From Silicon Valley to the Pentagon: The Future of Defense Innovation

The last few decades have been a period of transition for defense. An increasing number of startups have begun to rival large defense primes, the industry has gradually become a calculus of both hardware and software, and exponential technologies have forced the DoD to rethink how it has traditionally done business.

These changing conditions were some of the inputs to resulting in the DIU – Defense Innovation Unit – starting in 2015 within the Department of Defense, focused on accelerating the adoption of technology.

In this episode recorded at a16z’s American Dynamism Summit in January, a16z General Partner Katherine Boyle is joined by the Director of the DIU, Doug Beck, plus two critical founders ushering in this new era of defense: Brian Schimpf, cofounder and CEO of Anduril and Brandon Tseng, cofounder of Shield AI.

So what does the next wave of defense innovation really look like? Let’s find out.

Topics Covered:
00:00 - The Future of Defense Innovation
03:30 - The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)
05:45 - Adoption of Startup tech by the DoD
07:42 - Acquisition, Budgeting, and Contracting
13:17 - Traditional Primes vs Startups
14:25 - Cost-Plus Fixed Fee Contracts
20:11 - The Replicator Program
22:26 - The New Threat Environment
27:11 - Scale and Readiness for Modern Warfare
32:15 - Procurement Reform and Feasibility
39:30 - Success Metrics for Defense

Resources:
Learn more about AD Summit 2024: www.a16z.com/adsummit
Watch Brian’s stage talk at AD Summit 2024: https://a16z.com/securing-americas-fu...
Watch all of the stage talks at AD Summit 2024:    • a16z American Dynamism  
Find Katherine on Twitter:   / ktmboyle  
Find Brandon and Shield AI on Twitter:   / shieldaitech  
Find Brain on Twitter:   / schimpfbrian  
Find Doug and the DIU on Twitter:   / diu_x  
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.