Dallas-based private equity firm Trive Capital has announced the formation of Canopy Aerospace & Defense, an advanced materials provider designed to solve complex technical challenges on defense and commercial platforms. The move follows a particularly active 12 months for the firm.

The new company combines Hera Technologies and MSM Industries, both based in suburban Los Angeles, with Canopy Aerospace, an R&D center of excellence in Littleton, Colorado.

Trive said Canopy’s materials provide insulation, absorption, and signal reduction, helping platforms move faster, stay cooler, and operate quieter under water, in the air, and in space.

With five facilities spanning Los Angeles, Denver, and Cape Canaveral, Canopy is designed to support OEMs from the early design and engineering phases through turnkey manufacturing and refurbishment for reusable platforms, Trive added.

‘Reusable rockets, space vehicles, submarines, and more’

In a statement, Trive Partner Tanner Cope said Hera and MSM have long been trusted suppliers of signature-reducing materials that insulate “some of the world’s most iconic platforms.”

Because the materials are consumable, he added, the companies became deeply integrated with their customers by offering refurbishment services across the life of “reusable rockets, space vehicles, submarines, and more.”

He said the addition of Canopy’s engineering team addresses growing demand from customers for more front-end design and development help.

“We’re eager to meet that need to create a faster path from concept to fielded capability,” Cope said.

Former SpaceX mission operations director named as CEO

Trive named DFW-based Marco Villa as CEO of the newly formed Canopy Aerospace & Defense.

Villa, who holds a doctorate in aerospace engineering, was mission operations director at SpaceX a dozen years ago, where he oversaw Dragon spacecraft missions to the International Space Station. A founding partner at Ceresio Consulting, his other posts have included EVP and chief revenue officer at Terran Orbital; founder, chairman, and CEO of Tvak International; and founder and partner at mv2space.

In a statement, Villa said he’s “excited to work collaboratively with the founders and employees at Hera, MSM, Canopy, and Trive to execute on our collective vision to solve a glaring gap in the A&D supply chain.”

He described Canopy as “committed to systems thinking and forward innovation—not just one-off products, but integrated solutions that embed directly into customer missions.” 

By partnering with the company for advanced materials, Villa said, “our customers are freeing up valuable resources to focus on their core differentiating technologies,” 

Trive said the company’s engineering capabilities and manufacturing footprint are backed by OEM approvals, proprietary IP, classified facilities, and sole-source positions on critical space, maritime, and defense systems.

Material playbook in space and defense

Trive’s latest platform-building move echoes the creation of its portfolio company, Karman Space & Defense, which went public in February with a $4 billion valuation.

Karman was formed in 2021 when Trive partnered with Aerospace Engineering Corp. and AMRO Fabricating Corporation. The firm followed that deal with seven acquisitions, building Karman into an integrated supply chain provider for missile and space platforms.

At the IPO, Trive sold $213 million worth of shares while retaining a 56% stake valued at about $2.2 billion.

A standout 12 months

The Canopy formation caps a series of milestones for Trive Capital. In April, the firm closed its fifth fund at $2.7 billion—above its $2.5 billion target.

In July, the firm’s rapid growth prompted physical expansion. Trive doubled its Dallas headquarters footprint at McKinney & Olive, taking an additional full floor to expand to 42,000 square feet, the Dallas Business Journal reported. 

Founded in 2012 by Conner Searcy and Chris Zugaro, Trive started with just four employees. The McKinney & Olive expansion will accommodate the firm’s growing team of more than 100 professionals.

In August, Trive promoted Cope and three other senior dealmakers—Andrew Frank, Joe McDougall, and Brad Wiginton—to partner. The promotions came as the firm continued its deal pace, with recent investments including California-based Chilton Auto Body, which specializes in Tesla and EV collision repair, and UK manufacturer Independent Forgings & Alloys.

The firm also earned industry recognition, being named to Global Capital Investment’s 2025 Top 50 private equity firms, while its acquisition of restaurant chain Mo’ Bettahs won Mergers & Acquisitions’ 2025 Food & Beverage Deal of the Year.

With more than $8 billion of regulatory assets under management, Trive said it focuses on investing equity and debt in what it sees as strategically viable middle-market companies with the potential for transformational upside through operational improvement.

Since founding, the firm has been involved in more than 250 middle-market transactions representing over $10 billion in revenue.

The story was updated with additional background information at 4:20 p.m., Sept. 4, 2025. 

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