How about an alternative route to market for the hundreds of software, AI, sensor companies looking at solving the challeges of government and defense customers? One where THEY capture the value THEY bring. Here's what you can build on today.
Walking through defense trade shows and engaging in discussions in Washington D.C., I’ve come to realize we're at a pivotal moment. The brilliant minds behind the 20th century's monumental defense & aerospace inventions—the Space Shuttle, the Internet, and the early work in autonomy—are nearing retirement with no clear succession plan. I see this as a prime opportunity to elevate the defense sector, rebuild its industrial base, and address the toxic culture left from the consolidation era of the '90s. To paraphrase Y Combinator’s mantra, our primary responsibility will always be to build capabilities that our defense end users actually want. Yet, to achieve this, there are essential issues we must tackle: 1. Combat the entrenched wastefulness in government programs, driven mainly by the cost-plus contracting; 2. Build an ecosystem of partnerships that is inclusive, moving beyond the exploitation of subcontractors; 3. Bring high-quality talent, especially software engineers, into the same rooms as military members; 4. Reform procedures that prevent the use of modern software engineering in defense platforms. I am excited that we are building that future at Picogrid, together with several other upstarts pulling all-nighters in/around El Segundo (Neros Technologies, Hadrian, Rainmaker Technology Corporation, Rangeview...), and groups of engineers and military members obsessed about keeping a high bar on quality all across the country.
