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HIGHER GROUND LLC

Palo Alto, CA · Defense · Private

SatPaq, a stealthy satellite transceiver for low-probability-of-interception communications with GEO satellites

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Updated · higherground.earth

Sector
Defense
Headquarters
Palo Alto, CA
Latest Form D
$2M, Feb 2025
Total capital
$16.1M
Federal grants
$2.9M
5 awards · 2017–2021
Rank in peer group#138 of 164
Private capital raised
$2M
1 Form D · last Feb 2025
20 months since last filing
Federal contracts
$11.2M
23 awards · NASA, Defense, Interior
Rank in Defense#377 of 1442
Granted patents
31
9 pending · first 2018
Rank in peer group#3 of 164

Capital timeline

201620182020202220242026FEDERAL ↑EQUITY ↓Cumulative $16.1M$1.2M$3.3M$750K$750K$2.8M$849K1st Form D$2M
201620182020202220242026FEDERAL ↑EQUITY ↓Cumulative $16.1M$1.2M$3.3M$2.8M$849K1st Form D$2M

Latest events

  • Federal contractHomeland Security · Obtain (10) Satpaq Devices & (1) Year Of Service For Dhs/fema, Office Of National Continuity Programs (oncp), Continuity Implementation Division (cid)$53K
  • Federal contractDefense · 21 Satpaq Software Lc$66K
  • Federal contractDefense · Satpaq License Renewal$126K
  • Federal contractDefense · NSWG2 Satpaq Service.$173K
  • Federal contractNASA · Phase III SBIR 80NSSC25C0455 Geofix$849K
  • Federal contractDefense · Seven SATPAQ2C And User Licenses$35K
  • Federal contractDefense · FY25 G-6 Satpaq Annual Service, FY25 G-6 Secure Server Annual, FY25 Mrr Satpaq Annual Service$108K
  • Private capital raisedForm D · SEC · 1st filing$2M
Show 21 earlier federal awards
  • Federal contractDefense · NSWG1 TCCS1 ATPAQ2 Service And Secure Server.$227K
  • Federal contractDefense · SATPAQ2$47K
  • Federal contractDefense · Satpaq 1 Year Service Base Period$292K
  • Federal contractInterior · Ussocom Keelhaul SBIR Phase III$2.8M
  • Federal contractDefense · Prds - FY24 G-6 Satpaq Annual Service$40K
  • Federal contractDefense · Satpaq V2 Modules And Supporting Data Services.$16K
  • Federal contractDefense · Satpaq Annual Service$27K
  • Federal contractDefense · Satpaq Devices And Service For 1 Year$11K
  • Federal contractDefense · A Jam-hard, Resilient Solution To Provide Satnav In Support Of The U.S. Air Force Operation$750K
  • Federal grantDefense · Phase II · XPI/XPD Situational Awareness$750K
  • Federal grantDefense · Phase I · Man Portable Starlink System$150K
  • Federal contractDefense · Satpaq For 4 Comm Sq.$3K
  • Federal grantDefense · Phase I · GEOFix – Non-jammable Solution to Responsive, Resilient SatNav$50K
  • Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Situational Awareness Anywhere$750K
  • Federal contractDefense · Small Business Innovative Research Contract For Battlefield Air Operations Technologies$750K
  • Federal contractDefense · Atak Anywhere$158K
  • Federal contractNASA · In This Statement Of Work, Higher Ground Proposes Two Tasks To Support Safe And Autonomous Suav Flight: Task A Is The Field Testing And Final Report Of A Static, Airborne Demonstration RADAR (developed Under Our SBIR Phase Iix Contract] For Suav Flight. Task B Is The For Design/test And Then Demonstration Of A Track And Locate Communications Pod [trackpod] For Suav Flight.$500K
  • Federal contractNASA · In Anticipation Of The Increased Use Of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (suavs) In Low Altitude Airspace (e.g., Class E And G Airspace).$3.3M
  • Federal grantNASA · Phase II · Innovation in the Sky$1.2M
  • Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf This Phase II Proposal Presents A Scope Of Work To Develop Reliable Sense And Avoid For Bvlos Unmanned Aerial Vehicle [UAV] Operations. We First Analyze A) The Requirement For Avoidance Based On The Uav's Ability To Get Away From Danger And B) The Suite Of Candidate Technologies Needed To Detect Intruders With Ample Time To Get Away. To Meet This Need We Will Build A Reliable Fine Tracking Sensor For Knowing Where Nearby Objects Are Located And An Early Warning Sensor For The Regio$750K
  • Federal contractNASA · Igf::ot::igf This Proposal Presents A Scope Of Work To Develop A Total Product Solution For Beyond Visual Line Of Sight [bvlos] Unmanned Aerial Vehicle [UAV] Operations. Our Focus Is On Technology Development To Increase The Safety And Efficacy Of The Commercial UAV Air Transportation System. The Goal Is To Improve Autonomous And Safe UAV Operations For The First/last 50 Feet (and Beyond) Under Diverse Weather Conditions. In Particular We Focus On A UAV Electronics Package To Provide The Follo$123K

Node area is scaled to amount. Form D reports securities sold, which can differ from an announced round; filings are numbered in the order they were made.

Federal first

104months

from HIGHER GROUND LLC’s first federal award to its first private round.

First federal award · Jun 2016
NASA · $123K
First Form D · Feb 2025
$2M · 1st Form D
Awards before first raise
20 awards

An association in public records, not a cause or a prediction.

Standing among 164 peers

Line = median

Defense · Device

  • Federal grantsBelow median
  • Granted patents#3 · top 2%

Cumulative measures favor older companies. Rankings describe position today, not outcome. Below the median, ranks show as a band rather than a number.

Founders and team

Researcher links verified by same-company patents and grants
  • Rob ReisResearcherExecutive OfficerLinked by $2.9M in grants as PI
  • Jeffrey GoldbergExecutive OfficerNamed in SEC Form D filings

What it has protected

USPTO · 31 granted of 40
  • New patentDetermining The Transmission Power For A Mobile DeviceUSPTOUS 12,764,651
  • PendingResynchronization Of Spread Spectrum Communication Using Beacon-based Random Number SeedsUSPTOApplication 19635384
  • PendingSpread Spectrum Signal Detection Using Multiple Spreading Code Chips For Delay CompensationUSPTOApplication 19635277
Show all 40 patent records

Related companies, and why

  • Applied Systems Engineering IncorporatedShares a founder: William Smith
  • ATTOLLO ENGINEERING, LLCShares a founder: William Smith
  • BHAWIN LLCShares a founder: William Smith
  • BLACK CAPE, INC.Shares a founder: William Smith
  • PISON TECHNOLOGY INCSimilar federal contract value in Defense · $11.5M in contracts
  • OPTX IMAGING SYSTEMS LLCSimilar federal contract value in Defense · $11.3M in contracts

Regulatory activity · Defense

Sector-level, not company-level

Rules are matched to sector, not to company. Recent activity in a sector is context rather than a signal about this business — until rules are matched to what a company actually builds, the section is shown as context and nothing more.

Sources

Federal grants from SBIR/STTR, NIH, NSF and DoD records. Federal contracts from USAspending.gov. Private capital from SEC Form D. Patents from USPTO. Publications from OpenAlex. Regulatory activity from the Federal Register. Press matched on company name.

How to read this page

Figures show associations in public records, not causes or predictions. Nothing here is investment advice. An em-dash means no record was found under this company's name, not that none exists.

Data freshness

SEC Form D filings through . SBIR and STTR awards through .