Fall Updates, New Legislation
Dear investors, partners and friends,
Fall is off to a busy start here at Hangar, and it’s no wonder. So far, 2022 has been a remarkable year of expansion for Hangar with a growing team, new LPs, and growth across the portfolio. Below are a few important updates and achievements.
On a macro level, the economic climate, capital markets, and federal government action have reinforced key aspects of our strategy, and we see significant actionable opportunities in the months ahead. Specifically, the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act, and other legislation show the federal government’s continued focus on supporting innovative technical solutions that address critical societal problems including climate change, health care access, and broader technological competitiveness.
In past notes, we’ve highlighted new government spending efforts that we’ve all seen in the news. One ambitious effort that the press isn’t talking about is the Technology Modernization Fund. Originally created in 2017, the Biden Administration and Congress funded TMF to the tune of $1.175B, most of that coming from the America Rescue Plan. This significant allocation reflects extensive bipartisan support for improving service delivery at Federal agencies; at a time with deep partisan divisions, there has been consistent support for modernization efforts. The alignment of TMF projects with long-standing policy priorities, such as improving customer experiences and cybersecurity, is a welcome development. We’re eager to see the Biden administration pin down the last specifics on TMF’s organization and execution and see it as having strong potential to get tech enterprises more engaged in Federal modernization efforts.
Our companies are positioned to continue to take advantage of the historic public sector investment in technology, data, and software. Our political team and advisors are actively evaluating new opportunities that build on our expertise and resources.
Last month, we had the opportunity to host NYC Mayor Eric Adams and others on his team for a dinner and fruitful conversation about how to better implement technologies across Federal, state, and local governments (CNBC reported on it here). It was great to build and strengthen relationships across New York’s tech community and local government. Thanks to those of you who were able to join us.
Within the portfolio we have a series of exciting announcements:
– Cornea was officially awarded a Phase II SIBR grant by the US Department of Agriculture to advance its work using advanced computation to determine where wildfires are going and how best to stop them, which in that industry are referred to as PCLs and SDIs. The award provides $700,000 for Cornea to further advance this technology toward commercialization. This award is not yet public.
Cornea also officially onboarded its newest Incident Intelligence client, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Arizona sought a new way to communicate strategic incident information across their organization, up and down their line of stakeholders. Cornea’s Incident Intelligence was the right solution, providing a streamlined and easy-to-use system for multiple sets of users. Cornea also announced it is now a NASPO Cloud Solutions approved vendor through Carahsoft. This is an important step forward in our goal of making statewide procurement of our products fast, easy, and transparent. Cornea’s products serve mission-focused wildland fire customers and we are committed to making it simple to procure and onboard our tools to help get them into the field as soon as possible.
– Outcome secured a new commitment from Variant Investments that will allow the company to accelerate the growth of its education lending programs. Outcome offers student-friendly, inclusive, and affordable Income Share Agreements (ISAs) and Deferred Tuition Agreements (DTAs) and the commitment from Variant enables the company to significantly expand its balance sheet as it brings on new students, customers, and programs. Outcome also announced this month a partnership to build and manage an outcome-based loan program in coordination with Leadership in Flight Training (LIFT) Academy. LIFT prepares students for careers in aviation, including commercial airline pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians. LIFT is owned by Republic Airways, a codeshare partner operating more than 900 daily flights on behalf of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
– Meter will soon announce that it has secured its first subscription-based customers for its data query product focused on enterprise procurement. The Department of Homeland Security, in the final days of FY22, opened a $9M contract vehicle and purchased the first 125 seats. DHS led a group of Federal agencies that funded Meter’s early exploration and development, so this market activity is both a significant vote of confidence for the Meter effort and a move for Meter from an exploratory to a full-fledged product company.
Many thanks again to all of you for your friendship and continued support. We are continuing to raise funds to support strategic growth initiatives so please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions or need any additional information from us.
Josh