Emerging Manager Q&A: Jason Zins about $50M Nomi Defense Fund I
Wall Street met Army Special Ops to build a $50M defense fund where hardware meets hard capital. We asked Jason Zins 10 questions about how they did it.
Hey folks,
This is Pavel, welcome to a new edition of our Emerging Manager Q&A where we ask recently-closed fund managers 10 rapid-fire questions about their fundraising journey.
Today’s guest: Jason Zins, Founder and Managing Partner of Nomi Capital.
In Partnership With
Legion is a high-signal marketplace matching emerging GPs with relevant LPs, featuring seamless fund admin, built-in secondary liquidity, and over $300M in investor capital flows. Raise your next fund or write your next check on Legion.
Harmonic aggregates real-time data on 30M+ companies and 190M+ people to surface the signals that actually matter – all through AI-powered workflow.
Rings AI is an intelligent CRM built for VCs and LPs with auto-enriched data on 100M+ contacts, and a visual map of who-knows-who across your network.
Cura is a portfolio intelligence on autopilot that connects your Granola notes, iMessage, LinkedIn data and more to automate support and intelligence.
About the firm
Nomi Defense Fund I is a $50M growth-stage vehicle investing Series B and beyond in defense and dual-use technology – spanning five domains: Autonomy & Unmanned Systems, AI & Communications, Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Space Technologies, and Energy & Power. The fund targets companies at the inflection point between R&D and real revenue, combining primary equity positions with selective secondary stakes in proven late-stage names.
The fund is led by Jason Zins and Brent Gerundo, and their backgrounds rarely sit in the same room. Zins spent nine years at SkyBridge Capital deploying over $450M in private technology deals and building the LP relationships that would eventually become Nomi’s capital base. Gerundo came up through U.S. Army Special Operations, crossed into Goldman Sachs‘ Global Industrials Group covering Aerospace & Defense, then spent five years operating inside venture-backed startups raising $110M. One partner understands how capital moves. The other understands what the military actually needs.
That combination defines where Nomi fits in the market. Early-stage defense VCs fight over first checks. Tier-1 growth investors only show up for $100M+ mega-rounds. Nomi deliberately parks itself in between – Series B onward, $2M–$10M checks – with manufacturing as its heaviest concentration. The thesis here is straightforward: critical-shortage hardware moves the needle in a great power conflict before the exquisite systems do.
Rather than chasing institutional allocators, Nomi built its cap table around roughly 150 HNWIs, family offices, and RIAs from Zins’ SkyBridge network. The advantage is structural – these LPs move fast, hold long, and don’t need committee approval. That translates directly into co-investment speed when a high-conviction deal surfaces.
Fund I closed in April 2026 with over $20M already deployed across six companies, including Firehawk Aerospace and Starfish Space. Across the full platform, Nomi manages $100M in AUM across 24 investments – Anduril, Castelion, Gecko Robotics, and Epirus among them – built in under two years from a standing start.
Here is our fireside chat:
What is your fund’s superpower in one sentence?
We combine deep technical underwriting of defense and dual-use technology with the relationships and reputation to win allocations in competitive rounds.
How long did the active fundraising process take?
Six months from launch to final close.
Did anybody help you during fundraising: existing LPs, fellow GPs, placement agents?
Just us!
How many LPs are in the final cap table, and what’s their breakdown?
~150 LPs, largely HNW, via RIA and MFO partners.
What was the fastest check – time from first call to signed subscription?
One phone call. Subscription documents signed the next day.
What were the top 3 reasons LPs said “NO”?
Sector: "We don't invest in defense"
Fund I: "We don't invest in first-time funds"
Size: "Too small"
What were the top 3 signals that an LP was truly interested in your fund?
They referred us to a friend
They asked about subscription process at end of call
"Send me the wire instructions"
What did LPs actually pay close attention to during fundraising?
Team, Access, Thesis (in no particular order).
What’s the biggest mistake fund managers make when fundraising?
Only chasing the big LPs, ignoring investors who don't look obvious on paper and getting discouraged by a slow start.
What advice would you give to your future self and to other emerging managers about fundraising?
Build a real CRM from day one and be diligent about using it. Fundraising is an operations process, not just a vibes exercise.
Learn more about Nomi Capital: Nomi Capital Defense Tech Fund I closing announcement
Who do you want me to interview in the next episode?
We’d love to hear your ideas – hit reply below.