Securing Our Future - The Cipher Brief Threat Conference Highlights, Fundings: Solestial, Primordial Labs, Universal Hydrogen
12 October 2022 - A Weekly Publication by New North Ventures
The Cipher Brief Threat Conference 2022 Highlights:
General Partner Brett Davis, on the Cipher Brief Investment in National Security Panel: “We’re seeing in the VC world, a new breed of investors who want to directly help innovate and drive change in this country.”
On Day 2 of the conference, surprise guest Andriy Yermak Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine called in live from Ukraine, to discuss the current state of the conflict and conditions from Kyiv. Hours earlier, central Kyiv had been struck by Russian rocket attacks. “Kyiv citizens sheltering in the metro and other bomb shelters during missile and rocket attacks on the city sang the Ukrainian national anthem as they were hit” describes Yermak.
Michael Orlando, DNI’s top counterintelligence official, says his message to American venture capital and private equity firms is: “Stop investing in Chinese quantum companies. You’re investing in someone who’s going to break our encryption.”
Kristin Wood, CEO and Cynthia Saddy, Senior Vice President at the Grist Mill Exchange on the panel Spying in the Open: Using Open-Source Information: “Data is easier to find and harder to hide.”
Thank you so much to The Cipher Brief for hosting such an amazing event and furthering discourse on public private partnership.
Founded: 2013
Key People: Co-founded by Dr. Stanislau Herasimenka and Mikhail Reginevich
Elevator Pitch: Developer of solar panels for space intended to revolutionize space solar.
Funding: The company raised $11.18 million of venture funding in a deal led by Airbus Ventures on October 6, 2022. AEI HorizonX, Stellar Ventures and Industrious Ventures also participated in the round.
Founded: 2021
Key People: Co-founded by Lee Ritholtz and Adrian Pope
Elevator Pitch: Developer of a tactical AI assistant designed for drones to significantly reduce the cognitive load on pilots through machine learning.
Funding: The company raised $2.5 million of seed funding from undisclosed investors on October 7, 2022.
Founded: 2020
Key People: Co-founded by Paul Eremenko, Dr. John-Paul Clarke, Jason Chua, and Jon Gordon
Elevator Pitch: Manufacturer of capsule modules intended to safely store hydrogen during transit and also act as modular fuel tanks that load directly onto aircraft.
Funding: The company raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from American Airlines on October 10, 2022.
Shift toward ‘Silicon Nation’ promotes resilience — for American defense, society and the economy
Silicon Valley has been the source of innovation for the government since WWII, but today startup founders and investors can be found all over the U.S.
The recently passed CHIPS and Science Act promotes geographic diversity in research, development, and innovation with the goal of boosting U.S. competitiveness and national security.
“Harnessing Silicon Valley’s dispersion will fill critical gaps in America’s technology workforce and is key to ensuring America’s long-term technological competitiveness.”
Chicago scientists are testing an unhackable quantum internet in their basement closet
The U.S., China, and others are racing to develop and dominate quantum capabilities. Harnessing the power of quantum technology implies major economic and national security benefits.
The University of Chicago’s Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility is being used to test how well photons with encryption keys can travel through the network.
Hacking these photons as they are traveling is not possible because, “any attempt to observe particles in a quantum state automatically alters the particles and destroys the information being transmitted. It also alerts the sender and receiver about the attempted eavesdropping.”
