4 clips
a16z Podcast
A defense industry expert explains the manufacturing challenge facing US drone production: while companies can build drones domestically, most component parts still come from China and other countries. The discussion highlights the need to incentivize domestic manufacturing of these smaller parts to achieve true supply chain independence in defense technology.
A venture capitalist discusses how defense investing has rapidly shifted from taboo to mainstream in Silicon Valley. They explain their thesis of investing ahead of emerging theaters like space warfare, noting how attitudes toward funding hypersonic weapons companies completely changed between just a few years ago and 2023.
The speaker traces how Silicon Valley's relationship with government defense work shifted dramatically after Google employees walked out of Project Maven in 2017. This pivotal moment sparked the founding of defense-focused companies like Anduril, as patriotic engineers decided they wanted to work in the national interest despite broader tech industry resistance.
A bold prediction that defense innovation will become the defining characteristic of Silicon Valley's next quarter-century. The speaker argues that America's technological superiority is meaningless unless applied to national security, positioning defense tech as crucial for maintaining global competitiveness.
