Raft

Raft

Full-stack digital consulting with cloud-native solutions

Overview

Raft is a full-stack digital consulting partner focused on delivering fast, scalable, data-intensive solutions for federal clients. Its offerings center on modern software delivery using human-centered design and agile practices, with deep expertise in DevSecOps, Kubernetes management, cloud-native microservices, and secure, open-source delivery within the CNCF ecosystem. The company emphasizes building with open source to avoid vendor lock-in and ensure interoperability, while maintaining a people-first culture and flexible, practical work norms. Raft positions itself as a problem-solver willing to tackle ambitious challenges, aiming to help government partners accelerate missions through secure, reliable digital services that work beyond standard bank hours. Its SBA 8(a) WOSB status and open-source approach set it apart from traditional competitors and align with clients seeking adaptable, long-term technology partners.

About Raft

Simplify's Rating
Why Raft is rated
B-
Rated B on Competitive Edge
Rated B on Growth Potential
Rated C on Differentiation

Industries

Data & Analytics

Consulting

Enterprise Software

Cybersecurity

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$60M

Headquarters

Reston, Virginia

Founded

2018

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Leonardo DRS agreed July 28, 2026 to buy Raft for $450 million cash.
  • The deal closes Q4 2026 and plugs Raft into Leonardo's defense sales channel.
  • January 22, 2026 CENTCOM awarded Raft Desert Sentry after a five-day vendor bake-off.

What critics are saying

  • Q4 2026 closing still needs regulatory approvals; CFIUS can delay or block Leonardo.
  • Raft's revenue depends on U.S. defense OTAs; budget resets stall deployments.
  • Leonardo can absorb Raft's brand and engineering team, crushing recruiting and autonomy.

What makes Raft unique

  • Raft's open-architecture Data Platform and AIMS fuse data without vendor lock-in.
  • July 14, 2026 Kronos put Raft inside Space Force battle management.
  • March 11, 2026 Lightning Surge proved live-fire, tactical-edge decision workflows.

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Funding

Total Funding

$60M

Above

Industry Average

Funded Over

2 Rounds

Acquisition funding comparison data is currently unavailable. We're working to provide this information soon!
Acquisition Funding Comparison
Coming Soon

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-2%

1 year growth

-1%

2 year growth

2%
Washington Technology
Aug 4th, 2026
Leonardo DRS views Raft's software as the 'thinking part'

Leonardo DRS views Raft's software as the 'thinking part' Stay Connected Find opportunities - and win them. August 4, 2026 02:28 PM ET In talking with Wall Street, Leonardo DRS CEO John Baylouny explains the technology equation that led the company to move on this $450 million cash purchase. Leonardo DRS is eyeing its $450 million cash agreement to acquire Raft as a way of adding more software into an overall edge compute offering, which includes a significant cognitive element. During Leonardo DRS' second quarter earnings call with investors Thursday, chief executive John Baylony laid out the rationale for the transaction and direction the company sees this move as taking it. Baylony cited the Air Force, Space Force, Special Operations Command and intelligence community as agencies where Leonardo DRS has a larger footprint with Raft in tow. Raft is also providing its data platform for the Army's Next Generation Command and Control effort to establish a common data baseline. Then there is the technology equation Leonardo DRS is looking at, which Baylouny laid out for analysts on the call. "We've been really focused on sensing and computing and communications and force protection, and those sensors that we created and have in the marketplace really need to have that intelligence," Baylouny said. "As Raft likes to say, sensors need a brain. "In the future, autonomous platforms are going to increasingly need to sense the battlespace, make sense out of the battlespace and do something about it and act," Baylouny added. Leonardo DRS has historically worked on the front end of that technology ecosystem, in particular the sensors and computing infrastructure. Raft enters into the "thinking part" of events happening out in the field and that involves software, Baylony said. For the Army NGC2 effort specifically, Raft's platform works to convert data acquired from sensors in a way that helps AI algorithms read it across the enterprise. Baylouny said Leonardo DRS is looking to "immediately have synergies" from having both its hardware and Raft's software working on that problem set. This transaction is also taking place against the backdrop of the Pentagon's acquisition reform agenda to transform how it buys goods and services from industry, especially software. Baylouny described that push as one where the customer is moving toward more purchases of solutions, versus individual components and subsystems on more of a piecemeal basis. "This was one of the missing pieces that we needed to fill to get to that level," Baylouny said of Raft. "We're heading off at the pass where the customers are moving, so that's a big structural change in both the way that the customers are buying and what we're selling and how we're selling."

Handelsblatt
Jul 28th, 2026
Leonardo buys AI company in the US for $450 million.

Leonardo buys AI company in the US for $450 million. Leonardo acquires the US company Raft, specialized in AI. It is the first acquisition under new CEO Lorenzo Mariani and shows that he is continuing the strategy of his predecessor. 07/28/2026 - 8:36 PM Logo of the Italian defense group Leonardo: focus on digitalization and artificial intelligence. Photo: Bloomberg Rome. The Italian defense company Leonardo is acquiring US company Raft, which specializes in artificial intelligence (AI) and logistics, for $450 million (around €400 million) in cash. Leonardo announced this on Tuesday after the stock market closed. The acquisition is being carried out through Leonardo's US subsidiary Leonardo DRS, based in Arlington, Virginia, and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026. Founded in 2018, Raft offers so-called mission software, i.e., software for controlling and coordinating complex operations. The company specializes in merging data from different areas as well as in AI. Leonardo CEO Lorenzo Mariani said the acquisition strengthens Leonardo DRS's ability to "provide integrated, mission-oriented technologies that enable customers to act faster, more clearly, and more securely in complex operational environments." First acquisition after CEO change. This is the first transaction under Mariani, who has been at the helm of the state-owned defense group since May. It shows that he wants to continue the group strategy of his predecessor Roberto Cingolani with a focus on digitalization and AI.

GlobeNewswire
Jul 28th, 2026
Leonardo DRS to Acquire Raft, Expanding Multi-Domain AI, Data Fusion and Mission Software Capabilities

Press release announcing the Leonardo DRS acquisition of Raft...

PR Newswire
Jul 14th, 2026
Raft wins US Space Force Kronos contract for AI-driven battle management system

Raft has been selected by the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command to deliver a prototype Dynamic Planning & Battle Management System for the Kronos Family of Systems modernisation effort. The Prototype Other Transaction Agreement will leverage Raft's Raft Data Platform and Raft AI Mission System to provide operators with a unified environment for planning, coordinating, executing and assessing operations. Kronos is the Space Force's modernisation effort focused on advancing space operations, command and control, battle management and space intelligence. The prototype will utilise Raft Data Platform as the operational data layer, enabling integration of disparate data sources. Built on that foundation, the AI Mission System will employ multi-agent AI workflows to support mission planning, course of action development and execution monitoring.

ExecutiveBiz
May 13th, 2026
Lockheed demonstrates NGC2 prototype during Balikatan military exercise.

Lockheed demonstrates NGC2 prototype during Balikatan military exercise. * Lockheed demos NGC2 prototype during Balikatan 2026 exercise * The prototype enabled real-time coordination across joint and coalition forces * Army continues scaling NGC2 architecture Lockheed Martin demonstrated its Next Generation Command and Control prototype during the Balikatan annual military exercise in the Philippines, using a unified data platform to coordinate fires systems, airspace management and battlefield operations across the Indo-Pacific. The company said Tuesday the Team Lockheed Martin NGC2 prototype enabled cross-domain data sharing and live operational coordination between forces operating in the Philippines, Hawaii and the continental United States. The demonstration involved the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division, the Capability Program Executive Command and Control Information Network, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the I Marine Expeditionary Force, I Corps, and the 613th Air Operations Center. Battlefield command and control modernization is among the key topics at the 2026 Army Summit, hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on June 18. Senior Army officials participating in the panel discussion, "Tech Stack After Next: What's Still Needed to Enable a Hyperconnected Battlefield," will discuss the technologies, architectures and integration challenges associated with building a more connected operational environment across joint and coalition forces. Register now! What capabilities were demonstrated at Balikatan 2026? The prototype provided a live operational picture across a distributed theater while supporting sensor-to-shooter coordination during a counter-landing live-fire exercise. Apache helicopters, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers, mortars and howitzers executed coordinated fires while the system displayed operational data and battle damage assessments in real time. The prototype also integrated radar and data-link feeds into a shared airspace management interface designed to provide real-time "safe-to-fire" cues for pilots and ground operators. "During Balikatan, success came down to how well we could integrate across Army units, joint forces and Indo-Pacific partners," said Chandra Marshall, vice president of multi-domain combat systems at Lockheed. "That ability to operate seamlessly across the coalition is what makes Team Lockheed Martin's NGC2 prototype real," she added. How does Balikatan support the Army's NGC2 effort? The exercise marked the first division-level NGC2 demonstration of cross-domain data sharing within the 25th Infantry Division operational environment and was conducted alongside Lightning Surge 3, the third in a series of exercises designed to incrementally scale the NGC2 data layer's capabilities. The Army is using Lightning Surge exercises to refine the architecture through rapid iteration and operational soldier feedback. Lockheed said Lightning Surge 4 will focus on logistics mission integration for the 25th Infantry Division. NGC2 is the Army's initiative to modernize command and control through a shared data layer and an artificial intelligence-enabled operational environment. Earlier this month, Brig. Gen. Shane Taylor, capability executive officer for Command and Control Information Network, said the Army plans to field NGC2 capabilities across all 11 divisions during the Future Years Defense Program timeline. Which companies support the NGC2 prototype? Lockheed is developing the prototype alongside several technology partners, including Raft, Lyntris, Rune and Amazon Web Services. Raft CEO Shubhi Mishra, a two-time Wash100 Award recipient, previously said the company is providing the data layer and AI engine supporting battlefield decision-making within the NGC2 architecture. Previous Lightning Surge demonstrations integrated AI-enabled mission applications from Raft, Accelint and Rune to support voice-driven tasking, logistics forecasting and battlefield visualization.

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