Time for Wednesday bites! We’re taking time out of the day to admire the new Jell-O rebrand and help you level up you work banter during the week.

We’re covering an issue that doesn’t get enough attention today.

What are start-ups doing in the defense/aerospace sector?

Notes:

Thank you to everyone who reached out on Sunday. Ahmed is relocating to the Raleigh/Durham area and Peter didn’t get swallowed up by any of that ‘nasty business’ on Long Island.

Defense Start-ups: The next VC High

We know there’s a war going on. Where there’s war there’s money. Missed the initial AI boom? Nah. Don’t worry. Get into defense.

1. The last 3 years have seen a shit-ton of investment in defense, doubling from $16B to $33B

2. 3 causes as to why it’s surging now:

   1. China’s growing investment in countering U.S. defense

   2. The war in Ukraine

   3. Growing investment + the conception of real use-cases in AI

3. A buffet of companies are competing for cash.

   1. ShieldAI, promises to build self-driving drones,

   2. while Anduril helps a single host control multiple military assets all at once through an autonomous system.

4. Still a huge obstacle: Institutional moats. Success is an outlier in this space, as established players have a tighter grip on the US Gov’t than ‘02 Barry Bonds did with his bat.

Interesting Chart (Look Here)

VC Deal flow in Defense Tech (taken from FT)

Okay, just more defense stuff. Why should I care?

If you’re over 30, there’s a pre-conceived notion that human soldiers are a military’s primary asset in war.

Now, soldiers are just a part of it.

It’s a combination of things, ranging from AI to autonomous systems. The use of emergent technologies change the nature of how we attack other states/defend ourselves from outside attacks.

Also, wars are changing. They’ve become more specific in nature. Populations are smarter, curbing the state’s edge in rousing attitudes for a full-blown conflict.

In a perfect world, the President asks Congress to vote whether a nation go to war and deploy troops against an enemy state. In 5+ years, would we have the President ask Congress to deploy AI against another country?

Interesting Chart: Look Here

Deaths in state-based conflicts are on a deep slide since WWII (Screenshotted from Our World in Data)

What AI made this week

Have a great week!

Ahmed and Peter