{"id":56903,"date":"2020-01-30T10:30:35","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T10:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/30\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:12:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:12:47","slug":"as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/cultural-clash\/2020\/01\/30\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\/","title":{"rendered":"As tech startups catch DoD\u2019s eye, big investors are watching"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SIMI VALLEY, Calif. \u2014 Private investors are not yet lining up to back defense startups, but they are paying close attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two factors have created an opening that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2019\/05\/10\/to-counter-china-pentagon-wants-to-create-patriotic-investors\/\" target=_blank>could lure venture capitalists to defense investments<\/a>: first, a few select venture-backed technology startups are gaining traction; and second, there\u2019s been a strategic shift in approach to weapons development from the U.S. Department of Defense, focusing more on information warfare and, as such, software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the words of Mike Madsen, director of strategic engagement at the Pentagon\u2019s commercial tech hub, Defense Innovation Unit: &#8220;We\u2019re at a significant inflection point right now that will be visible through the lens of history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/01\/28\/cultural-divide-can-the-pentagon-crack-silicon-valley\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-137775852.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Cultural divide: Can the Pentagon crack Silicon Valley?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The cultural divide between the East and West coasts is perhaps too big to be crossed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nonetheless, for the tech startups, it\u2019s been slow going, as discussed during a Defense News roundtable in California. For the second year, leadership from DoD and the tech community came together to discuss the state of the Pentagon\u2019s efforts to attract commercial startups \u2014 this time digging into the challenges and opportunities that come with investment in defense development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/cultural-clash\/\"><b>Click here for all the stories and videos from Culture Clash 2.0: An Economic Crossroads.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe went into this eyes wide open, knowing full well that to the venture community, the math doesn\u2019t make sense. Making the choice to contribute to the advancement of artificial intelligence for DoD represented for us more of a mission-driven objective,\u201d said Ryan Tseng, founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/artificial-intelligence\/2020\/01\/22\/pentagon-will-start-figuring-out-ai-for-lethality-in-2021\/\" target=\"_blank\">artificial intelligence<\/a> startup Shield AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But early on, \u201cwe were fortunate to get the backing of Andreessen Horowitz, a top-tier venture fund. They\u2019re certainly leaning in, in terms of their thinking about defense technology \u2014 believing that despite the history, there might be a way to find an opening to create companies that can become economically sustainable and make substantial mission impact.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/artificial-intelligence\/2019\/11\/21\/when-robots-need-the-freedom-to-maneuver\/\" target=_blank>Shield AI<\/a> has raised $50 million in venture funding since 2015, with more rounds expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1202\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SAI_012.JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-115166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SAI_012.JPG.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SAI_012.JPG.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SAI_012.JPG.jpg?resize=768,513 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SAI_012.JPG.jpg?resize=1024,684 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SAI_012.JPG.jpg?resize=1536,1026 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shield AI&#8217;s mission is to enable situation awareness for the war fighter. At the start, founder Ryan Tseng recognized the potential difficulty of attracting venture dollars. (Shield AI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, a few key Silicon Valley investors have emerged as the exceptions to the rule, putting dollars toward defense startups. In addition to Andreessen Horowitz, which counts both Shield AI and defense tech darling Anduril in its portfolio, there\u2019s General Catalyst, which also invested in Anduril, as well as AI startup Vannevar Labs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then of course there\u2019s Founders Fund. Led by famed Silicon investors Peter Thiel, Ken Howery and Brian Singerman, among others, the venture firm was an early investor in Anduril, as well as mobile mesh networking platform goTenna. Founders Fund placed big bets on Palantir Technologies and SpaceX in the early days, which paid off in a big way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of the early successes of these startups have \u201cdone an excellent job of making investors greedy,\u201d said Katherine Boyle, an investor with General Catalyst. \u201cThere\u2019s a growing group who are interested in this sector right now, and they\u2019ve looked at the success of these companies and [are] saying: \u2018OK, let\u2019s learn about it.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take Anduril: The defense tech startup \u2014 co-founded by Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and Founders Fund partner Trae Stephens \u2014 has raised more than $200 million and hit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/cultural-clash\/2019\/01\/28\/what-the-pentagon-could-learn-from-unicorns\/\" target=_blank>so-called unicorn status<\/a> in 2019, reaching a valuation of more than $1 billion. As the successes piled up, so did the venture capital funding. According to Fortune magazine, those investors included Founders Fund, 8VC, General Catalyst, XYZ Ventures, Spark Capital, Rise of the Rest, Andreessen Horowitz, and SV Angel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4842\" height=\"3228\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4887886.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-115168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4887886.jpg.jpg 4842w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4887886.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4887886.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4887886.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4887886.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4887886.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4842px) 100vw, 4842px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Manoj Palacios, a mission operations engineer with Anduril Industries, conducts a pre-flight check on a Lattice Modular Heli-Drone at the Red Beach training area, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Nov. 8, 2018. The Lattice Modular Heli-Drone was being tested to demonstrate its capabilities and potential for increasing security. (U.S. Marine Corps\/Cpl. Dylan Chagnon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI started my career at Allen &amp; Company investment banking. Herbert Allen, who\u2019s in his 80s, always said: \u2018Hey, you should run into an industry where people are running away,\u2019 \u201d said John Tenet, a partner with 8VC as well as a co-founder and vice chairman of defense startup Epirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s so much innovation occurring, where the government can be the best and biggest customer. And there are people who really want to solve hard problems. It\u2019s just figuring out where the synergies lie, what the \u2018one plus one equals three\u2019 scenario will be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also attracting the attention of Silicon Valley investors is the growing emphasis by the Pentagon not only on systems over platforms, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/home\/2020\/01\/23\/the-pentagon-cio-offices-plan-for-better-software\/\" target=_blank>software over hardware<\/a>. Boyle described the shift as the \u201cmacro tailwind\u201d that often drives innovation in a sector. Similar revolutions happened in industrials and automotive markets \u2014 both of which are also massive, global and slow-moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That emphasis on tech, combined with some recent hard lessons, also provides a glimmer of hope that the typical hurdles associated with defense investments \u2014 lengthy procurement cycles and dominance by traditional manufacturers, for example \u2014 could be overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider U.S. Code 2377, which requires that commercially available items be considered first in procurement efforts, said Anduril\u2019s Stephens. He also noted court decisions in lawsuits filed by SpaceX and Palantir, which ultimately validated claims that defense agencies had not properly ensured a level playing field for major competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3600\" height=\"2357\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-111668282.jpg_ba1114.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-115169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-111668282.jpg_ba1114.jpg 3600w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-111668282.jpg_ba1114.jpg?resize=300,196 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-111668282.jpg_ba1114.jpg?resize=768,503 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-111668282.jpg_ba1114.jpg?resize=1024,670 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-111668282.jpg_ba1114.jpg?resize=1536,1006 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-111668282.jpg_ba1114.jpg?resize=2048,1341 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3600px) 100vw, 3600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club on April 5, 2011, in Washington, D.C. He held the news conference to announce SpaceX&#8217;s Falcon Heavy rocket, which could complete missions to the International Space Station and the moon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese types of things are now at least in recent memory for Congress, and so they have some awareness of the issues that are being faced,\u201d Stephens said. \u201cIt\u2019s much easier now to walk into a congressional office and say, \u2018Here\u2019s the problem that we\u2019re facing\u2019 or \u2018Here\u2019s the policy changes that we would need.\u2019 There are also enough bodies like DIU, like In-Q-Tel, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afwerx.af.mil\/\" target=_blank>AFWERX<\/a>, like the Defense Innovation Board, like the [Defense Science Board] \u2014 places where you can go to express the need for change. And oftentimes you do see that language coming into the [National Defense Authorization Act]. It\u2019s part of a longer-term cultural battle for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, all these factors contribute to the majority of skeptical investors\u2019 decisions to watch the investments with interest \u2014 even if they still take a wait-and-see approach. And that places a lot of pressure on the companies that are, in a sense, the proof of concept for a new portfolio segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy fear is that if this generation of companies doesn\u2019t figure [it] out, if they don\u2019t knock down the doors and if there aren\u2019t a few successes, we\u2019re going to have 20, 30 years of just no investor looking around the table and saying we need to work for the Department of Defense,\u201d Boyle said. \u201cIf there aren\u2019t some success stories coming out of this generation of companies, it\u2019s going to be very hard to look our partners in the eye and say: \u2018We should keep investing in defense because look at how well things have turned out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=72c8105b-8d78-4881-b1e4-c2c71a99a31f\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-72c8105b-8d78-4881-b1e4-c2c71a99a31f.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One would think that the role of venture capital in defense would be simple, and that firms would be lining up to invest. But in reality, that&#8217;s not the case.<\/figcaption><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few key Silicon investors have emerged as the exceptions to the rule, placing bets on defense startups. And a lot is riding on their success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":108,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[108,160,162,12,49,36,30],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2572],"class_list":["post-56903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-clash","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-daily","category-industry","category-techwatch","category-newsletters","category-smr"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"372ILKPBHRATXALBOOIYN2FG2Y","arc_canonical_url":"\/smr\/cultural-clash\/2020\/01\/30\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>As tech startups catch DoD\u2019s eye, big investors are watching - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A few key Silicon investors have emerged as the exceptions to the rule, placing bets on defense startups. And a lot is riding on their success.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As tech startups catch DoD\u2019s eye, big investors are watching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A few key Silicon investors have emerged as the exceptions to the rule, placing bets on defense startups. And a lot is riding on their success.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/cultural-clash\/2020\/01\/30\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-30T10:30:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:12:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jill Aitoro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jill Aitoro\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/cultural-clash\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/30\\\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/cultural-clash\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/30\\\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"As tech startups catch DoD\u2019s eye, big investors are watching\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-01-30T10:30:35+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:12:47+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/cultural-clash\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/30\\\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1197,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/cultural-clash\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/30\\\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP17170839080714.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Cultural Clash\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Digital Show Daily\",\n\t                \"Industry\",\n\t                \"MilTech\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Special Multimedia Reports\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/cultural-clash\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/30\\\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/cultural-clash\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/30\\\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/smr\\\/cultural-clash\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/30\\\/as-tech-startups-catch-dods-eye-big-investors-are-watching\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"As tech startups catch DoD\u2019s eye, big investors are watching - 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