Barbaricum’s Post

As we navigate this transformative phase at Hypergiant, I am filled with an immense sense of gratitude and honor to be a part of this incredible journey. The announcement of our acquisition by Trive Capital is a testament to our collective dedication and unwavering commitment to revolutionize AI-enabled solutions. Being a part of Hypergiant for the last four years, and contributing to this pivotal transition fills me with excitement for the limitless possibilities ahead. Together, we are embarking on a path that will shape the future of technology across Space, Defense, and Critical Infrastructure, paving the way for groundbreaking advancements that will leave a lasting impact. Here's to embracing change, innovation, and the boundless potential that lies before us. 🚀 #TomorrowingToday

Sargent Initiatives INC had the opportunity to speak with Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy researchers who are asking tough, important questions about how to improve #defense #acquisitions. They asked for my thoughts and reflections. Here's what I said: 1) The acquisition strategy and contract construct has to incentivize primes to introduce new companies and capabilities. 2) Primes are significantly incentivized to introduce their own capabilities over other offerings. The government must stay engaged to ensure this reality does not negatively impact building a superior technical solution. 3) DoD would benefit from building an "assembly line" so that new capabilities have a clearer path and line of sight from SBIR >>TACFI/STRATFI >> OTA or Task Order >> Program of Record. The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), AFWERX, and others do a great job of getting companies started in Defense, but then it's largely up to the company to go the rest of the way. For example, just yesterday, I learned that a startup is looking to buy a small business systems integrator just to inherit their contracts and FCL. If the startup received SBIR funding, shouldn't Defense customers be calling them vs. them seeking Defense customers via an acquisition? I was inspired by the researchers themselves. They are helping the US Defense sector move forward in important, big-picture, strategic ways that will benefit the entire Defense Industrial Base. Please contact me 👇 if you want to have a 1:1 discussion. Let's geek out re: #defense #acquisition! #nationaldefense #executionmatters #onward

Although the impact of elevated interest rates on private equity players largely contributed to a decline in #Aerospace, #Defense, #Government & #Security M&A activity in 2023, steady valuation metrics, improved industry-wide earnings, and a stabilized financing environment are laying strong groundwork for a near-term rebound in dealmaking activity. Read more about the industry’s M&A landscape and in-depth insights across five key sectors in our annual ADGS Industry Year in Review & 2024 Outlook Report: https://hubs.la/Q02yTVP20 Lead report contributors: Tess Oxenstierna, Ian Cookson, Tom McConnell, David Brinkley, and Ted Polk. #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #businessowners #marketresearch

I love to see this, this is how we implement AI safely, effectively, and above all quickly!

An ecosystem is useless without markets. Early in the defense innovation movement as Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and AFWERX and others were just getting started, we talked a lot about the ecosystem. We inherently understood the need to recruit like-minded folks to work together. This was our "virtuous insurgency" within the United States Department of Defense. But an ecosystem can only take you so far. The sign of a mature, impactful ecosystem is its ability to create, shape, and grow markets. By "markets" I mean the literal definition of a market: a place where economic transactions take place. Buyer and sellers. Money changing hands in one direction while products and service go in the other direction. 💸 Looking back on the last decade, we have made some progress. But there is lot more we need to do. The defense innovation ecosystem needs to hold itself accountable to have an impact on markets. Otherwise we all are sizzle and no steak. 🥩 How will we know the ecosystem is working? It makes new markets. It changes existing markets. It even (gasp!) shuts down old markets. ☠ Look for market making at places such as the Disruptive Capabilities Office under Michael Stewart and the Office of Strategic Capital under Jason Rathje. #defenseinnovation #dualuse #government #defense #acquisitions #technology #ecosystems #markets #vcs

As an Acquisition professional, I believe it's crucial to prioritize our focus on (1) Acquisition Reform, (2) Future Operations, (3) Innovation, and (4) Lessons Learned. Each day engaging with the Army Acquisition community reinforces the importance of preparing for the future while learning from past operations. Exciting times ahead! Let's join forces in overcoming challenges, streamlining acquisitions, and promoting competition for successful modernization. #Acquisition #DefenseInnovation #FutureOperations #InnovationLeaders #LearnAndGrow #JoinTheDiscussion

Darktrace being sold to Thoma Bravo in the US for £5.315 billion The acquisition is currently expected to complete during the third or fourth quarter of 2024. The parties have agreed that Darktrace retains its research and development capabilities in the UK and the Netherlands and that there will be no material restructurings or changes to Darktrace's Cambridge UK headquarters or other business operations. Darktrace says it will continue to create high skilled jobs in the UK and invest in building world-class cyber AI capabilities to improve UK resilience. Being able to draw on Thoma Bravo's resources and expertise will support Darktrace's continued growth globally, resulting in further opportunities for its people, the company added. Thoma Bravo is one of the largest software-focused investors in the world, with over $138bn in assets under management as of December 31. It invests in growth-oriented, innovative companies operating in the software and technology sectors.

The following might be of interest to other space industry history enthusiasts. The recent announcement that BAE Systems will buy Ball Aerospace (https://lnkd.in/gG4KM5uH) may seem like just another space industry merger, in an industry that has seen plenty. They were particularly common in the years after the famous "Last Supper" in 1993, when the Secretary of Defense told an assembled group of defense industry CEOs that the end of the Cold War meant there wouldn't be enough government contracts to keep them all in business. But space industry Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) have also been common for routine business reasons. However, I think that the acquisition of Ball's Aerospace and Technologies division might actually be a milestone. As far as I can figure out, Ball Aerospace is the last company that's been in the space business since the start of the Space Age *without* having changed ownership or moved. Or, as far as I can tell, making any significant acquisitions of its own. Ever since it started in 1956 as Ball Brothers Research Corporation, Ball has just been, well, Ball. There are a few non-profits and FFRDCs with similarly uneventful ownership history, but Ball Aerospace is the only for-profit company I can find. On the other end of the M&A spectrum, L3 Harris recently completed its acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne. Which means the good people who build thrusters in Redmond, Washington *might* now be in contention for the record for the most M&A-induced name changes in the space business. They've been Rocket Research Corp, Primex, Olin, General Dynamics, Aerojet, Aeroject Rocketdyne, and now L3 (and maybe a few I've forgotten). The solid motor makers formerly known as Thiokol have gone through a similar number of ownership changes. (I remember when my Thiokol acquaintances would hand me new business cards each time I saw them, with logos for Cordant or Alcoa.) So, I wish my friends in Boulder and Redmond (and elsewhere) good luck as they navigate the transitions of corporate mergers. If you can think of any other old but never-merged space companies, or companies that changed hands more than 7 times, please correct me.

EpiSci's chief technology officer Dan “Animal” Javorsek describes some of the needed changes to the defense acquisition system in order to help agencies take advantage of software-defined technologies. "While hardware meets a requirement, software solves the problems warfighters care about. Software, and the data that powers it, has become dramatically more important than the hardware that long dominated our defense acquisition ecosystem. The big companies defining our lives today - Amazon, Google, Meta, etc. - are all data-driven organizations. Like these corporations, what truly gives our military’s existing combat platforms their advantage is their software, enabled by performant hardware. Unfortunately, many of the challenges of shifting to a software-forward mindset arise because the military’s large acquisitions programs are designed to acquire hardware from incumbent companies that have been rewarded by the existing capability model that sets in once vendor lock is achieved. In fact, vendor lock has only strengthened since the infamous “Last Supper” of 1993 where Secretary of Defense Les Aspin encouraged dozens of companies in the defense industrial base to consolidate and merge into today’s few big prime contractors."