🔒Maine joint venture targets next wave of defense innovation

First Light Works is a new joint venture in Maine that aims to fast-track defense innovation in the state. It was formed to combine the strengths of Ateklo Inc., a Portland-based venture studio that aims to turn frontier scientific researchers into entrepreneurs; Rosc, a Boston-based venture capital fund; Gaven Capital, a Washington, D.C.-based early investor in Elon Musk’s SpaceX; as well as MedRhythms CEO Owen McCarthy and Maine & Co. CEO Peter DelGreco.

Ahead of a planned event in South Portland this Thursday, Sept. 3, in partnership with the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Mainebiz caught up with Kevin Compher, managing director of First Light Works and chief investment officer at Ateklo.

Mainebiz: What makes Maine well-positioned to become a hub for defense innovation?

Kevin Compher: Maine already has a $4.6 billion defense economy, nearly 1,900 manufacturers, 372 maritime organizations and world-class research assets like the University of Maine's composites center, all sitting at America's eastern gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic. This is not aspiration; it is measured: on the federal government's own innovation index. Greater Portland ranks 46th among all U.S. metros; Cumberland County sits in the top 6% of U.S. counties; and Maine is a top five state for veterans per capita, with roughly 216,000 veterans within 100 miles of Portland. The assets were never the question; what has been missing is the capital and validation infrastructure to turn them into companies, and that is what First Light Works supplies.

MB: In what areas do you see the most promising opportunities?

KC: Maritime autonomy, undersea sensing, advanced materials and composites, additive manufacturing and Arctic operations, because those are areas where Maine's existing strengths line up directly with where federal research dollars are heading. The common thread is that Maine already builds these things; the opportunity is connecting that capability to the people funding the next generation of it.

MB: First Light has identified capital and early-stage testing as key gaps. How will you address them?

KC: On capital, our members cover a company's whole life, from incubation through growth investment, with investors who understand government timelines. On testing, we are building independent validation capability in Maine so a company can prove its technology works here, affordably, instead of stalling out or moving away to do it.

MB: First Light Works aims to become Maine's gateway for defense innovation. How will that work in practice?

KC: In practice, it is a front door: a company, from startup to mid-market manufacturer to corporate, or an investor, comes to us and we connect them to opportunities and real government needs, get their technology tested and validated, fund it and help commercialize it. The goal is that nobody in Maine with a serious technology has to figure out the federal maze alone, and nobody in government has to look hard to find us.

MB: What will the Sept. 3 event cover, and who should attend?

KC: All six of DARPA's technical offices will be represented at the Sheraton at Sable Oaks [in South Portland] for a full-day agenda, with program managers explaining their research priorities and, just as important, how to actually work with the agency, from contracting to small business pathways. Anyone who builds, researches, or invests in Maine dual-use tech belongs there, and manufacturers most of all, because DARPA programs need production partners as much as they need Ph.Ds.

MB: What does First Light Works hope to achieve in its first 12 months?

KC: Companies: technology that got validated here, funded here and stayed here, plus a permanent channel between Maine and the agencies that fund frontier work, including the federal hub opportunities we are pursuing. If a year from now, a Maine founder can get a serious meeting with a DARPA program manager without moving to Arlington, Va., that is the win.