More ex-military officials are becoming VCs as defense tech investment reached $35 billion

The distance 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: veterans and ex-Department of Defense officials.

Andreessen Horowitz hired Matt Shortal, an ex-fighter jet pilot, as its chief of staff; Lux Capital brought on Tony Thomas, former head of U.S. Special Operations Command, as an adviser; and Shield Capital’s managing partner Raj Shah served in the Air Force.

Hiring ex-military personnel can be a major advantage for firms, giving them “an understanding of what problems are actually on the battlefield,” instead of just “sitting in Silicon Valley and theorizing,” Ali Javaheri, PitchBook’s emerging tech analyst, told TechCrunch.

The boon in ex-military hiring comes alongside the continued defense tech investment craze. Silicon Valley pumped almost $35 billion into defense tech startups in 2023, and over $9 billion so far this year, according to a report released last week by PitchBook. This trend is anchored by some blockbuster fundraises. Shield AI, which produces an AI-powered drone pilot system, raised $500 million last year, and Anduril, Palmer Luckey’s defense tech startup, reportedly secured a fresh $1.5 billion in funding last month. Although funding into the sector has slowed this year, Javaheri said it’s still shown “resilience” in the context of a brutal overall fundraising environment.

https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/10/ex-military-officials-becoming-vcs-defense-tech-investment-reached-35-billion/?