3 Prominent Tech Reporters got Defense Tech Wrong--Here's the Real Story
Defense and dual-use technologies
Good morning!
Many tourists to the Defense Tech industry believe that the White House ignited the industry boom. They’re wrong.
We’ve long been big fans of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast on startups and venture funding. Last week,
was joined by Maxwell Zeff and Anthony Ha on Equity’s Friday Wrap-Up show. These are three brilliant and prominent tech reporters.Naturally, the show turned to Defense Tech, which is currently one of the hottest, buzziest, and frothiest tech sectors at the moment.
But here’s what these tech reporters—and most people—get wrong about Defense Tech: they credited the current administration with generating the buzz around Defense Tech. But that’s 100% backwards.
To be fair, Kirsten did mention that the sector had seen some success prior to the administration, but still, the three largely credited the admin.
We’ve demonstrated before that the explosion in Defense Tech was long coming.
, who presented The Secret History of Silicon Valley to the CIA and In-Q-Tel years ago, has recently released a series of great essays further amplifying on that presentation, filling in many more links in the mesh that represents the historical connections between our national defense and tech.After the Cold War, and amid the peace dividends that followed, D.C. and Silicon Valley began growing apart. It wasn’t nefarious. It wasn’t by design. These things just happen sometimes. The Pentagon didn’t need the same R&D, innovation, and tech support that it needed in the 50 years prior. Tech saw opportunities elsewhere—mostly in developing the nascent internet and finding applications for it.
And then the world changed—faster than anyone expected.
See, it used to be that major events happened at a pace of about once-in-a-generation. But following the end of the Cold War, there’s been an acceleration of these generational events. And, they’ve come with ever-increasing speed and compounding effects:
COVID in 2019-2021 reminded
The growing domestic divide that reached a peak on January 6, 2021
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022
Hamas’ widespread terror campaign against Israel in 2023 and the subsequent Israeli counter-terror campaign throughout Gaza
Major shifts in leading political ideologies exemplified by the Austrian election of a far-right government for the first time since the Second World War and by the normalization of fascistoid parties like the Alternative for German or AfD.1
And through all of these generational events, we watched as China surged ahead in terms of capacity, potential, international development efforts, strategic maneuvers, and military modernization.
These events served as a clarion call to Americans that the world remained dangerous and that bad actors would seek to hurt us, our way of lives, and the international order that has dominated international relations for two centuries.
At the same time, the Pentagon was waking up from a hangover of the Global War on Terrorism. As more and more service members and leaders reached into their pockets for technology that far exceeded the most advanced military systems, they realized that Silicon Valley had surged ahead using software to advance capabilities. This disparity led to the Pentagon’s increased demand for Silicon Valley type tech.
On the supply side of the equation, more and more veterans sought jobs in tech following their service. After cutting their chops at industry giants like Google, some of them sought opportunities to provide continued service to the country and began looking for opportunities to contribute. Fusing their backgrounds led several to create defense tech startups or to join others that were doing the same.
While many in the Defense Tech sector are hopeful that the Trump administration will continue to create favorable conditions for them, the reality is that the current frothiness is mostly resulting from the above conditions and the amount of time it takes to build in defense… efforts that began 7-10 years ago are coming to fruition.
Also, we’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight the herculean effort undertaken by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) over the past decade to build relationships between Silicon Valley and the Department. These efforts have also contributed greatly to the Defense Technology Renaissance.
In closing, the Defense Tech boom isn’t about any one administration. It’s about the return of history, the rise of great-power competition, and the rediscovery of a partnership that once made America unbeatable.
Enough pontificating, let’s just get into the news.
News Headlines
White House eyes 8% cut to defense budget to boost Trump priorities (MT)
Pentagon provides compiled list of probationary employees to DOGE, as the cuts are inbound (AP)
As Defense preps for mass firings, Hegseth says a hiring freeze and more firings are coming (DO)
Lawmakers to DOGE: Use a scalpel, not a sledgehammer at the Pentagon (DO)
Amid rash of aircraft mishaps, DOGE oversees 400 firings at FAA, including critical air safety roles (AP)
Elon Musk recommends that the International Space Station be deorbited ASAP (AT)
Mexico looks to reform constitution as U.S. designates groups as terrorists (AP)
Defense & Dual-Use Technologies
Silicon Valley has conquered the Pentagon as defense tech explodes (FBS)
Pentagon proposes $50 billion in annual cuts and identifies priorities to expand (NPR)
Pentagon looks to break up tech offices as part of acquisition policy shift (DO)
Industry experts & officials: Iron Dome is unsuitable for America, Europe (DN)
Admin weighing role for C-UAS capabilities in Iron Dome for America (BD)
New Hypersonic Strike-Recon Aircraft Effort Eyeing Prototype Development By 2030 (TWZ)
NGAD engines pass key design reviews, prototype work underway (MT)
Next generation of Army's 'transforming in contact' to focus on autonomy (DS)
Army's Stinger surface-to-air missile replacement makes progress (TWZ)
M10 Booker light tank undergoes cold weather trials in Alaska (TWZ)
Pentagon claims 14% progress on Zero Trust compliance, ICAM challenges (BD)
The Navy looks to add zero-trust controls to weapons systems, platforms (DS)
Threat Tech
TikTok bidders talk directly with White House, not ByteDance (INC)
China holds live-fire drills in Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand; civilian flights diverted (TG)
Xi is trying to secure the devotion of China’s military (WSJ)
PLA Air Force launches AI-powered biometric screening to recruit next top guns: report (SMCP)
Chinese scientists build world’s most powerful spy camera (SMCP)
Russian Shahed drones more lethal following upgrades (KI)
Foreign Defense Tech
European defense tech comes into its own (AW)
NATO backs its first cohort of European dual-use firms (TC)
Ukrainian defense planners envision a drone-only front line (DN)
France's Naval Group charges German rival ThyssenKrupp with selling out submarine tech (DN)
Ukrainian tech firm Sine.Engineering is developing EW-proof drones that aren't reliant on hard wires to the operator (BI)
Estonia's tech investors take defense into their own hands as Russian threat looms (RT)
Hyprix launches India's first private supersonic ramjet engine (ET)
Philippines doubles down on US-made Typhon missile system despite China’s warnings (SMCP)
Defense Industry
Hanwha's new global defense chief eyes expansion in every direction (BD)
SDA to rebid contentious prototyping contract awarded to Tyvek (DN)
L3Harris breaks ground on solid rocket motor production expansion (DN)
Defense tech company True Anomaly expands into California with Long Beach campus (PT)
Autonomous Systems
Pentagon expands list of commercial drones certified for military use (DN)
CIA expands secret drone flights to hunt for Mexican drug labs (NYT)
Mexican president Sheinbaum assures the world that the drone flights are collaborative (DW)
High-power microwave ‘force field’ knocks drone swarms from sky (BD)
AeroVironment launches its Jump 20-X UAS for shipboard use (BW)
OverlandAI opens new factory in Seattle for its off-road autonomous vehicles (GW)
Finance & Deal Flow
VC
Saronic closes $600M Series C led by Elad Gil and adding General Catalyst to other previous investors. Now valued at $4B, Saronic plans to use the money to build Port Alpha a massive shipyard for its autonomous boats (PRN)
Dream, an Israeli AI company providing cyber resilience for nations and critical infrastructure, raised $100M in funding led by Bain Capital Ventures (BW)
Valar Atomics emerges from stealth with a pilot reactor site and a $19M seed round led by Riot Ventures to build nuclear SMRs (TC)
Vema Hydrogen, a startup using stimulated geologic hydrogen technology to produce clean hydrogen, raised a $13M seed round led by Extantia Capitaland Propeller Ventures (TFN)
Exciting Opportunities
SOCOM looking to acquire new drone-launched glide bombs (SAM))
Editor's Picks
Security and international relations expert Andrew Latham explores the potentiality of the end of NATO and implications.
Former shipbuilder Craig Hooper offers up the Coast Guard polar security cutter as a perfect program for DOGE to cut.
Merlin founder Matt George outlines what defensetech companies need in order to raise from VCs.
Lighter Side
Keep Building,
BOF
Contrary to U.S. Vice President Vance and Elon Musk’s assertions that this party is not fascistoid, even former AfD chairman Jorg Meuthen grew so concerned that the party had shifted so far to the right—led by the most extreme wing Der Flugel—that he left the party in 2022. The language used by the party (e.g., words discussing the ‘völkisch’ traits desired by the AfD) is language with deep roots in the Nazi party and that hasn’t been used since the end of the Second World War outside of small circles populated exclusively by actual former Nazi party members, Neo-Nazis, and academics discussing nazism. There’s a large corpus of work exploring the extent to which the AfD represents fascistoid traits. It’s also important to note that these fascistoid traits do fall short of nazism, but maintain some similar characteristics and ideologies.