# Cameron McCord

> Cameron McCord is the co-founder and CEO of Nominal, a defense-tech software company modernizing how the world tests and validates mission-critical hardware. A former US Navy nuclear submarine officer who logged 484 days underwater, he studied physics and nuclear engineering at MIT and earned an MBA at Harvard before building product at Anduril and investing at Lux Capital. Founded in 2022, Nominal reached a $1 billion valuation after raising $155 million in ten months, counting four of the five largest US defense contractors among its customers.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Nominal
- **Organizations:** Nominal, US Navy, Anduril Industries, Lux Capital, Saildrone, Applied Intuition
- **From:** Springfield, Virginia, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High school diploma, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, SB & SM, Physics and Nuclear Science & Engineering (also Political Science), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Nominal, a defense-tech unicorn valued at $1 billion, Raised roughly $155-182 million across seed, Series A, and Series B in about ten months, Signed four of the five largest US defense contractors as customers

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Named a Truman Scholar while an MIT undergraduate in NROTC
- **2013** — Interned with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on post-Fukushima reactor simulation work
- **~2014-2019** — Served ~5 years as a US Navy nuclear submarine officer, logging 484 days underwater
- **post-Navy** — Worked on Capitol Hill as a Navy Congressional Liaison in the Rayburn House building
- **~2019-2021** — Product manager and growth lead at Anduril, building counter-UAS defense systems
- **prior to Nominal** — Head of Defense at Saildrone; Investor/Operator at Lux Capital; Advisor at Applied Intuition
- **2022** — Co-founded Nominal with Bryce Strauss and Jason Hoch
- **2025** — Nominal raised a $75M Series B led by Sequoia Capital, co-led by Lightspeed
- **2026** — Nominal reached a $1B valuation after raising $155M in 10 months

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Nominal, a defense-tech unicorn valued at $1 billion
- Raised roughly $155-182 million across seed, Series A, and Series B in about ten months
- Signed four of the five largest US defense contractors as customers
- Logged 484 days underwater as a US Navy nuclear submarine officer
- Named a 2012 Truman Scholar
- Double major in physics and nuclear engineering at MIT, plus an MBA from Harvard Business School
- Built early counter-UAS product at Anduril before it became a household defense name

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Nominal announced a $75M Series B led by Sequoia Capital, co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
- **2026-03** — TechCrunch reported Nominal hit a $1 billion valuation after raising $155M in ten months, with customers spanning aerospace, defense, energy, and advanced manufacturing.

## Links

- Website: https://nominal.io
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-mccord/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/CameronLMcCord

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/cameron-mccord
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-01