J2’s New Argonne Fund Beats Target

J2 Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm, has closed its second fund, J2 Ventures Argonne Fund LP, above its initial target of $120 million with a final $150 million of capital. The new fund, which was oversubscribed, more than doubles the size of the firm’s initial $67.5 million fund that held a final closing in 2021. 

J2 Ventures, primarily led by United States military veterans, invests in startups that serve both civilian and U.S. Department of Defense markets, demonstrating dual-use capabilities. The firm specializes in sectors critical to national security, including advanced computing, cybersecurity, telecom/infrastructure, and healthcare.

J2 typically invests from $1 million to $5 million in companies from the pre-seed stage to Series A. After investment, J2 looks to help their portfolio companies secure funding and contracts from military and other government branches in order to scale their technologies. The firm has previously advised on over $3 billion worth of Department of Defense contracts to startups.

J2 is led by its managing partners Jonathan Bronson and Alexander Harstrick. Mr. Bronson is a former investment professional with D.E. Shaw Group and Mr. Harstrick is a former intelligence officer in U.S. Reserve with deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, the J2 team has investment and operating experience in healthcare, science, technology, and defense, which solidly positions the firm in the dual-use technology venture space.

To date, the firm has invested in over 25 companies including Tasso, a Seattle-based developer of needle-free blood sampling technology; Lumia Health, a Boston-based maker of wearable in-ear devices for tracking blood flow to the head; and Femtosense, a California-based developer of energy-efficient artificial intelligence chips for smart devices.

“It is an honor to continue and significantly grow the impact we are having at J2 Ventures with our latest fund,” said Mr. Harstrick. “The growth of our portfolio, doubling down of existing LPs and attraction of some of the most sophisticated institutional investors as well is a great confidence boost that there is not only appetite for our model, but a strong and rapidly growing interest. We are truly just getting started.”

Limited partners in the Argonne Fund include JP Morgan, MetLife, and the New Mexico State Investment Council.

J2 Ventures was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Boston. With the closing of the Argonne Fund, the firm now manages over $200 million in assets.