Hardshell won the $100,000 cash grant at the 10th Annual Service First Foundation Veteran Startup Showcase, competing against a field of five veteran and intelligence community-led startups. The grant will be formally awarded at the Seed the South Capital Summit in Charlotte, NC, on May 19, 2026.
The Service First Foundation Veteran Startup Showcase is an annual competition featuring pre-vetted, early-stage startups founded by veteran and intelligence community leaders. Over its ten-year history, the Showcase has featured more than 50 startups and distributed over $650,000 in non-dilutive cash grants. All finalists receive 1:1 mentorship, coaching, and introductions to potential investors and customers.
Charlotte Creech, Chief Program Officer at Hire Heroes USA and a competition judge, noted that Hardshell stood out by tackling one of the most critical challenges in AI today, demonstrating both technical depth and clear market relevance.
The 2026 finalists included Atlas Data Science, TellUs (MotherCode), Hardshell, Flight Frame, and Capfora. TellUs (MotherCode) took the runner-up prize of $7,500, bringing total non-dilutive funding distributed at this year's event to $107,500.