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The length between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon just keeps getting smaller . As venture capitalists continue to pour money into defense tech startups , they ’re turning to a new hiring pool : stager and X - Department of Defense functionary .
Andreessen Horowitz hired Matt Shortal , an ex - fighter jet-propelled plane airplane pilot , as its chief of faculty ; Lux Capital wreak on Tony Thomas , former head of U.S. Special Operations Command , as an consultant ; and Shield Capital ’s managing partner Raj Shah served in the Air Force .
Hiring ex - military personnel department can be a major reward for business firm , giving them “ an understanding of what problem are actually on the field of honor , ” instead of just “ sitting in Silicon Valley and theorizing , ” Ali Javaheri , PitchBook ’s emerging tech psychoanalyst , told TechCrunch .
The boon in ex - military hiring comes alongside the continued defense tech investing frenzy . Silicon Valley pump almost $ 35 billion into defence tech inauguration in 2023 , and over $ 9 billion so far this year , according to a reputation released last week by PitchBook . This style is anchored by some smash hit fundraises . Shield AI , which produces an AI - power poke pilot system , raise $ 500 million last year , and Anduril , Palmer Luckey ’s defense tech inauguration , reportedly secureda fresh $ 1.5 billion in funding last calendar month . Although funding into the sector has slowed this year , Javaheri said it ’s still shown “ resilience ” in the linguistic context of a cruel overall fundraising environment .
But the sector is not all rosebush . Javaheri draw the Department of Defense accomplishment process as “ cumbersome , ” sometimes taking class for startups to secure any contract bridge . That ’s time startups have to financially weather with short to show investor for their efforts .
Venture firms that can extend startups the connection of ex - military personnel have a major wooden leg up in militant deal . “ You get their net where they can lecture to a program officer who ’s ultimately in complaint of the budget line of a specific military situation , ” Javaheri say . “ The military is a very internet - driven sort of organization . ”
For ex - armed services , they get ingress into a 2nd , lucrative career with cutting - edge engineering science . “ A few age back you would have gone to be executive frailty president at Lockheed Martin — totally not sexy , ” Chris O’Donnell , a former Navy SEAL and conductor of Franklin Venture Partners , toldThe New York Times .
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But the clock time for land a easygoing post - military venture job might be running out . The sector has scarce any departure to speak of , besides Palantir ’s public offering in 2020 or Anduril ’s recent buying spree , in which it snatched up technology company Blue Force and rocket engine motor Godhead Adranos .
Even if the technical school IPO window was n’t closed at the minute , Javaheri does n’t see many initial offering in the future tense . He advises VCs to view their investments as possible acquisition butt , in all likelihood from the very same unsexy company that these former military folks are presently eschew .
“ There ’s a good fortune that the existing defense declarer will gobble up some of the smaller companies , ” he said .
But for the time being , the defense technical school hype is still going strong — and veterans and DOD official can cap off their careers with a well - funded landing place inking pad .
For those who know the history of Silicon Valley , this is a come home of sorts for the technical school industry . The Valley ’s technical school industry began at the intersection of university inquiry and DoD technical school spending , as the area has always been home to a potpourri of military operations . Indeed , San Francisco ’s Presidio sphere now hosts a number of VC berth , like defense tech backer Founders Fund .
“ Silicon Valley has recall to its roots and is working closely with the Pentagon in this more and more tense and competitive geopolitical environs , ” Javaheri said .