Luke Gowers’ Post

🚀 DEFCON AI has secured $44 million in #seed #funding to revolutionize military #logistics with AI-powered solutions. The company aims to optimize supply chain management, transportation planning, and resource allocation, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of military operations. 💡 The funding round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Fifth Growth Fund and Red Cell Partners, among others,. This backing highlights the potential of Defcon AI's technology to transform the complex landscape of military logistics. 🎯 #Defcon AI's focus on tackling the "maximum complexity" in military logistics underscores the unique challenges in this field. Their #AI-driven #solutions are designed to navigate the dynamic and high-stakes environment of military operations. 💼 With this significant #investment, #Defcon AI is poised to accelerate product development and expand its influence in the defense sector. The future of military logistics is set to be reshaped by #AI #innovation. Source: TechCrunch #AI #MilitaryLogistics #DefenseTech #StartupFunding #Innovation #SupplyChain #ArtificialIntelligence #TechForGood #DefconAI #FutureTechly

DEFCON AI Secures $44M Seed Funding to Revolutionize Military Response Planning Learn more & get our take 👇 https://lnkd.in/gvtQ3mHp “At DEFCON AI, we are developing powerful solutions to reshape response planning in contested and disrupted environments. Our ability to do this dramatically improves the odds of materiel and manpower making it to their destinations without delay.” — Yisroel Brumer, Co-Founder and CEO at DEFCON AI “Few organizations can take high-end software engineering and artificial intelligence expertise and combine it with a deep understanding of battlefield and defense operational requirements to rapidly deliver the kinds of technology that the DoD needs.” — Gen. (Retired) Paul Selva, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at DEFCON AI “The security of the U.S. increasingly depends upon innovative software that delivers speed, intelligence, and resilience, which is why Bessemer is proud to fund defense tech startups like DEFCON AI.” — David Cowan, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners #funding #military #SoTNews

I’ve been building Digital Twins for a while now and it still comes down to how well you define the system boundary and the quality of your model and data. AI can help with both as well the obvious increases in simulation dynamics. Our next challenge is going to be the interpretation of real outcomes vs perceived visual reality from what may ‘look real’.

We’re pleased to announce a partnership with McChrystal Group to bring our Industrial AI platform to expand our work with US and allied defense forces. Avathon's AI platform increases operational readiness by providing AI co-pilots to our maintenance and operations personnels worldwide, and by streamlining defense logistics and supply chain processes. Our focus is on optimizing the utilization of current assets while we march toward fully autonomous systems. Here’s why Gen. (Ret.) Stan McChrystal, CEO and chairman of the McChrystal Group, is excited about the collaboration: “The ability to leverage historical enterprise data to forecast dependencies and stage critical items supporting combat systems and Warfighters when and where they are needed will determine the victors. Our ability to expertly leverage AI to make our systems more resilient is deterrence in itself.” https://lnkd.in/grK_UGWR 

Helsing 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 $𝟒𝟗𝟎 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 $𝟓.𝟑𝟖 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Helsing is an AI defense company reshaping the defense landscape with innovations that promise to enhance operational efficiency, strategic decision-making, and overall security. The company’s core mission is to leverage AI to develop advanced military solutions that provide a significant strategic advantage. In 2023, the company joined the unicorn club. Helsing has raised $490 million in a Series C round at a $5.38 billion valuation. The round was led by existing investor General Catalyst, and was joined by Elad Gil, Accel, Saab, Lightspeed, Plural, and Greenoaks. The German-based company, with offices in Munich, London, and Paris, announced that the fresh funding will be used to enhance its AI capabilities and grow its 300-person workforce. Helsing, Berlin, Germany, was founded in 2021 by Dr. Gundbert Scherf, Niklas Köhler, and Torsten Reil. Founded with the vision of integrating cutting-edge artificial intelligence into defense mechanisms, Helsing has swiftly positioned itself as a leader in the field. With ongoing investments in research and development, the company is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is possible with AI in defense.

‼️This week's Hatch Report has posted https://lnkd.in/eHt3BCDm // Selected highlights below: 1️⃣ DARPA SBIR seeks to develop LLM-enabled software applications that assist small/nontraditional companies in applying for their FCLs and associated PCLs. This is a major pain point for new defense entrants. Learn more at the January 7 Industry Day. 2️⃣ Another DARPA program wants to enhance warfighter performance by accessorizing their red blood cells with biologically active "cargos" via a scalable, medical device-based platform. Proposals are due by January 3. 3️⃣ Navy PEO-Unmanned Aviation & Strike Weapons will host an Industry Day on January 8 to explore UAS COCO ISR Services. This "as-a-service" approach is worth noting as Congress and thought leaders call for similar acquisition models. See comments for an informative op-ed on the topic.  4️⃣ DEVCOM Soldier Center RFI seeks a mobile, scalable biomanufacturing system capable of enabling point-of-need nutritional production using in-place resources such as air, water, and minerals. Industry Day set for January 31. 5️⃣ DARPA seeks to develop an algorithmic "theory of mind" to better model adversaries' situational awareness, predict behavior, and analyze courses of action. By combining advanced algorithms with human expertise, this initiative aims to help decision-makers create incentive frameworks, avoid escalation, and adapt to changing adversary strategies. Responses are due by December 20. 6️⃣ Former INDOPACOM Commander John Aquilino joins Lockheed Martin's Board of Directors. 7️⃣ Episys Science secures a $12.4M STRATFI for tactical AI autonomy products. 8️⃣ Virginia Commonwealth University wins an $18M contract modification for the Convergence Lab Initiative (CLI), focusing on EO, IR, RF, and edge AI technologies. 9️⃣ DARPA's Influence Campaign Awareness and Sensemaking (INCAS) Program has awarded contracts to Smart Information Flow Technologies, Protagonist Technology, USC, and the University of Illinois. These awards support the development of advanced tools for detecting and analyzing geopolitical influence campaigns. ....................................................... ‼️ The actual Substack post features 13 DoD RFPs/RFIs, 15 industry updates, and additional detail/hyperlinks. 📥 Be sure to like & subscribe to get these weekly updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Breaking news: Avathon has partnered with the McChrystal Group to increase military access to its Industrial AI platform. Avathon CEO Pervinder Johar sees the platform as an application that will help the military adapt as needs change and technology advances over the coming decades: “Avathon’s Industrial AI platform not only provides solutions to critical operational challenges but will grow with defense customers as parts of the industry move toward autonomy. This partnership with the McChrystal Group bolsters our ability to take our successful innovations from the commercial market and apply them to the defense arena.” For Gen. (Ret.) Stan McChrystal, CEO and chairman of the McChrystal Group, the partnership will pay significant dividends: “Our supply chains are highly dynamic, especially in a wartime environment. The ability to leverage historical enterprise data to forecast dependencies and stage critical items supporting combat systems and Warfighters when and where they are needed will determine the victors. Our ability to expertly leverage AI to make our systems more resilient is deterrence in itself.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/ekVsCQqS

Check out this GovExec event at Catalyst Campus, Colorado Springs on June 11th to explore the impact of AI on government operations. Use the link below to register for this event. #ColoradoAPEXAccelerator #APEXAccelerator #ColoradoSprings #AI #CatalystCampus

🔍 How do you integrate AI, simulation, and data-driven experimentation to shape the future of defense? For the past year, MAK Technologies and our sister company, ST Engineering Antycip, have been proud to support Cervus on the UK Army’s FORGE program. Together, we’re combining MAK’s VR-Forces Constructive Simulation with Cervus’ AI Analytics Engine to create an advanced simulation environment for experimentation with the UK Army’s Fifth Generation Force. Learn more about how this collaboration is advancing defense experimentation and readiness 👉 https://lnkd.in/ewwKfpbv #DefenseInnovation #Simulation #ArtificialIntelligence #Collaboration

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