Scout Ventures Names General Jim Mingus Venture Partner

Scout Ventures Names General Jim Mingus Venture Partner

Retired Four-Star and Former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Joins to Support Portfolio Growth and Expand Department of War Access

AUSTIN, Texas - September 22 - Scout Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing at the intersection of national security and critical technologies, today named General Jim Mingus as Venture Partner. Mingus retired in February 2026 after 44+ years in uniform, closing his career as the 39th Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. In that post he supervised the day-to-day management of a force of roughly one million active-duty, National Guard, Reserve and civilian personnel against a $197 billion annual budget, with authority over readiness, modernization priorities and the Army's acquisition portfolio.

The hire adds another senior operator to the Scout team built around people who have run large defense organizations from the inside.

"Jim spent 44+ years learning how the Army decides what it needs, what it buys and how fast it can move," said Brad Harrison, Founder and Managing Partner at Scout Ventures. "He enlisted in the Iowa National Guard, commissioned through ROTC, deployed 12 times, commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, ran operations for the Joint Staff and finished as the second-ranking

officer in the Army. Founders spend years trying to understand that system from the outside. Jim will help serve as a critical conduit."

As a Venture Partner, Mingus will counsel Scout portfolio companies on defense go-to-market strategy, requirements and acquisition timelines, support business development for the firm and its companies, and advise on Department of War, Army and joint force matters.

"The problem I watched for years wasn't a shortage of capable technology. It was the distance between a prototype that works and a program that gets funded," said Mingus. "Scout backs founders early, most of whom have served, and stays with them long after the wire clears. I came here to help those companies shorten that distance while the capability still matters to the soldiers who need it."

Mingus joins on the heels of Scout's oversubscribed $125 million Fund V. The firm writes seed-stage checks into dual-use companies across artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, space infrastructure, cybersecurity, quantum technology, advanced materials and microelectronics, the technologies that determine how modern forces shoot, move and communicate.

"Capital alone doesn't carry a defense company through the years between a good demo and a signed program," said Cody Huggins, Partner at Scout Ventures. "What carries them is knowing which requirement to write against, which program office holds the money and who picks up the phone. Jim has spent his career on the other side of those conversations, and that knowledge

compounds across the entire portfolio."

To learn more about Scout Ventures, visit https://www.scout.vc/

About Scout Ventures

Scout Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in dual-use technologies that advance U.S. national security and global stability. The firm focuses on artificial intelligence,

autonomous systems, space infrastructure, cybersecurity, quantum technology, and advanced power, the critical technologies underlying how modern forces shoot, move, and communicate. Scout partners with founders from the military and intelligence community, leading national research laboratories, and top-tier research universities to back breakthrough companies at the seed stage. Scout's mission: to invest in technology so capable, and deterrence so credible, that conflict becomes unthinkable.

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