Ute VC firm pursues homeland security

The venture capital arm of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe is striking deals in the homeland security sector and may pursue 8(a) status.

GF Private Equity, a subsidiary of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, earlier this month was among the investors who participated in an $8 million round of financing for Teros, which makes Web application firewalls and has been targeting the government market via resellers for the past two years.

In January, the venture capital firm backed Ahura, which manufactures portable optical instrumentation and subsystems for homeland security applications. Ahura’s FirstDefender product identifies unknown solids and liquids to help first responders, soldiers, and homeland security personnel detect explosives and chemical weapons, according to the company.

GF Private Equity will continue to look for Defense Department- and homeland security-related venture capital deals, according to a source close to the company. The source said the company also is looking into 8(a) status, which applies to small, disadvantaged businesses.

Based in southwestern Colorado, GF Private Equity has assets “in several industries and investment categories” approaching $2 billion, according to Teros. In addition to defense and homeland security, the firm also pursues investment in telecommunications.