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’re heading to Tulsa for our next Funder Founder Dinner and kicking off a new season of NextGen Insights with intern Neil Luhar exploring where AI is creating real value in drug development. Bastazo takes center stage as our Portco Highlight, while Purple Rhombus, Agile Space Industries, Medefy Health, Onto Health, and Equipt AI mark major wins across defense, space, healthcare, and energy. Plus, see where the Cortado team is headed this month, and explore open roles across our portfolio.
Newsletter Elements
- Cortado News
- Tulsa Funder Founder Dinner
- NextGen Insights: Neil Luhar
- Events We’re Attending
- Portco News
- Portco Highlight: Bastazo
- Portcos In The News
- Agile Space Industries
- Purple Rhombus
- Onto Health
- Medefy
- Equipt AI
- Portco Jobs
Cortado News
Our Next Funder Founder Dinner – Tulsa, OK
This September, Cortado Ventures is bringing the next Funder Founder Dinner to Tulsa.
Funder Founder Dinners are designed around a simple idea: meaningful connections happen when the right people have the opportunity to sit down together.
The Tulsa dinner is the latest in a series of Funder Founder gatherings hosted throughout the Midcontinent, connecting the people building companies across the region with those positioned to support their growth.
Interested in joining us in Tulsa or at a future Funder Founder Dinner?
Join the mailing list to stay connected.
NextGen Insights: The Real AI Edge in Drug Development
AI investment in biotech often gravitates toward drug discovery. Our investment intern, Neil Luhar, makes the case that some of the most compelling opportunities may sit further downstream.
In his piece, Neil explores where AI can create measurable value across drug development, from manufacturing and formulation to clinical operations and regulatory filings. He also breaks down a framework for evaluating these opportunities through three factors: certainty, position, and carryover, and why proprietary data may ultimately prove more defensible than the algorithm itself.
Subscribe to our Medium page, Cortado Ventures Insights, to read Neil’s full article.
Read Neil’s full blog post here.
Events We’re Attending –
A look at where our team is connecting with the ecosystem this month.
09/14 – 09/16 – NM Advanced Energy Conference – Albuquerque, NM
09/20 – 09/21 – Qatar Economic Forum – New York, NY
09/21 – 09/24 – Tulsa Tech Week – Tulsa, OK
09/24 – Chroma – Tulsa, OK
09/24 – OK Startup World Cup – Tulsa, OK
09/25 – Cross-Campus Translational Biomedical Research Symposium – Oklahoma City, OK
09/30 – Roadrunner Technology Forum – Albuquerque, NM
Portco News
Portco Highlight: Bastazo
Meet this month’s Portco Highlight, Bastazo, a Bentonville, Arkansas-based cybersecurity company using AI to help protect the critical infrastructure systems that keep our world running.
Founded in 2020 by Philip Huff and three University of Arkansas faculty members, Bastazo was built on technology developed through the U.S. Department of Energy’s SEEDS cybersecurity center at the University of Arkansas. Today, the company applies AI to cybersecurity challenges across operational technology and critical infrastructure, helping organizations in sectors like energy, water, and manufacturing to better identify and address cyber risk.
Led by CEO Willi Nelson, Bastazo continues to expand its technology and industry reach. The company recently integrated its platform with Nozomi Networks, combining Bastazo’s AI-driven capabilities with Nozomi’s operational technology and IoT cybersecurity platform to strengthen vulnerability management. Bastazo also recently took the stage at Black Hat, one of the cybersecurity industry’s leading global conferences, further expanding its presence within the security community.
Keep up with Bastazo: Website | LinkedIn
Portcos In The News
SpaceWERX Selects 11 Firms to Scale Technologies for Military Space
Agile Space Industries was selected as one of 11 companies for SpaceWERX’s Program Year 2026.1 STRATFI program, which supports technologies designed to strengthen U.S. capabilities in an increasingly contested space environment. The broader STRATFI cycle brought together $562.5 million from SpaceWERX, program offices, nontraditional businesses, and private capital to help selected technologies advance from prototypes toward demonstrable capabilities.
Read more here.
Purple Rhombus Tapped for Army Long-Range Drone Project
Purple Rhombus was awarded an Army contract to develop a long-range variant of its Group 2 Grackle unmanned aerial system. The effort, named Project Beyond-Horizon Lethality and Targeting (BOLT), supports the Army’s I Corps Innovation and Concepts Branch in the Pacific. The project represents another significant defense application for Purple Rhombus and further validates its UAS platform for operational military missions.
Read more here.
Onto Health Partners with Wildflower to Expand Mental Health Support During Fertility Care
Onto Health partnered with Wildflower Center for Emotional Health to expand reproductive and perinatal mental health support for patients navigating fertility care. Onto patients can now access complimentary consultations, discounted workshops, and specialized therapy resources built around the emotional side of family building.
Read more here.
Medefy Health Named to the 2026 Inc. 5000
Medefy Health was named to the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies, marking the company’s fourth appearance on the list. The repeat recognition reflects Medefy’s sustained growth as it works to help employers and members navigate healthcare and control costs.
Read more here.
Equipt Ai Launches Integration with Enverus OpenTicket and OpenInvoice
Equipt Ai announced an integration with Enverus OpenTicket and OpenInvoice, connecting field operations with the ticketing and billing workflows its energy customers already use. Field tickets and invoice information now move between Equipt Ai and Enverus, reducing duplicate data entry and manual submissions.
Read more here.
Portco Jobs –
Our portfolio companies are hiring! Explore open roles across sectors from engineering and sales to data science and operations below:
- Aalyria
- Agile Space
- Dockware
- Drov
- Lumata Health
- Motive
- Nuview
- oPRO AI
- Ox, Inc
- Pipedream Labs
- Quantum Space
- Safety Radar
- Tobe Energy
- Volt
- Wilder Systems
What’s Happening in the Midcontinent?
Want to stay on top of everything happening across the Midcontinent? Get plugged in with Midcon VC by subscribing to the Midcon Monthly newsletter and joining the network connecting founders, investors, and builders across the region.
The next edition comes out on September 23rd!