CX2 Story – In 2023, Nathan Mintz answered a life-changing call. On the other end of the line stood Porter Smith, a seasoned United States military veteran and investment partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Smith had just returned from war-torn Ukraine, where he witnessed a profound shift in the nature of modern combat. No longer did soldiers primarily rely on infantry, armored vehicles, and aviation units. Instead, Ukraine and Russia clashed using drones, sensors, and sophisticated electromagnetic technology.
Smith’s firsthand observations lit a spark. He described to Mintz how electronic warfare now dominates the battlefield. Rather than engaging in traditional firefights, both sides unleashed an invisible war across the electromagnetic spectrum. They jammed enemy communications, disrupted drone operations, and manipulated frequencies. Smith emphasized the urgency of adapting to this new combat environment.
Mintz, drawing on his years of experience at RTX and Boeing, immediately recognized the opportunity. “It no longer makes sense to fire a $2 million missile to take out a $2,000 drone,” Mintz explained. This single statement captured the inefficiency plaguing current military operations and underscored the necessity for cost-effective, scalable solutions.
Together, Mintz and Smith co-founded CX2, a military technology startup headquartered in El Segundo, California. Their mission: revolutionize electronic warfare by delivering intelligent, adaptable systems that neutralize threats at a fraction of traditional costs.
A $31 Million Vote of Confidence
By late May 2024, CX2 had captured the attention of some of the world’s most prestigious investors. The startup secured a $31 million Series A funding round. New York-based Point72 Ventures led the round, while Santa Monica’s Upfront Ventures, Pax Ventures, and 201 Ventures joined as fresh participants. Existing heavyweights such as Andreessen Horowitz and 8VC also doubled down on their investments.
Chris Morales, a partner at Point72 Ventures, explained the firm’s bullish outlook on CX2. “We believe electronic warfare represents one of the most critical capability gaps in U.S. defense,” Morales stated. “CX2’s approach to building attritable, intelligent electronic warfare systems aligns perfectly with what we see as the future of warfare.”
The influx of capital provides CX2 with the resources to expand its engineering teams, refine its hardware and software platforms, and accelerate deployment capabilities. The investors recognize that CX2 doesn’t merely offer a product; the company delivers a crucial solution to a rapidly evolving battlefield.
Los Angeles: The Epicenter of Defense Tech Innovation
Mintz and Smith chose to build CX2 in El Segundo, tapping into Southern California’s growing defense technology ecosystem. California now hosts 10% of the world’s defense technology sector, with over half of that centered in Los Angeles, according to PitchBook. This dense concentration of talent, infrastructure, and capital creates an environment ripe for innovation.
Several other defense startups in the region have recently made headlines. Castelion, another El Segundo-based weapons manufacturer, secured $100 million in financing this February. Meanwhile, Mach Industries in Huntington Beach raised a similar amount in May. These successful fundraises demonstrate a growing appetite among venture capitalists for defense technology startups.
In fact, 2024 has already shattered records for venture capital activity in the global defense sector. As of June 11, companies in this vertical raised $3.94 billion, nearly doubling last year’s $2 billion total, with several months still left on the calendar.
The surge in funding reflects a dramatic shift in attitudes among venture firms and their limited partners. Historically, many venture capitalists avoided defense startups due to ethical concerns and restrictive investment policies. Large defense contractors like RTX (formerly Raytheon) and Lockheed Martin dominated the space, leaving little room for smaller, agile companies. Today, rising geopolitical tensions and technological advancements have reshaped these perspectives.
The Failure of Legacy Defense Contractors
Mintz believes the legacy defense giants can no longer keep pace with the demands of modern warfare. “The existing big five prime contractors are long in the tooth and are sagging under their own weight,” he said. “They’re having issues executing at the rate of what we’ve seen in Ukraine.”
He pointed out that while U.S. defense giants take years to develop new systems, foreign adversaries now create solutions in a matter of weeks. This glaring inefficiency opens the door for nimble startups like CX2 to offer faster, smarter alternatives.
Unlike the bloated processes of traditional defense contractors, CX2 moves with speed and precision. The company’s team leverages Silicon Valley’s startup culture to iterate rapidly, develop scalable systems, and integrate cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence into their platforms.
The New Frontline: Electronic Warfare
At its core, CX2 focuses on one of the most urgent and complex problems facing modern militaries—electronic warfare. Rather than launching traditional missiles or dispatching tanks, today’s military operations increasingly depend on the electromagnetic spectrum. The same connectivity that allows civilians to send emails, order groceries, or scroll through social media also enables militaries to jam radio frequencies, intercept data links, and disable enemy drones.
Electronic sensors play a crucial role in detecting and jamming these signals. When one military force disables an opponent’s communications or blinds its drones, it gains an enormous tactical advantage. CX2 specializes in building sophisticated hardware and software platforms that harness artificial intelligence to carry out these tasks at scale.
CX2 engineers design these systems to deploy quickly and affordably. Traditional jamming systems carry enormous price tags and cumbersome deployment timelines. CX2 eliminates both problems by delivering compact, flexible, and cost-effective solutions that adapt to rapidly shifting battlefields.
Industry Veterans at the Helm
The leadership team at CX2 brings deep experience from both the defense sector and Silicon Valley. Nathan Mintz previously held roles at RTX and Boeing before launching his first military tech venture, Epirus, in 2018. Mark Trefgarne, another co-founder, built and sold the video ad exchange platform LiveRail to Meta in a $500 million deal, showcasing his expertise in software and platform scaling. Meanwhile, Lee Thompson brings radio systems expertise from his work on SpaceX’s Starship program, further strengthening CX2’s technical foundation.
By blending military, software, and hardware expertise, CX2’s leadership team ensures the company remains agile, innovative, and positioned at the leading edge of defense technology.
The Future of Warfare
CX2’s rapid rise reflects a broader truth about modern warfare: traditional military tactics have grown obsolete. As conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and other regions demonstrate, today’s battles unfold in the invisible realm of radio waves and data links. The side that dominates this spectrum gains a decisive upper hand.
Mintz and Smith fully understand this reality. They designed CX2 not just to build better weapons, but to rewrite the entire playbook of military engagement. Their systems give the U.S. and its allies the tools to neutralize threats faster, smarter, and cheaper than ever before.
As venture capitalists continue pouring billions into defense technology, companies like CX2 stand at the forefront of a seismic shift. They prove that innovation, speed, and intelligence—not brute force—will define the wars of tomorrow.
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