Cortado Ventures Doubleshot Newsletter: July 2026

by | Jul 15, 2026 | ArborXR, Media, Motive, Newsletters, Nuview, ONTO Health, Portfolio Companies, Purple Rhombus, Quantum Space, Safety Radar, Watkins-Conti

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)

Learn “Why We Invested” in Purple Rhombus, an aerospace and defense company advancing scalable manufacturing for unmanned aircraft systems. Meet the newest members of the Cortado Ventures team, as well as Drōv Technologies, one of our portfolio companies working to modernize commercial fleet operations. Read the latest updates from Quantum Space, Safety Radar, Nuview, Watkins-Conti, ArborXR, Onto Health, Motive, and Purple Rhombus. RSVP to this afternoon’s Pitch Competition, save the date for the opening of our 2027-2028 internship applications, learn where our team is headed this month, and view available career opportunities across our growing portfolio.

Newsletter Elements

  • Cortado News
    • Why We Invested: Purple Rhombus
    • Tonight’s Pitch Competition!
    • Meet Our Newest Team Members
    • OKC Funder Founder Dinner
    • Save The Date! 2027 – 2028 Internship
    • Events We’re Attending
  • Portco News
    • Portco Highlight: Drōv Technologies
    • Portcos In The News
      • Quantum Space
      • Safety Radar
      • Nuview
      • Watkins-Conti
      • ArborXR
      • Onto Health
      • Motive
      • Purple Rhombus
    • Portco Jobs

Cortado News

Why We Invested: Purple Rhombus

In our latest Why We Invested blog, Managing Partner Nathaniel Harding shares how Purple Rhombus, an aerospace and defense company, is transforming how unmanned aircraft systems are manufactured for modern defense.

By designing platforms around scalable manufacturing using the existing U.S. industrial base, Purple Rhombus is helping address one of defense’s biggest challenges: producing mission-ready systems at the volume and speed today’s conflicts demand.

Read Why We Invested in: Purple Rhombus on the Cortado Ventures Insights page.

Keep up with Purple Rhombus: Website | LinkedIn

Tonight’s Pitch Competition!

Tonight is the night of The Verge OKC, Cortado Angel Fund, & BLC Capital Pitch Competition. Join us at The Verge OKC from 4:00pm – 7:00pm for live pitches, networking, and complimentary pizza and beverages. There’s still time to RSVP Here!

Event Details:

  • Wednesday, July 15, 2026
  • Doors Open – 4:00pm | Program Begins – 4:30pm
  • The Verge OKC, Citizen Building
  • 600 N Robinson Ave, 5th Floor, Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Meet the founders you’ll see pitch:

  • Aptly — Oklahoma City, OK
    Automated system of record for who can approve, sign, and commit on a company’s behalf, replacing spreadsheets with one live source of truth; live with Fortune 1000 customers.
  • Mom Aid — Edmond, OK
    Luxury, all-natural postpartum and baby care line built around the issues new moms actually face.
  • Remote Ready — Jones, OK
    Trains high-potential, underemployed Oklahomans in AI-fluent remote work skills and places them with startups nationwide.
  • Funding Navigator — Tulsa, OK
    “TurboTax for grants,” helping local governments find, apply for, and manage public funding so community projects move faster.
  • Gargoyle Systems — Tulsa, OK
    Passive airspace security that detects, identifies, and tracks drones around critical infrastructure without active radar or RF emissions.
  • Pike Robotics — Tulsa, OK
    In-service inspection of hazardous industrial tanks via Wall-Eye, a C1D1-certified wall-crawling robot that eliminates shutdowns and confined-space entry, cutting inspection costs up to 80%.
  • Elara — Oklahoma City, OK
    Automatically extracts data from family-office private-markets paperwork (K-1s, capital calls, NAV statements) into live portfolio performance, IRR, and reporting.
  • Prairie Biosciences — Edmond, OK
    Post-revenue genomics platform turning complex biological data into reproducible, journal-ready insights in minutes for oncology and autoimmune research.

Meet Our Newest Team Members

A special welcome to Miles Littlefield, joining our team as Director of Investor Relations.

Miles brings a background in institutional investment management, business development, and strategic relationship building. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with investors, fund managers, and financial institutions, supporting long-term growth initiatives and meaningful partnerships. He is committed to helping founders, investors, and partners build connections that create lasting value.

We look forward to the experience, perspective, and relationship-driven approach Miles brings to the team.

Stay up to date with Miles on LinkedIn.

Say hello to our Summer 2026 Cortaditos ☕️

Our 2026 summer cohort brings a range of backgrounds across investments, marketing, operations, and deep tech research:

  • Zaine French – Marketing, Communications & Events Intern, University of Oklahoma
  • Neil Luhar – Investments Intern, University of Oklahoma
  • Isaac Moradi – Operations Volunteer, Norman North High School
  • Simone Mullennix – Marketing, Communications & Events Intern,

    University of Miami

  • Mahhad Nayyer – Frontier Fellow, Purdue University

We’re glad to have them with us this summer!

Our Next Funder Founder Dinner – July 29th in OKC!

Our next Funder Founder Dinner is being held on Wednesday, July 29th from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. We’re bringing together a curated group of investors, LPs, founders, and ecosystem leaders for an evening of meaningful conversation over dinner.

With seating limited to just 40 guests, attendance is by invitation and subject to approval. If you would like to receive future updates on events like these, please join our mailing list.

Our next round of invitations will be dispatched this afternoon, and you can join the waitlist to be considered for this intimate gathering.

We look forward to another evening of building relationships that strengthen the Midcontinent innovation ecosystem.

Save The Date! 2027-2028 Internship

Save the date for July 22nd, when internship applications will open for the 2027-2028 cohort. Available tracks include Investment, MarCom, Events, and Platform, and Frontier Investment.

If you have any questions, please email interns@cortado.ventures. Be sure to join our mailing list and follow us on social media to stay in the loop!

Events We’re Attending –

A look at where our team is connecting with the ecosystem this month.

07/07–07/08 – TIDE Spark 2026 – Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

07/15 – The Verge OKC, Cortado Ventures, & BLC Capital Pitch Competition

07/20–07/24 – Farnborough International Airshow 2026 – Farnborough, England

07/29 – Cortado Ventures Funder Founder Dinner – Oklahoma City, OK

Portco News

Portco Highlight: Drōv Technologies

Meet this month’s Portco highlight, Drōv Technologies, an Oklahoma City-based mobility and logistics company led by CEO Lisa Mullen. Drōv focuses on the safety, efficiency, and uptime challenges that commercial fleets face, developing smart fleet technology that gives operators real-time visibility into their trucks and trailers.

Drōv’s platform turns equipment data into information fleet managers can act on, delivering real-time visibility into the health and performance of trucks and trailers. Through technologies such as AirBoxOne, the company supports proactive maintenance and better day-to-day operational decisions across the fleet. Its systems are built for durability and for use across every type of fleet, reflecting the demands of commercial transportation.

We invested in Drōv Technologies in 2020 because the company was bringing modern control and monitoring technology to the trucking industry, and its early traction with strategic partners showed that its smart trailer solution was meeting a real market need. Under Mullen’s leadership, Drōv has focused on giving fleets better information about their equipment and how it performs in the field. The company’s work fits our focus on mobility and logistics businesses that bring measurable efficiency to established industries.

Keep up with Drōv Technologies: Website | LinkedIn

Portcos In The News

Quantum Space Secures New Type of Funding

Quantum Space secured a Department of War Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund contract to advance a fuel depot spacecraft demonstration for routine in-space refueling. The award supports the company’s development of orbital logistics infrastructure designed to extend spacecraft lifetimes and strengthen flexibility and resilience across the space domain.

Read more here.

Safety Radar Partners with Evotix

Safety Radar announced a strategic partnership with Evotix to advance AI-powered risk intelligence and serious injury and fatality prevention. The partnership integrates Evotix’s EHS&S data with Safety Radar’s Live Risk Platform to help organizations identify emerging risks earlier, uncover hidden safety patterns, and focus resources where they matter most.

Read more here.

Nuview Moonraker Selected by European Space Agency

Nuview announced that its Moonraker mission was selected by the European Space Agency for a Phase A study under ESA’s Small Missions for Exploration – Destination the Moon program. The mission will use space-based LiDAR to generate high-resolution 3D terrain data of the Moon’s polar regions, supporting landing site identification, hazard assessment, and future robotic and human lunar missions.

Read more here.

Watkins – Conti Yoni Fit Now Covered by Blue Cross

Watkins-Conti announced that YōniFit Bladder Support is now covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma, expanding access for women managing stress urinary incontinence.

Read more here.

ArborXR First Mobile Device Management Platform to Support Meta AI Glasses

ArborXR announced it is the first mobile device management (MDM) platform to support Meta AI glasses, allowing organizations to remotely view and support frontline workers through a single device management portal.

Read more here.

ONTO Health Acquires LEVY Health

ONTO Health has acquired LEVY Health, integrating its clinical decision support and reproductive diagnostics technology to strengthen ONTO’s physician-led fertility platform. The acquisition follows ONTO’s $20 million Series A and supports the company’s expansion across the U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council region.

Read more here.

Motive Named Certified Partner for Subaru Certified Digital Program

Motive has been named a certified partner in the Subaru Certified Digital Program, enabling Subaru of America retailers to adopt Motive’s modern website platform to improve the online vehicle shopping experience. The designation expands Motive’s presence across the automotive retail ecosystem and reflects the company’s ability to deliver trusted digital solutions for leading automotive brands.

Currently, the brand is a certified partner for several brands:

Read more here.

Purple Rhombus Enters Agreement with U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center

Purple Rhombus has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center to support capability development for lethal unmanned systems. The collaboration strengthens the company’s role in advancing next-generation defense technologies alongside the U.S. military.

Read more here.

Portco Jobs –

Our portfolio companies are growing. Explore open roles across sectors from engineering and sales to data science and operations.

What’s Happening in the Midcontinent?

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The next edition comes out on July 22nd!

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