New York, NY – AE Ventures, the venture capital platform of AE Industrial Partners, has led a strategic investment in Blank Slate Technologies, with continued participation from Fulcrum Venture Group.

“Blank Slate is solving pressing readiness challenges that face our most critical aerospace and defense operators today and doing so in a way that is already proving its value in the field,” said Tyler Rowe, Partner at AE Ventures. “We see a significant opportunity for the Blank Slate team to scale into every corner of heavily regulated, high-stakes industries where human performance truly matters.” 

Blank Slate is building the cognitive layer long missing from aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing. In sectors where “trained” has rarely meant “operationally ready right now,” the company delivers a system that continuously detects and closes critical knowledge gaps before they become operational failures. In critical industries, operational failures can mean lives lost.

“We are entering an era where systems are more interconnected, missions are more complex, and the cost of human error continues to rise,” said Andrew Bartholomew, Founder of Fulcrum Venture Group. “Blank Slate is applying AI in a way that strengthens people rather than replaces them. Instead of automating humans out of the loop, it reinforces human performance inside the loop, which is essential as real-time workforce readiness becomes a critical constraint. The originality of this approach, combined with the speed and rigor of the team’s progress to date, is why this represents the largest initial investment we have made out of our fund.”

“We’ve architected the first true cognitive layer, purpose-built for defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing,” said Matt Trevithick, CEO of Blank Slate Technologies. “To have AE Ventures move quickly to support what we’re building, alongside Fulcrum Venture Group making us a cornerstone of their fund portfolio, speaks to both the seriousness of the problem and the scale of the opportunity.”

Blank Slate’s platform combines modern cognitive science insights with adaptive AI models to sustain human performance at the point of execution in Zero-Fail Environments where error tolerance is effectively zero. Used for just minutes per week, the system delivers rapid, durable improvements in operational performance and has resulted in materially fewer operational errors across active deployments. The platform supports IL4-compliant government environments and is designed to operate securely across high-security federal units and enterprise aviation organizations. It is already in use across U.S. Special Operations, Air Force fighter and cargo pilot communities, major U.S. airports, and security organizations. 

At the core of the platform is Blank Slate’s proprietary True Knowledge Level™ (TKL) system, which sustains workforce cognitive performance and provides leaders with real-time insights into operational readiness. Across active deployments, Blank Slate has delivered durable improvements in human performance with approximately five minutes per week of engagement, materially reducing operational error rates. The platform’s adaptive, ML-driven spacing engine, grounded in peer-reviewed research and validated in Air Force and clinical environments, continues to drive measurable gains in readiness across varied operational roles.

The investment will support continued expansion across defense, aviation, and national security, while accelerating product development and the scaling of Blank Slate’s enterprise and government platforms.

About Blank Slate Technologies

Blank Slate builds the cognitive layer for organizations where human performance matters. Its adaptive cognitive platform continuously identifies and closes workforce knowledge gaps, mitigates memory loss, reduces operational error rates, and improves readiness at scale, product development and the scaling of Blank Slate’s enterprise and government platforms.

About AE Ventures

AE Ventures is the venture capital platform of AE Industrial Partners, a private investment firm with $7.5 billion of assets under management, focused on highly specialized markets including national security, aerospace and industrials. AE Ventures has completed over 50 investments in early-stage companies that benefit from the deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and network of relationships across the sectors where the firm invests.

About Fulcrum Venture Group

Fulcrum Venture Group is an early-stage venture firm backing exceptional founders building durable, ecosystem-enabling technologies across critical sectors including AI/ML, manufacturing & supply chain, data lifecycle & management, cybersecurity, and energy.