HCL Speakers Announced, Fundings: ClearSpace, 24M, Forward Edge AI
25 January 2023 - A Weekly Publication by New North Ventures
The High Consequence Leadership Summit is coming Fall 2023. We have an amazing lineup of speakers that are covering topics ranging from geopolitical trends, team building, and mental resilience.
LTG (R) Scott Howell - Former Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Commander
Susan Still Kilrain - Former NASA Astronaut and Naval Aviator
Jay Harrison - NHL Player turned PhD
LTG (R) Rick Waddell - Former Assistant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Deputy National Security Advisor
Brett Davis - Former Senior Executive in the CIA and Navy EOD Officer
Jeremy Hitchcock - Co-Founder of multiple successful startups and Angel Investor
Kevin Higgins - Former Senior Executive in the CIA
Robert Pizzini - iFly CEO, Author, Former Navy EOD Officer
Preparation, grit, and an ability to see opportunities in chaos is what consequential leadership is all about.
Founded: 2018
Key People: Co-founded by Luc Piguet and Muriel Richard
Elevator Pitch: Failed satellite and debris removal services designed for smooth space operations.
Funding: The company raised EUR 26.7 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by Swisscom Ventures and OTB Ventures on January 19, 2023, Happiness Capital, Luxembourg Future Fund, Lakestar, and In-Q-Tel also participated in the round.
Founded: 2010
Key People: Co-founded by W. Craig Carter Ph.D, Yet-Ming Chiang Ph.D, and Throop Wilder
Elevator Pitch: Lithium-ion batteries designed to improve the operational reliability, economics, and efficiency of electric power systems. The company's batteries offer semisolid electrodes and unit cells that are binder-free, which eliminates the need for hydro or pyrometallurgical processes for battery recycling and helps direct in-plant reuse of active material for end-of-life recycling, enabling clients to increase efficiency and save money.
Funding: The company received $3.2 million of grant funding from Arpa-E on January 23, 2023. The company is in the process of raising $20 million of venture funding from FujiFilm on September 14, 2022.
Founded: 2019
Key People: Co-founded by Eric Adolphe JD and Michael Peacock
Elevator Pitch: Network management software designed to identify emerging scam calls and text messages that target vulnerable communities. The company's software leverages artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, robotic process automation, and swarm intelligence to solve problems of social consequence.
Funding: The company raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from Deal Box Ventures on January 20, 2023.
The Road Ahead for the CHIPS and Science Act
With last year’s CHIPS and Science Act, Congress passed another authorization bill that calls for a near doubling of the budgets for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Most of the $50 billion appropriated so far goes towards the CHIPS for America Fund, which includes $39 billion for a manufacturing incentives program. Requests for proposals for the CHIPS for America Fund will be released by the Biden Administration in early February and will provide specific application guidance.
Two billion dollars over five years is provided for the CHIPS for Defense Fund. This money goes to support a Department of Defense lab-to-fab program called the Microelectronics Commons.
As the 118th Congress gets underway, the parties will be tested as to whether they can reach an agreement and appropriate the funds necessary to avoid repeating the errors of the past and, instead, invest heavily in the nation’s future by meeting the funding goals passed in the CHIPS and Science Act in fiscal year 2024.
Space Capital Sees Upside to 2022 Decline in Space Investment
Space Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm, published its Space Investment Quarterly Jan. 19 for the fourth quarter of 2022. The report notes that early-stage startups fared better than later-stage and growth companies.
Over the last decade, investors bet $272.3 billion on 1,791 space companies. Looking ahead, Space Capital expects 2023 to be a difficult year for startups as investors remain selective.
However, in 2023, government spending will be increasingly important to the space economy. The $26.3 billion 2023 budget for the U.S. Space Force tops NASA’s $25.4 billion budget.
Leveraging US Capital Markets to Support the Future Industrial Network
America’s capital markets represent a critical, yet underutilized, strategic advantage for the Department of Defense’s ability to field new capabilities.
When it comes to fiscal law and authorities, the Department of Defense tends to take a much more conservative approach, hewing closely to programs or initiatives expressly authorized by Congress in the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Changing this culture of risk avoidance will take serious effort by leaders at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, but it can be done.
Austin’s recent announcement of the formation of the Office of Strategic Capital is an important step. Its annual budget of over $800 billion can co-fund and build critical technologies, catalyze the formation of entirely new industries, and, more than building weapons, can be invested against our adversaries along the many battlefronts, from technology to input materials.
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.
