accelerator Accelerator program designed and operated for the Department of Defense that convenes top-tier commercial startups and connects them directly to DoD mission needs, creating viable pathways towards adoption of commercial technologies across the U.S. Government enterprise. Co-delivered with The Engine at MIT, Techstars, and Newlab ecosystem partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• DOE funding secured for Radiant Nuclear within three months of Decisive Point's investment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• U.S. Navy Pacific FleetflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet co-hosted the NSIN Propel 2023 cohort in Hawaii with Decisive Point. The Pacific Fleet encompasses 100 million square miles with approximately 200 ships/submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 Sailors and civilians.
• National Security Innovation Network (NSIN)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Decisive Point operates the NSIN Propel accelerator on behalf of the DoD's National Security Innovation Network, running cohorts that connect top-tier commercial startups with DoD mission needs. When NSIN wanted access to top-tier startups, they turned to Decisive Point to design and run the program across cohorts in New York and Hawaii.
• Air Force Research Lab (AFRL)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022AFRL co-hosted the NSIN Propel 2022 cohort in New York with Decisive Point. AFRL leads the discovery, development and delivery of warfighting technologies for U.S. air, space and cyberspace forces, providing the government customer pipeline for startups in the cohort.
• The Engine at MITcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep-tech ecosystem partnership giving Decisive Point early access to startups emerging from MIT's tough-tech venture platform, providing deal flow into America's richest deep-tech innovation centers of gravity.
• TechstarscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep-tech ecosystem partnership providing Decisive Point with early access to startups graduating from Techstars accelerator programs, including portfolio companies such as Scout Space (Techstars-backed per the Decisive Point portfolio page).
• NewlabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep-tech ecosystem partnership and host venue referenced for the NSIN Propel public announcement at newlab.com/studios/nsin-propel. Provides early access to deep-tech founders in the New York innovation ecosystem.
• U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E and Pacific Northwest National LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVia portfolio company Project Omega, Decisive Point is connected to ARPA-E and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which produced a working proof of concept for spent nuclear fuel recycling within months of engagement.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lux Capital: Deep-tech venture firm investing in defense, space, AI, robotics, and advanced manufacturing. Like Decisive Point, Lux combines deep technical diligence with government-aligned portfolio support and has overlapping investments in space and autonomy.
• Shield Capital: Defense- and national-security-focused early-stage venture firm founded by former intelligence officers; invests in autonomy, space, cyber, and dual-use deep tech with operational government expertise. Closest direct peer to Decisive Point's defense-tech thesis, team composition, and portfolio services model.
• DCVC (Data Collective): Deep-tech venture firm investing in computational, defense, and industrial applications of AI, autonomy, and advanced materials. Comparable team composition (technical founders, government experts) and thesis overlap with Decisive Point.
• 8VC: Operator-led venture firm with a strong aerospace, defense, logistics, and industrial-automation portfolio. Overlaps with Decisive Point across autonomous systems, mobility, and defense-adjacent startups, with a similarly concentrated early-stage focus.
• Playground Global: Deep-tech venture firm focused on advanced computing, space, robotics, and synthetic biology. Comparable size and thesis on frontier hardware, with overlapping government and dual-use applications relevant to Decisive Point's portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Founders Fund: Established venture firm with a prominent defense-tech track record (Palantir, Anduril, SpaceX). Operates at much larger fund size and broader sector scope than Decisive Point, but competes for the same founder pool and dual-use exit paths.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Mega-fund that has built out an explicit 'American Dynamism' practice covering defense, manufacturing, energy, and public-sector tech. Repeatedly co-invests with Decisive Point (Standard Nuclear) and competes for lead positions in scaled defense rounds.
• General Catalyst: Large diversified venture firm that has publicly launched a government and defense-tech initiative. Competes with Decisive Point for early-stage defense and resilience founders while operating across a much wider sector footprint.
• Khosla Ventures: Deep-tech and impact-focused mega-fund with exposure to nuclear, advanced energy, and frontier technology. Overlaps with Decisive Point's energy-technology investments (TRISO, spent-fuel recycling) and competes for the same founder pool.

Emerging players

• BOKA Capital (formerly Allied Minds): Early-stage investor originating defense and dual-use technologies from federal labs and universities. Closely comparable sourcing motion (federal IP transfer) and end-market focus, with a smaller, more concentrated portfolio than Decisive Point.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/decisivepointvc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/decisivepointllc
• Instagraminstagram.com/decisivepoint

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments33 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Decisive Point