a16z PodcastWSJ x a16z: The Next 25 Years of Defense Innovation
Katherine Boyle from a16z charts the dramatic transformation of Silicon Valley's relationship with defense investing, from a culture where patriotism was taboo to today's rush into hypersonic weapons and space warfare companies. She argues that Google's refusal to work with the Pentagon on Project Maven inadvertently sparked a counter-movement of patriotic entrepreneurship, and makes the case that America's next 25 years of global competitiveness will hinge on applying Silicon Valley innovation to national security challenges.
Key takeaways
- •Silicon Valley VCs are now actively investing in hypersonic weapons companies and space warfare tech, viewing space as the next major theater of conflict.
- •Google's Maven controversy created a talent exodus that fueled the rise of defense-focused startups led by engineers willing to work with the Pentagon.
- •US drone manufacturers still rely heavily on Chinese components despite domestic production, highlighting persistent supply chain vulnerabilities in critical defense tech.
- •Fifteen years of top engineering talent avoiding defense companies has created a dangerous innovation decay that threatens America's military technological edge.
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Best moment
Why US-made drones still depend on Chinese components
drone technology from from other country or from other countries. They can't, I mean, in in many cases. So you can build it here. I'd say that, you know, the the the actual problem with a lot of the drones that are being manufactured in The US is that some of the dumb parts, most of them come from China, most of them come from other countries. And that's something that we have to get better at is the component parts that go into these larger systems, even if they're small scale drones. We have to figure out how to manufacture those and incentivize companies to do that. But certainly, there you know, there's companies like Skydio, which is a portfolio company of ours that's been operating for ten, eleven years now, that works with the Department of War and is built in The US. But we do have to think more about what we what we call shifting left, these component parts.
“So if you have fifteen years where everyone says, oh, we're not going to build this or work or the best engineers are not going to go into these companies, then it it ultimately leads to a decay.”
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