Latest Stories
Exclusive: Usul Raises $3.3M to Help Companies Win Defense Contracts
Sit around any defense tech conference long enough, and the industry’s main gripe will become abundantly clear: the Pentagon is a byzantine labyrinth, and the government is, well, a pain in the ass to work with. Turns out one company may have finally found a solution. This morning, software startup Usul—born out of Stanford’s Hacking […]
Exclusive: Vatn Opens Large-Scale Facility, Launches a New AUV
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Maritime autonomy is all the rage, and the hype only seems to be growing. This morning, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) company Vatn Systems announced a twofer in an exclusive release to Tectonic: First, they’re opening a new, higher-capacity production facility in Bristol, Rhode Island. And second, […]
AeroVironment, Now AV, Unveils Two New Systems
It’s been quite the week for AeroVironment (now officially called AV). Hot on the heels of finalizing their $4.1B BlueHalo acquisition, the defense-company-formerly-known-as-a-drone-company unveiled two new products at SOFWeek: Red Dragon, a one-way attack drone, and Titan 4, an upgraded cUAS system. All jammed up: Red Dragon—which looks a bit like a torpedo with wings […]
Exclusive: Foundation Alloy Raises $7.5M for Advanced Metals Manufacturing
Not all defense innovation is flying, drone-y things. Sometimes, it’s the very materials that make it possible to build advanced systems, like metals. Enter: Foundation Alloy. This morning, the advanced metals manufacturing company announced a $7.5M funding round, led by Alumni Ventures, America’s Frontier Fund, Engine Ventures, El Cap, Material Impact, and Yamaha Motor Ventures. […]
A Q+A with Anduril’s President and CBO, Matthew Steckman
If you read this newsletter regularly, you’ll know that Anduril has had a hell of a year. In January, the company announced that it’s building a massive, cutting-edge production facility called Arsenal-1, and has since secured major DoD contracts for everything from cUAS, to an Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), to rocket motors. And that’s […]
Q+A with Raj Shah, Managing Partner at Shield Capital
When Raj Shah was tapped to launch the experimental Defense Innovation Unit (DIUx) in 2016, he could barely secure a budget. Raj was a former F-16 pilot and Wharton graduate. He knew that the kind of innovation that drove Silicon Valley could help close the yawning gaps he saw in US capabilities. But the rest […]
Q+A with Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir Technologies
Shyam Sankar has had a busy couple of years. As the chief technology officer and executive VP of Palantir Technologies ($PLTR), he has helped drive the company’s meteoric rise to the top of the defense industry (and the stock market). Now, he’s set his sights even higher: he’s calling for a total Defense Reformation. Simple […]
The Godfather of Defense Innovation: A Q+A with Steve Blank
Chances are, if you’re interested in innovation, you’ve heard of Steve Blank. The entrepreneur, educator, and founding member of the Gordian Knot Center at Stanford University is a legend: he has built company after successful company and helped to develop the “Lean Startup” methodology based on his decades in Silicon Valley. If you’ve ever been […]
