Cedar Park approves $1.5 million economic development agreement with weapons manufacturer

The company expects to see a 17.9% rate of return on its investment over a payback period of 5.7 years, city documents state.

About the company

Aeon designs and produces advanced missiles and the software that guides them. The company’s two main products are a “precision weapon system” called Zeus and the “autonomous targeting software” that guides those weapons, called ODIN, according to the company’s website.

“I started Aeon because I grew up by Camp Pendleton, which is one of the largest military bases on the West Coast, and so all my neighbors were Marines growing up, and the number one thing they complained about was they were using the same exact weapons that their grandfathers used in the Vietnam War. They’ve seen no innovation in the space for the past 30 to 60 years,” Aeon founder and CEO Naweed Tahmas said.

Council members expressed excitement about Aeon’s move to the city.

“All of us recognize just how important companies like [Aeon] are and what a great fit they are for our community,” Mayor Jim Penniman-Morin. “We also recognize our community as a special home [with an] attachment to supporting the warfighter and innovation. When we get to do both at the same time, it’s really exciting.”

Tahmas said he and his company decided to relocate to Cedar Park because of its status as a tech hub and the opportunity to hire locally.

“We chose Cedar Park for a reason,” Tahmas said. “The space that we’re in requires a city that’s able to move as quickly as we can. As a startup, we move fast. We not only need a partner that can move fast with us, but we also need the talent here.”