About This Fund
AE Industrial Partners Fund III, LP (AEIF III) is the third flagship private equity fund of AE Industrial Partners (AEI), a Boca Raton, Florida-based investment firm founded in 2015 that has grown to manage $9 billion in total assets across private equity, aircraft leasing, and venture capital strategies. Launched in 2023 and achieving its final close in July 2024 at $1.28 billion in capital commitments, AEIF III secured backing from an institutional investor base comprising leading endowments, charitable foundations, public and corporate pension funds, financial institutions, funds of funds, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds. The fund is co-led by Michael Greene and David Rowe, Co-CEOs and Managing Partners, who together oversee a 109-person professional team with deep relationships across AEI's target end markets.
AE Industrial Partners Fund III pursues control investments in market-leading companies occupying critical supply-chain "toll gate" positions across the U.S. aerospace, defense, national security, and industrial services sectors, with a focus on businesses positioned to scale production in response to sustained and growing demand from government and commercial end markets. The fund's investment mandate targets differentiated, mission-critical businesses with long-product-lifecycle characteristics—companies where AEI's specialized industry knowledge, operating experience, and relationships create tangible competitive advantage. The strategy encompasses both organic growth initiatives and acquisition-driven consolidation, leveraging AEI's established network of industry relationships built across 155-plus investments closed since 2015. Co-investment of nearly $870 million alongside Fund III capital commitments has been extended to limited partners and other investors, underscoring the depth of AEI's deal flow and institutional LP relationships.
As of its announcement, AE Industrial Partners Fund III had already deployed more than 25% of committed capital into five platform investments and three add-on acquisitions: York Space Systems (commercial spacecraft manufacturing), RedLattice (cybersecurity and defense technology), Firefly Aerospace (launch vehicles and spacecraft), Yingling Aviation (aviation services), and Calca Solutions (specialty industrial services). These investments reflect AEIF III's core thesis—backing companies at the intersection of national security, advanced manufacturing, and space—sectors experiencing structural tailwinds from increased U.S. defense budgets, commercial space expansion, and supply-chain modernization initiatives. AE Industrial Partners' cumulative platform of $9 billion in AUM and 50-plus current portfolio companies positions Fund III within a market-leading franchise that has consistently been among the most active private equity investors in U.S. aerospace and defense since the firm's founding.