When Neptune Shield opened in Hampton Roads last fall, Nick Rocha described it as more than a place for founders to work.
The 15,000-square-foot hybrid co-working and business incubation space was built around a larger mission: helping veterans and early-stage companies grow, learn, and scale while creating a stronger bridge between military experience, entrepreneurship, maritime cybersecurity, and defense technology. Rocha framed Neptune Shield as a place where startups could connect, collaborate, and flourish, with programs that included founder training, networking events, defense symposiums, and SEAL Tank pitch nights.
Now, that vision has its first major accelerator class.
Neptune Shield has selected Development Infostructure LLC, Disruptor Maritime, Gargoyle Systems, StewTech, and Voltage Vessels for its inaugural Summer 2026 SEAL Tank Accelerator Cohort, a nine-week program designed to help advanced companies sharpen their strategy, connect with defense and enterprise stakeholders, and move closer to real-world deployment.
The announcement marks an important step for Neptune Shield. It is one thing to open a space around the promise of dual-use innovation and veteran entrepreneurship. It is another to build a pipeline, attract serious applicants, evaluate companies against operational requirements, and move a first cohort into acceleration.
For Rocha, the process started with a wide field.
“We had over 80 applicants,” Rocha said. “We looked for technology solutions that were nested under Department of War or U.S. Special Operations Command operational requirements. We looked at the strength of their capabilities and the Technology Readiness Level 1-9.”
That readiness filter helped Neptune Shield separate companies by stage. Earlier technologies in the TRL 1-4 range were set aside for the Fall Incubator. More advanced companies moved into consideration for the inaugural SEAL Tank Accelerator Cohort.
From there, Neptune Shield went beyond the application. The team asked for more information, conducted interviews, got to know the founders, and evaluated each company’s technology, responsiveness, and readiness for the challenge. Companies with at least one veteran on the team received additional consideration, though veteran involvement was not required.
“After all that, five rose above the rest,” Rocha said. “That’s how we got here.”
Those five companies now become the first real test of SEAL Tank’s accelerator model. The program is designed to surround founders with strategic mentors, industry leaders, defense and enterprise stakeholders, investors, and operational experts who can help turn promising technology into scalable impact.
StewTech offers a clear example of the kind of company Neptune Shield is trying to help accelerate.
Founded by Johnnie Stewart, StewTech is a design and manufacturing company focused on compact tactical electric vehicles and light electric vehicle subsystems. Its Ghost Badger platform is built for silent mobility, off-road performance, modular payload integration, and exportable power in environments where conventional vehicles may be too large, too loud, or too difficult to deploy. Company materials describe the CTEV-02 Ghost Badger as a 95-pound compact tactical electric vehicle with a 10,000-watt motor, 50-mile operational range, 400-pound payload capacity, and a maximum speed of 65 mph.
For Stewart, applying to SEAL Tank was not about chasing a general startup audience. It was about getting closer to the right users and the right requirements.
“We applied because we understand who our target demographic is, and we know that a traditional customer acquisition approach is not what we need to prove the use case and quality of our product,” Stewart said.
He said the goal was to better align StewTech with the defense ecosystem and improve the company’s ability to provide value in real-world scenarios. That is especially important as the company moves from prototype development toward production readiness.
Stewart said StewTech has gone from finishing its first prototype for testing to completing its V2.1 prototype and working through the fine details needed to make the design production ready. The company has also generated international interest from a defense-related customer it met at a trade show.
“They saw the use case of our product and took a chance because we are one in a few offering this very product and will be at the top of our class,” Stewart said. “The landscape is changing and there is a demand for quick, light mobility vehicles.”
That demand is part of the larger opportunity Neptune Shield is trying to organize around. Hampton Roads has the military presence, maritime infrastructure, operational talent, and national security relevance that should make it a natural home for defense and dual-use companies. The missing piece has often been a clearer path connecting founders to training, customers, capital, and mission-aligned feedback.
SEAL Tank is one attempt to build that path.
For Stewart, that regional purpose matters.
“We decided to go the hard route for the future benefit of the Hampton Roads area,” Stewart said. “We want to do our part in the growth and prosperity of our community.”
That line could also describe Neptune Shield’s larger bet. The organization launched around the belief that military experience can become entrepreneurial strength, that defense problems can create commercial opportunity, and that Hampton Roads has a role to play in building the next generation of operational technology.
The inaugural SEAL Tank cohort does not complete that mission. But it does move it from idea to action.
Over the nine weeks, Development Infostructure LLC, Disruptor Maritime, Gargoyle Systems, StewTech, and Voltage Vessels will work through business acceleration sessions, founder collaboration, strategic development workshops, and ecosystem networking designed to help them move faster and build smarter.
For Neptune Shield, the first cohort is a milestone. For Hampton Roads, it is another sign that the region’s defense technology story is becoming more organized, more intentional, and harder to ignore.
