Advancing Passive Radar at a Critical Moment in Global Security
Great companies often begin with a hard technical problem and the right environment to solve it. OneRadio Corporation is a Seattle-based company spun out of the University of Washington, where a breakthrough in radio frequency (RF) engineering laid the foundation for what would become a mission-driven defense technology venture.
Rooted in university research and shaped by real-world defense needs, OneRadio is advancing passive radar capabilities at a critical time. Below, we dive deeper into OneRadio’s journey through a Q&A with CEO Mohan Vaghul about the company’s origins, its technical differentiation, and how engagement with Northwest Tech Bridge has supported its journey from campus innovation to Department of War solution provider.
Q: Can you tell us about the founding of OneRadio and the problem you set out to solve?
OneRadio was born from a chance meeting between our founders at the University of Washington, facilitated by CoMotion. At the heart of the company is a foundational innovation driven by a problem that had stumped passive radar systems for decades: the need for a single radio capable of receiving ambient transmissions across a vast swath of spectrum — without compromising performance. The solution, developed by co-founder and Chief Engineer Tony Goodson, is an extremely wideband, high dynamic range receiver that incorporates patented technology to deliver a disruptive, cost-effective, and man-portable passive radar built for drone detection. It is a testament to what a talented, committed team can accomplish when they refuse to let a hard problem win.
Q: In what ways does OneRadio’s technology differ from traditional RF receiver systems?
OneRadio Tech in Action
Our receiver is extraordinarily wideband and inherently multifunctional — it can see a very large portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, with applications limited only by available compute power. While direct-sampling wideband receivers exist in the market, OneRadio adds high dynamic range capability, delivering a 24–30 dB advantage over traditional receivers. Think of it this way: imagine looking directly at the Sun and still being able to see every star in the sky simultaneously. OneRadio’s receiver can detect extremely weak RF signals even in the presence of overwhelming ones — a capability that is ideal for passive radar and opens the door to a broad range of applications, including counter-UAS, EW & SIGINT, mobile network analytics for carriers and consumers, and many others.
Q. How does OneRadio’s role as a leading developer of Wideband High Dynamic Range receivers translate into real-world impact?
The path from problem to innovation to commercialization is rarely a straight one — it’s littered with wrong turns, especially when an innovation has potential applications across many different domains. Our greatest challenge has always been knowing where to focus. The war in Ukraine brought drone warfare into sharp global focus, and with it came a significant impetus to our original mission: delivering a passive radar system, and in this case specifically for drone detection. That clarity of purpose has been galvanizing — it transformed a broad technological capability into a concrete, urgent solution with real customers and real stakes. We are deeply grateful to the Department of Defense community for the opportunities they have extended to us. We don’t take that trust lightly. We are equally in awe of the challenges they face — the pace of technological change bearing down on them is relentless, and the consequences of falling behind are profound. It is a privilege to be part of the solution.
Q. What is your approach to balancing deep R&D with commercialization efforts?
Having a defined core market and engaged customers providing real-world feedback makes it far easier to focus R&D in ways that are both technically rigorous and commercially meaningful. AI-based drone discrimination is a prime example — it’s not a detour from our core work; it’s an expression of it. We continue to push the boundaries of hardware and software performance, and we’re investing heavily in self-healing system architectures, which are critical for our defense customers operating in contested environments. None of this is tangential to commercialization. If anything, the depth of the R&D is what makes the commercialization credible. And none of it would be possible without a team that brings both exceptional technical skill and an unwavering commitment to the mission.
Q. How has connecting with Northwest Tech Bridge supported or accelerated your progress?
Northwest Tech Bridge is a community of like-minded innovators united by a shared goal: delivering cutting-edge technology to the Department of Defense. A challenge as complex as drone detection demands a multimodal approach — no single technology can solve it alone. Northwest Tech Bridge has brought together some of the best minds working on this problem, creating the kind of collaborative ecosystem where breakthroughs become possible. For us, it has been an invaluable network for validation, acceleration, and — perhaps most importantly — direct exposure to the Department of Defense customers who are living these challenges every day. Their candor and engagement have sharpened our thinking and strengthened our resolve.
Q. What advice would you give other innovators developing dual-use technologies in the Pacific Northwest?
Stay the course — and be strategic about your path to market. From inception, OneRadio’s technology carried clear defense implications; passive radar is ITAR-controlled, and our application was specific to the Department of Defense. But we also had the option to explore telecommunications and other commercial sectors along the way. Despite the immense difficulty of bringing a hardware solution to market, OneRadio delivered its first MVP within a year of founding, a new hardware platform within two years, and a compelling defense solution within a few years of inception — a true credit to the team we built and their perseverance through every obstacle. The sequencing of commercial versus defense is ultimately a strategic choice, and there is no single right answer. What matters most is that you commit to the mission, trust your team, and don’t let the difficulty of the path make you doubt the destination.
OneRadio’s journey showcases the power of the Pacific Northwest’s innovation ecosystem, where university research moves beyond the lab and into real-world application. What started as a technical breakthrough grew into a Seattle-based startup and ultimately a provider of advanced RF solutions.
At Northwest Tech Bridge, we’re proud to support innovators like OneRadio who transform PNW research excellence into tangible defense capabilities. Their path highlights what can happen when academic ingenuity, entrepreneurial drive, and mission focus align. It reinforces why the Pacific Northwest remains a driving force in dual-use innovation.
