Distributed Spectrum was founded in 2020 by Harvard engineering students Alex Wulff, Ben Harpe, and Isaac Struhl. The company addresses a growing gap in modern operations: the radio-frequency (RF) spectrum is densely used by communications, radars, drones, and electronic systems, yet most organizations lack affordable tools to understand what is actually transmitting around them in real time.
The company's products combine small, inexpensive, and efficient RF sensors with software that processes the captured spectrum to deliver actionable insight. Rather than relying on a few expensive, bespoke collection systems, Distributed Spectrum's approach is to distribute many low-cost sensors and fuse their data, providing broad, persistent coverage of the electromagnetic environment.
Its platform detects, classifies, and geolocates emitters in real time, helping operators identify threats, characterize the spectrum, and maintain electromagnetic situational awareness. This capability is increasingly critical in defense and national-security settings, where understanding and contesting the spectrum, including detecting drones and adversary communications, has become central to operations.
Distributed Spectrum raised a $25M Series A that closed in March 2025, with thirteen investors participating, to scale its RF-sensing technology and expand deployments with defense and government customers. As demand for affordable, scalable signals-intelligence and spectrum-awareness tools grows, the company positions its distributed sensor architecture as a modern alternative to legacy, monolithic collection systems.