Blacksmith
AI tool that translates customer requirements into application architecture, configuration and data models.
Maturity not rated
Startup · United States
Kaizen
HQ New YorkFounded 2022
Software startup that built JIATF-401’s counter-drone marketplace under a prototype OTA.
Funding1 round · $25.0M
- Equity raised
- $25.0M
- Latest
- $25.0MSeries A · 2025
| Announced | Stage | Amount | Valuation | Lead investors | Other investors | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Series A | $25.0M | — | — | — | Reported |
- Series A$25.0M2025
Raised counts equity rounds; debt, secondary sales and grants are totaled separately. Amounts in other currencies are converted at the announcement month's average rate. A ~ marks an estimated or converted amount.
Systems2
Taproot
Workflow application building blocks for identity, reporting, payments and scheduling.
Maturity not rated
Newest unveiled first. Open a system for its milestone timeline, components and sources.
Capabilities2
| Technology | Role | Maturity | TRL | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air and missile defense | Developer | — | — | classify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Built JIATF-401's counter-drone marketplace under a prototype OTA, so its customer is a defense task force. | Reported |
| Defense services and support | Developer | — | — | classify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Built JIATF-401's counter-drone marketplace under a prototype OTA, so its customer is a defense task force. | Reported |
- Developerclassify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Built JIATF-401's counter-drone marketplace under a prototype OTA, so its customer is a defense task force.—Reported
- Developerclassify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Built JIATF-401's counter-drone marketplace under a prototype OTA, so its customer is a defense task force.—Reported
Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.
People2
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| KJ Shah · LinkedIn ↗ | Co-Founder & COO |
| Nikhil Reddy · LinkedIn ↗ | Co-Founder & CEO |
Sources7
Profile3
- 1NewsPentagon’s counter-drone hub picked software startup Kaizen to develop c-UAS marketplace for $15M
DefenseScoop · Supports Organization · founded year
“chose Kaizen, a four-year-old software company, to develop a digital marketplace”
- 2
- 3
Supports Organization · founded year
“Kaizen Labs is a series A company based in New York City (United States), founded in 2022 by”
Systems2
- 4
Oct 5, 2026 · Supports System
“Blacksmith applies AI to translate customer requirements into the architecture, configuration, and data model for a working application.”
- 5
Oct 5, 2026 · Supports System
“The other is Blacksmith, an AI tool that turns “customer requirements into the architecture, configuration, and data model for a working application.””
Funding1
- 6
Tectonic · Aug 4, 2026 · Supports Funding round · amount, Organization, Organization · ownership
“Kaizen has raised $35M from Accel, NEA, a16z’s American Dynamism practice, and others, including a $25M Series A last October.”
People1
- 7
NEA · Supports Role
“CEO and Co-Founder Nikhil Reddy was one of the first 100 employees at Anduril, where he built user interfaces for complex national security applications”
Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.