Case Study: Armada
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Redefining Edge Computing at Global Scale
Armada is redefining the boundaries of edge computing by delivering AI-ready compute, connectivity, and intelligence anywhere on Earth, directly where data is generated and decisions must be made. Founded in 2022 by Dan Wright (former CEO of DataRobot and COO of AppDynamics) and Jon Runyan (former General Counsel of Okta through its IPO), Armada has rapidly emerged as a category-defining leader in full-stack AI edge infrastructure.
Armada’s platform integrates connectivity, compute, storage, and real-world AI into a unified system purpose-built for remote, bandwidth-constrained, and mission-critical environments. The company enables digital transformation across energy, manufacturing, logistics, telecommunications, hospitality, and the public sector, sectors where centralized cloud infrastructure is insufficient and real-time decision-making is essential.
Unlock the power to compute in real time, where it matters most — anywhere on Earth.
Armada’s Journey and Dragon Global’s Investment Thesis
Armada represents one of the most representative and highest-conviction case studies within Dragon Global’s venture and premier-growth strategy. Through a long-standing relationship with 137 Ventures, Dragon Global identified Armada early and tracked the company closely following its seed round, which included Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Valor, and 8VC.
Consistent with Dragon Global’s disciplined approach, we did not invest at seed. Instead, we monitored Armada’s execution, customer traction, and product maturity as the company moved from concept to real-world deployment.
On October 13, 2023, Dragon Global made its initial investment in Armada’s $55M Series A, led by Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Shield Capital, and 8090 Industries, with participation from Felicis, Contrary, Valor Equity Partners, Marlinspike, Koch Real Estate Investments, 8VC, and others. This marked Dragon Global’s formal entry as an active partner, supporting Armada’s zero-to-one phase and early flywheel formation.
By mid-2024, Armada’s momentum had accelerated meaningfully. The company demonstrated rapid customer adoption, expanding deployments, and a growing roster of strategic partners across government, industrial, and energy markets. In May 2024, Dragon Global co-led Armada’s $43M+ Series A Extension alongside Microsoft’s M12 venture fund, reinforcing our conviction that Armada was transitioning from a promising infrastructure startup into a foundational AI platform.
Shortly thereafter, a large sovereign investor based in the UAE joined the round, initiating strategic partnership discussions that further strengthened Armada’s global positioning. These investors brought far more than capital — they helped accelerate Armada’s commercial flywheel and deepen long-term moats through enterprise, government, and international distribution.
Record-Breaking Growth and Strategic Partnerships
In less than two years, Armada has raised over $100 million and achieved a series of milestones that affirm its leadership position in edge computing. The company has delivered one of the fastest ramps from zero to meaningful revenue in the sector, surpassing internal sales targets and closing high-value customers across oil & gas, mining, telecommunications, hospitality, and government.
Armada’s growing customer base includes Targa Resources, Atlas Energy, SQM, Mars, Marriott, Vocus, Tampnet, the U.S. Navy, and Alaska’s Department of Transportation, among others. These customers rely on Armada’s technology to enable real-time analytics, enhance safety and security, and operate AI systems in environments where latency, reliability, and sovereignty are critical.
Key strategic partnerships and milestones include:
- Starlink — enabling global, low-latency connectivity at the edge
- Microsoft — deep technical and commercial alignment, including Azure integrations
- Carahsoft — delivering enterprise Starlink solutions to U.S. government customers
- Edarat Group (MENA) — data center engineering and cloud services partnership
- Skydio and Halliburton — expanding industrial and autonomous use cases
- U.S. Navy — delivery of mission-critical edge hardware and software solutions
Aramco Digital: A Defining Partnership
One of the most significant validation points in Armada’s trajectory is its partnership with Aramco Digital, announced on February 4, 2025. This collaboration marks Armada’s first major deployment with Saudi Aramco and represents the world’s first industrial distributed cloud deployed at scale in Saudi Arabia.
Notably, this partnership was catalyzed through Dragon Global’s network. From the initial introduction on May 22, 2024, Armada and Aramco Digital moved from first conversation to signed project in just eight months — an unusually fast cycle for a global industrial enterprise of Aramco’s scale.
The solution combines Armada’s Galleon edge data centers and Commander software platform with Microsoft Azure technologies, including Azure IoT Operations, Azure Arc, and Azure Local. Together, the platform delivers secure, high-performance, low-latency compute directly at the edge, enabling:
- AI-driven automation
- Predictive safety monitoring
- Advanced operational intelligence
These capabilities are already transforming operations across Saudi Aramco’s industrial sites, improving efficiency, safety, and real-time decision-making.
Beyond the initial deployment, the partnership aligns closely with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, with plans to expand regional presence through local manufacturing, regional headquarters, joint innovation labs, and training programs. The initiative sets the stage for dozens of additional Galleon deployments across critical infrastructure and industrial facilities throughout the Kingdom and the broader Middle East.
Why Armada Fits Dragon Global’s Highest-Conviction Strategy
Armada exemplifies the characteristics Dragon Global looks for in its most important investments:
- Superhuman founders with deep operational and enterprise experience
- A platform positioned at the convergence of AI, infrastructure, energy, and sovereignty
- Rapidly accelerating flywheels driven by deployments, partnerships, and global demand
- Durable moats rooted in physical deployment capability, software orchestration, and strategic relationships
Armada is not building a feature or a point solution. It is building foundational infrastructure for the next era of AI, where intelligence must be distributed, resilient, and embedded in the physical world.
As Dan Wright, Founder & CEO of Armada, notes:
“Dragon Global has been a critical partner to Armada throughout our growth journey, leveraging their unique platform and extensive global network of large industrial enterprises and strategic partners to accelerate our growth flywheel and the development of sustainable moats around our business. We highly recommend them to founders and teams focused on building market-leading companies that will stand the test of time.”
Looking Ahead
Armada’s combination of rapid commercial growth, breakthrough deployments, and strategic global partnerships has positioned it at the forefront of digital transformation — not only in the United States, but increasingly across the Middle East and other strategic regions.
For Dragon Global, Armada represents exactly the type of company we are built to support: early enough to shape the outcome, large enough to matter, and ambitious enough to endure. As AI continues to move from the cloud into the real world, Armada is poised to become a critical layer in the global AI infrastructure stack.
