The Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG) would like to congratulate Harvard Business School’s Aerospace & Aviation Club and MIT Sloan’s Defense Technology Club for hosting an incredible conference last weekend in Cambridge, MA. The conference featured opening remarks by Ash Carter, 25th Secretary of Defense, and 35th Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

How strong is America's Defense Industrial Base (DIB) today? Where is it headed? How will trends in the DIB affect the venture ecosystem? How will economic drivers affect our national security? To explore the the debate over these crucial economic and military issues, Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG) is teaming up with NDIA to host a virtual event featuring the authors of the Vital Signs report.

The Silicon Valley Defense Group recently launched the SVDG Academy, a stage agnostic pipeline for initial entry into the federal market for high growth commercial companies and their investors. SVDG has identified an opportunity to help top-tier emerging technology companies enter government markets earlier in their lifecycle. Cohort companies gain access to office space and networking assistance in various markets across the United States.

On July 20th, 2021, the Silicon Valley Defense Group convened leaders from traditional VC, corporate venture, and government-funded efforts to discuss how the Department of Defense and Defense Industrial Base can better leverage the venture community. The event was held at Stanford University, in partnership with the Gordian Knot Center for Innovation and National Security. A small group, consisting of members of both the venture community and Stanford’s academic community, was invited to attend the event in person. The event was also broadcasted via Zoom for the public as well.

A new generation of technologies is transforming the nature of warfare, and the Department of Defense (DoD) must change decisively in the next five years to meet the rising challenge of artificial intelligence (AI). The National Security Commission on AI hopes that DoD will be “AI-ready” by 2025, meaning that “warfighters [are] enabled with baseline digital literacy and access to the digital infrastructure and software required for ubiquitous AI integration in training, exercises, and operations.”[1] But can DoD reach that goal in just five years? What relationships and capabilities will be needed, at home and abroad, to enable the United States to effectively lead on the new digitized frontier of national security? 

SVDG, along with 2 other alliances and 44 leading technology companies, recently wrote a letter to the White House and Office of Management and Budget encouraging the Biden Administration to reconsider the procurement process. Rather than developing technological and software solutions from scratch, which can be a costly process, SVDG and its cosignatories emphasized the benefits of selecting commercially available products. These alternatives are often more cost-effective and technologically advanced, thereby representing a better value for American taxpayers and government agencies.

The Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG) recently wrote a letter to Congressional Leadership expressing their strong support for the congressionally proposed Warfighter Innovation Fund (WIF). The WIF is a vital tool for ensuring our forces have the agility and resources necessary to access the advanced technologies our nations need to maintain our security in an era of great power competition. The WIF represents a critical, immediate step to current efforts in Congress and DoD to revitalize national security acquisition policy.

At the request of Congressman Banks, SVDG conducted a survey of members and compiled feedback. Of the report’s recommendations, SVDG views the following as the most valuable, and critical, to achieving the Task Force’s objectives.

SVDG looks forward to bringing an industry viewpoint as the Task Force continues to develop and implement policies and legislation designed to address the issues identified in the report.

In fall 2020, Silicon Valley Defense Group hosted a series of discussions to explore the challenges to developing a sustained, durable techno-security advantage in the face of a increasingly competitive environment. This report summarizes our findings.

A consortium of partners, led by SVDG and UC San Diego, are proposing to strengthen U.S. Joint Professional Military Education.

The nature of conflict has changed as the United States pivots towards a new period of continuous competition with geoeconomic adversaries.

The paper starts by offering an overview of venture funding trends in areas of DOD interest both generally, and then in the Artificial Intelligence category.