High Consequence Leadership Summit, Fundings: Anduril, Quidnet Energy, EnCharge AI
7 December 2022 - A Weekly Publication by New North Ventures
Join us Fall 2023 in Virginia Beach for our first High Consequence Leadership Summit. As leaders of consequence, we are all living in a much more dynamic world, making critical decisions in the face of less information, less clarity of objective, and under more austere conditions. We’re bringing together the top performers in the special operations community, sports, finance, and startups to discover the parallels that have contributed to their success. You won’t want to miss this summit in Virginia Beach, home to Naval Special Warfare Group 2 and its SEAL Teams 2, 4, 8, 10 and 18. Register now to be in the room for expert sessions delivered by industry leaders paired with extreme sport activities.
Founded: 2017
Key People: Co-founded by Brian Schimpf, Matthew Grimm, Palmer Luckey, Trae Stephens, and Joseph Chen
Elevator Pitch: Artificial intelligence-based hardware and software technology designed to solve critical challenges in the national security sector.
Funding: The company raised $1.48 billion on Dec. 1, 2022 in Series E funding led by Valor Equity Partners at an $8.48 billion valuation.
Founded: 2013
Key People: Co-founded by Howard Schmidt Ph.D and Aaron Mandell
Elevator Pitch: Grid-scale energy storage systems designed to power the carbon-free electric grid, enabling governments and corporations to generate clean energy while seamlessly integrating with the existing electricity-generating facilities.
Funding: The company received $10 million of grant funding from U.S. Department of Energy in the Part of ARPA-E Program on November 29, 2022.
Founded: 2021
Key People: Co-founded by Echere Iroaga Ph.D, Kailash Gopalakrishnan Ph.D, and Naveen Verma
Elevator Pitch: AI computing solutions to build scalable AI architectures and flexible software integration, designed to increase the computing capabilities of modern AI systems.
Funding: The company raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from Scout Ventures approximately in December 2022.
Pentagon officials tout new office aimed at linking defense startups with private funds
The DoD announced a new organization - The Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) that will help build an enduring technological advantage by partnering with private capital providers.
Companies that are developing critical technologies such as advanced materials, next-generation biotechnology, and quantum science will be able to more easily access private capital through the office that will result in faster development of capabilities for the DoD.
The OSC was created to help provide long term funds aimed at bridging the so-called “valley of death”, referring to the sometimes years long financing gap between development and full scale production.
The intent of the OSC is also to encourage startups in these critical technology fields to seek and access funding at home rather than choosing private capital from Russia or China.
In Phoenix, a Taiwanese Chip Giant Builds a Hedge Against China
The world’s largest maker of advanced computer chips, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) outlined a $40 billion plan on Tuesday to expand and upgrade a U.S. production hub that it is building in Phoenix, AZ.
There have been growing concerns from the U.S. about the over reliance on Taiwan for chips, given that China claims it as its own territory. The scaling of a U.S. based TSMC facility would have significant implications.
President Biden and Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the unveiling event at the Phoenix facility.
Look for a new episode of Securing the Future Podcasts wherever you listen. In our latest episode we have guest Laura Thomas of ColdQuanta, sit down with General Partner Brett Davis for an engaging conversation on the future of quantum and national security. Listen below on Spotify.
