Cortado Ventures backs early-stage founders building scalable companies across the Midcontinent, with a focus on long-term value creation and regional growth.
BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
This month, we celebrate Gargoyle Systems, winner of The Verge OKC, Cortado Ventures, and BLC Capital Ventures Pitch Competition. We also look back at our recent Funder Founder Dinner, where founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders gathered for an evening of meaningful conversation and connection. Our Portfolio Company Highlight features AI Driller and its AI-powered drilling technology, alongside the latest news from Agile Space Industries, CorriXR Therapeutics, Safety Radar, and Bastazo. You’ll also find applications for our 2027–2028 internship cohort, see where the Cortado team is headed this month, and explore career opportunities across our growing portfolio.
Newsletter Elements
- Cortado News
- The Verge OKC, Cortado Ventures, & BLC Capital Pitch Competition
- OKC Funder Founder Dinner
- 2027 – 2028 Internship Applications Open Now!
- Events We’re Attending
- Portco News
- Portco Highlight: AI Driller
- Portcos In The News
- CorriXR
- Safety Radar
- Bastazo
- Portco Jobs
Cortado News
The Verge OKC, Cortado Ventures, & BLC Capital Pitch Competition
Congratulations to Gargoyle Systems on winning the $20,000 uncapped SAFE investment at the inaugural pitch competition, hosted in partnership with The Verge OKC, Cortado Ventures, and BLC Capital Ventures.
Gargoyle Systems, a Tulsa-based startup, builds passive airspace security technology that detects, identifies, and tracks drones around critical infrastructure without active radar or RF emissions.
The Inasmuch Foundation also announced a $2,000 award for each of the eight participating companies, a contribution to Oklahoma’s startup ecosystem, and The Verge OKC awarded each participating company a complimentary membership through the end of 2026.
Connect with us to stay in the know about future events like this here.
OKC Funder Founder Dinner
We recently hosted a Funder Founder Dinner at bringing together investors, founders, and ecosystem leaders for an evening of conversation and connection.
A special thank you to the founders who joined and shared their companies with the group:
Brian Peck – Enthusiast Companies
Chris Byers – Vibecore
Colby DeWeese – Tobe Energy
Elaine Hamm – Cadenza Bio
Josh Garton – Prairie Biosciences
Meaghan Burns – Remote Ready OK
Trent Smith – Apricot
Kenneth Knoll – Aptly
Thank you to partners McAfee & Taft, Magellan Executive Partners, and The Verge OKC for helping make the evening possible.
Join our mailing list to learn how you can be apart of future events.
2027-2028 Internship Applications Now Open!
Applications for our 2027-2028 internship cohort are open now!
Interns work alongside our team across three tracks: Generalist Investment, MarCom, Events, & Platform, and Frontier Investment, gaining paid, hands-on experience in venture capital and the broader startup ecosystem.
Applications are open until September 16th.
Open to students and recent grads from any major who bring curiosity, initiative, and strong communication skills.
Events We’re Attending –
A look at where our team is connecting with the ecosystem this month.
- 08/14 – Leadership Oklahoma – Wewoka, OK
- 08/18–08/20 – M25 – Chicago, IL
- 08/23–08/26 – Small Satellite Conference – Salt Lake City, UT
Portco News
Portco Highlight: AI Driller
Meet this month’s Portco highlight, AI Driller, a Houston, Texas-based drilling technology company founded and led by Marat Zaripov. Zaripov built AI Driller to break down the traditional silos between drilling, completions, and production operations, applying predictive AI and unified analytics to improve decision-making across the full lifecycle of a well.
AI Driller offers a cloud-based platform that helps operators optimize real-time decisions, augment field crews, and draw insights from historical drilling data. Through its products AI Driller Cloud and AI Driller Spaces, the platform is designed to support faster, safer, and more consistent drilling operations both on-site and remotely. Built for directional drillers, engineers, and operations teams, it pairs automation with intuitive tools to reduce risk and improve efficiency across the well lifecycle, and it is designed to identify anomalies before they become costly operational problems.
We invested in AI Driller in 2021 because we believe the shift from reactive drilling workflows to predictive, data-driven operations is where the industry is heading, and Zaripov brings the background to build it. He has extensive experience in land and offshore drilling technology, including drilling engineering and operations roles at Schlumberger and a term as Vice President of New Product Development at NTR Labs, and he holds an MBA from Rice University.
Keep up with AI Driller: Website | LinkedIn
Portcos In The News
CorriXR Advisor to Lead Delaware’s Public Health Efforts as First Surgeon General
Neil Hockstein, a member of Corrixr’s Clinical Advisory Board, was named Delaware’s first Surgeon General. Dr. Hockstein describes the role as one focused on healthcare affordability, access, and emerging public health risks.
Read more here.
Safety Radar Named Exclusive HSE Platform Partner by JBW Solutions
JBW Solutions announced a partnership naming Safety Radar its exclusive preferred HSE and Risk Management platform. The partnership combines JBW’s risk management expertise with Safety Radar’s platform for hazard identification, incident reporting, compliance tracking, and performance analytics.
Read more here.
Bastazo CEO To Speak at Black Hat Conference Following Nozomi Partnership Announcement
Bastazo CEO Willi Nelson, presented alongside Axonius at Black Hat on August 5, sharing how the two platforms combine visibility data with prioritized, actionable remediation for critical infrastructure operators. This follows Bastazo’s new technology partnership with Nozomi Networks, integrating asset inventory and vulnerability data into Bastazo’s prioritization and attack simulation engine.
Portco Jobs –
Our portfolio companies are hiring! Explore open roles across sectors from engineering and sales to data science and operations below:
- Apricot Health
- Dockware
- Drov
- Lumata Health
- Motive
- Nuview
- oPRO AI
- Ox, Inc.
- Pipedream Labs
- Quantum Space
- Senior Program Manager
- Over 35 additional job opportunities available – Click here to see more!
- Safety Radar
- Volt
- Wilder Systems
What’s Happening in the Midcontinent?
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The next edition comes out on August 19, 2026!
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