TopAbout the ListAbout Black Flag
100
Celebrating one hundred next-gen deep tech companies. Nominated by over 300 current deep tech founders pirates.
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29%
Defense
23%
Aerospace
19%
Energy
11%
Robotics + Manufacturing
Top Industries
100
Celebrating one hundred next-gen deep tech companies. Nominated by over 300 current deep tech founders pirates.
BLACK
flag
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Bay Area
39%
SoCal
29%
East Coast
14%
Texas
9%
Top Regions
300+
deep tech founders
submitted nominations for...
500+
...deep tech companies.

Congratulations to the companies and investors nominated to the very first Black Flag 100 list

How it came together

It all started a just a few weeks ago, right as we were thinking about the launch of Black Flag. We thought:

"Who are the most exciting early-stage deep tech companies flying under the radar?"

Our first reaction was to go to Pitchbook or Crunchbase, but then it dawned on us that who better to answer this question than the founders currently building these companies. And why not give them control on the final list, and remove any "VC bias".

So we went to work, emailing dozens of founders (mostly later stage) and asked this very question: "Who are the most exciting next-gen deep tech companies flying under the radar?"

The responses were incredible.

Not only did we receive multiple (in some cases 10+) nominations from these founders, but the excitement and eagerness to spotlight the next generation was inspiring. Many of these founders had nothing to gain by nominating these companies, but they did anyways, and excitedly so. It just shows that even in a competitive landscape, many founders believe that the rising tide lifts all boats.

Nomination criteria

While we love the Andurils and SpaceXs of the world, the purpose of this list was to spotlight the companies and founders that are coming up behind them.

So while these companies received multiple nominations, we decided to exclude companies that are greater than $500M in valuation, or have been building for more than 10 years.

The final results

Over three weeks we received more than 500 nominations, from companies across all sectors and stages. We tallied up the list based on the criteria above and filed the list down to 100 based on the total nominations received. It wasn't easy, and so many great companies just missed the cut (don't worry, we'll be doing this list again).

The end result is an exciting list of deep tech companies, all nominated by their peers, building a new future for America.

The Companies

unspun

Automating apparel manufacturing via 3D weaving
Sector(s)
Climatech
Manufacturing
Robotics
HQ
San Francisco, CA
Bay Area
Founded
2017

unspun is a California-based fashion technology company that is bringing apparel manufacturing back to the US. Our award-winning tech, which was recently recognized as one of the World's Top Greentech Companies by TIME Magazine, eliminates complex fashion supply chains through localization and automation in apparel production. Our principal invention, called Vega™, is the world's first 3D weaving technology for apparel.

Vega™ weaves clothing from yarn within minutes, offering higher quality and local jobs. unspun's proprietary 3D weaving and digital fit platform is the fastest, cleanest, and most cost-competitive way to produce woven apparel and accessories. It makes a future in which apparel manufacturing is automated, on-demand, and on-shored both possible and scalable.

You thought you'd be clever. Trying to sneak a  peak at the goods that this stealth startup has hidden. We wouldn't put it here so easy to find. Keep trying.

This is just some additional text to fill out the space a bit more. You can keep reading if you want, but probably not worth it to. This is just filler text.

Still here, huh? Well I don't have anything else to say except your effort won't be rewarded this time. Have a great day!

This company is in stealth 🏴‍☠️
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The Investors

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Y Combinator

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Climate Capital

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Andreessen Horowitz

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Pioneer Fund

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Lowercarbon Capital

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Mana Ventures

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Soma Capital

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Julian Capital

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Alumni Ventures

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Initialized Capital

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Sequoia Capital

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Humba Ventures

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Valor Equity Partners

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Beyond Capital

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Day One Ventures

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Caffeinated Capital

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Champion Hill Ventures

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Wayfinder Ventures

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Giant Step Capital

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8090 Industries

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Long Journey Ventures

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Starship Ventures

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Marque Ventures

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Point72 Ventures

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Harpoon Ventures

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Founders Fund

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Cubit Capital

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Quiet Capital

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Silent Ventures

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Impatient Ventures

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Capital Factory

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Rogue Capital

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Plug and Play

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Khosla Ventures

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Mythos Ventures

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Village Global

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Craft Ventures

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Space Capital

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Draper Associates

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Outset Capital

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Starburst Ventures

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Spacecadet Ventures

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Seven Seven Six

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Valhalla Ventures

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Dorm Room Fund

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Undeterred Capital

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Shrug Capital

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Human Capital

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Kindred Ventures

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Buckley Ventures

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XYZ Venture Capital

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Shield Capital

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