Govini, a defense technology software startup that takes on companies like Palantirhas surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, the company announced Friday.
“We’re growing over 100% over a three-year CAGR, and I think next year we’ll continue to do the same,” CEO Tara Murphy Dougherty told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan in an interview. With “the size of this market, we can continue to grow for a long, long time, and that’s really exciting.”
CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate, a measure of rate of return.
The Arlington, Virginia-based company also announced a $150 million growth investment from Bain Capital. The company plans to use the money to expand its team and product offerings to meet growing security demands.
In recent years, venture capitalists have poured more money into defense technology startups like Govini to address growing national security concerns and modernize the military as global conflict ensues.
The group, which includes unicorns like Palmer Luckey’s Anduril, Shield AI and artificial intelligence beneficiary Palantir, is taking on historic giants such as Boeing, Lockheed-Martin And Northrop Grummanwhich have long relied on Pentagon contracts.
Dougherty, who previously worked at Palantir, said she hopes the company can capture a “vertical slice” of the defense technology space.
Govini, 14, has already scored a series of big wins in recent years, including a U.S. government contract worth more than $900 million and deals with the War Department.
Govini is known for its flagship AI software, Ark, which it says can help modernize the military’s defense technology supply chain by better managing product life cycles as military needs become more sophisticated.
“If the United States can get this acquisition system in place, it can actually be a decisive advantage for us,” Dougherty said.
Looking ahead, Dougherty told CNBC she expects some setbacks due to the government shutdown.
Navy customers could be particularly hard hit, which could put the United States at a significant disadvantage.
While the United States maintains its dominance in AI, China is outpacing its shipbuilding capacity and this must be taken “very seriously,” she added.
Dougherty also highlighted China’s dominance in rare earths and processed minerals that are critical to making parts and systems for the military.
“The rare earth crisis that we find ourselves in is serious,” she said, “because one of the things you can see in the data that we have in our proprietary data set traces national security programs back to the raw materials.”
