🫵🏽 This is your chance to have a say in defining the largest, most influential federal innovation event of the year. Help us bring influential defense leaders from around the country here to Austin!

📣 Who do YOU want to hear from?

March may be 7 months away, but PanelPicker voting closes this Sunday, August 21st. Voting takes just a few minutes and we need you to do your part!

All you have to do is:

1. Create a PanelPicker profile if you don’t already have one
2. Click each of the links below
3. Click the Up arrow to help support Defense Innovation in Austin!

🦸🏼‍♀️ 🇺🇸 The Future of Women on America’s Front Lines

Throughout history, women have been warriors. They’ve broken glass ceilings and defended nations on streets and battlefields. Yet, in US law enforcement, women represent roughly 12% of officers and 3% of leadership. This is despite evidence that women are less likely to use excessive force and more likely to improve police-community relations and de-escalate in conflict scenarios than their male peers.

What would federal law enforcement look like with greater gender diversity? Join us for a panel featuring three women changing the face of leadership in federal law enforcement. This panel will explore their experiences in a male-dominated field, the pandemic’s impact on the workforce, and their strategies for getting more women in positions of leadership on our nation’s front lines.

Speakers

• Anesa “Nes” Parker, Principal, Deloitte
• Diane Sabatino, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
• Marisa Flores, Acting Deputy Assistant Director, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations

⚡️Energy Challenges and the Defense Department

Academia and industry have been partnering to solve energy challenges for decades. The Defense Department wasn’t part of the conversation — until now. The war in the Ukraine changed the world. Join leading energy experts from the Pentagon and learn how the adoption of commercial energy technology on the battlefield is accelerating change in the energy sector. Hear how government funding can also propel development of new consumer energy products for non-defense companies with novel technologies.

Speakers

• Jeff Decker, Program Director, Hacking for Defense at Stanford University, Hacking for Defense at Stanford University
• Ben Richardson, Director, Energy Portfolio, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), U.S. Department of Defense
• Meredith Berger, Performing the Duties of Under Secretary of the Navy/Assistant Secretary of the Navy Energy, Installations and Environment, U.S. Navy
• Richard Kidd, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment & Energy Resilience, U.S. Department of Defense

💰 Customer Diversification: Taking Tech Dual Use

Pursuing the government as a customer is not for the faint of heart, particularly for start-ups. Many are wary of going dual-use due to the perception of long contract award times, shifting customer demands, and uncertain budgets. Many are unaware that the Department of Defense has made major strides in making it more friendly to emerging tech. This panel brings together the Honorable Heidi Shyu, defense thought leaders, investors, and technologists to discuss how the landscape has changed. It provides insights into new initiatives designed to align the government to the commercial tech marketplace and takes a sincere look at the obstacles that remain to maximize benefits for early-stage, venture-backed companies — providing new tech to our country and customer diversification to companies.

Speakers

• Trish Martinelli, Executive Director of DEF, Regional Director at Large for NSIN, National Security Innovation Network, Defense Entrepreneurs Forum
• Adam Rentschler, Founder & CEO, Valid Evaluation, Inc.
• Dan Madden, Principal, National Security, Squadra Ventures
• Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense (Research & Engineering), United States Department of Defense

🌎 Accelerating Energy Independence

Academia and industry have been partnering to solve energy challenges for decades. The Defense Department wasn’t part of the conversation — until now. The war in the Ukraine changed the world. Join leading energy experts from the Pentagon and learn how the adoption of commercial energy technology on the battlefield is accelerating change in the energy sector. Hear how government funding can also propel development of new consumer energy products for non-defense companies with novel technologies.

Speakers

• Jeff Decker, Program Director, Hacking for Defense at Stanford University, Hacking for Defense at Stanford University
• Ben Richardson, Director, Energy Portfolio, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), U.S. Department of Defense
• Meredith Berger, Performing the Duties of Under Secretary of the Navy/Assistant Secretary of the Navy Energy, Installations and Environment, U.S. Navy
• Richard Kidd, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment & Energy Resilience, U.S. Department of Defense

🚀 Accelerating Dual Use Startup Innovation

This session will be about so-called ‘dual-use’ technologies, which refers to technology that can be used for both peaceful and military aims. More generally, dual-use can also refer to any technology which can satisfy more than one goal at any given time. In recent years various military programs have actively sought out dual-use technologies, with early stage funding for R&D (eg, AFWERX) and sales opportunities (eg, DIU). The panel will bring together several key stakeholders for a round-table conversation, including a former Army Ranger turned-VC, a federal politician (US senator), a representative from one of the federal innovation programs (probably either Army or US Air Force), and a start-up innovator supplying into both civilian and military markets.

Speakers

• Hunter McDaniel, CEO, UbiQD, Inc.
• Brad Harrison, Managing Partner, Scout Ventures
• Martin Heinrich, US Senator, US Senate

🇺🇸 Dual-Use Technology as National Security

There has never been a better time to invest in the next wave of American-focused technology innovation. For decades, the US Government has funded research that led to the development of technology like the Internet, GPS, and cellular communications. To compete globally and defend domestically, future generations require the same public investment, private partnerships, and collective tolerance for risk. This requires backing companies working on meaningful problems related to sustainability, advanced energy, manufacturing, and other sectors that serve the national interest. When you invest in dual-use technology, you accelerate national security, help build America’s technical workforce, and fund ideas that breed prosperity and peace of mind.

Speakers

• Bradley Harrison, Founder and Managing Partner, Scout Ventures
• Ryan McCarthy, Advisor, Scout Ventures
• Hunter McDaniel, Founder/CEO, Ubiqd

💸 A New Era of Venture Capital Backed Defense

The invention of GPS. The internet. Radios. Jet engines. Silicon Valley’s first IPO. All transformative moments that have changed society, invented by the military.

Many of the technologies that underpin our daily lives have their roots in government grants, research, or contracts. But the same could not be said of today’s inventions. When did the paths of innovation and establishment diverge? What can be done to bring them back together? This session will explore the so-called “valley of death” that has emerged — where companies can’t sustain the years-long time between R&D and government contract — and how venture capital is stepping up to bridge that critical gap. With industry, investors, and government working together, can re-gain the spirit of innovation in aerospace and defense?

Speakers

• Bo Marr, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Epirus
• Joe Lonsdale, Managing Partner, 8VC

🇺🇸Investing in America: Why VCs Bet Big on Defense

What was once a controversial idea is now consensus: the U.S. is losing its competitive edge against China and Russia, and “business-as-usual” isn’t enough to stay ahead. Failure to adopt and integrate advanced technologies at all levels, and especially across defense forces, poses a grave risk to our national security. The stakes could not be higher. Mission-driven investors are stepping in to accelerate and scale the disruptive technologies being built by new, non-traditional defense technology companies. Their bets are paying off, delivering badly-needed technology to the warfighter and a healthy return on investment. This panel features top investors who are leading and participating in funding rounds for a new era of VC-backed defense technology companies.

Speakers

• Kia Kokalitcheva, Reporter, Axios
• Trae’ Stephens, Co Founder and Executive Chairman, Anduril Industries
• Josh Wolfe, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Lux Capital
• David Ulevitch, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

🦄 Using Defense Money to Grow your Unicorn

The U.S. Defense Department (DoD) has one of the largest budgets in the world, awarding $445 billion in contracts. Compare that to the private sector where start-up creation and investment was estimated at $105 billion. The DoD represents great opportunities for startups. The defense marketplace is also one of the most complex and bureaucratic landscapes that make navigating it extremely challenging. But lucrative defense contracts that can be landed. Early-stage non-dilutive defense funding has proved pivotal to scale market success. With money available from government programs, startups can actually get paid to develop commercial products. Learn how to navigate the complex Department of Defense and create dual-use companies that can land funding & lucrative DoD contracts.

Speakers

• Jeff Decker, Program Director, Hacking for Defense at Stanford University, Stanford University

✈️ Co-investing with the Department of the Air Force

Come learn about how we support small businesses and the greater economy with non-dilutive funding and contracting opportunities through our core capabilities: the Open Topic, Specific Topic, and Supplemental Funding Increase Programs (Strategic Financing Increase Program, or STRATFI, and Tactical Funding Increase Program, or TACFI). Join as we discuss opportunities for venture capital and the larger private investment community to co-invest alongside the DAF SBIR/STTR budget to help bridge the valley of death, learn more about the DAF’s investment thesis and upcoming opportunities, and hear from other venture leaders why they pursue the return on investment of investing in dual-use and defense companies.

Speakers

• Helena Krusec, Acting Engagements Lead, AFVentures, AFWERX

🗺 What if GPS went away? How it could & what to do

Can you imagine a world without GPS? We live in a world where our smartphones tell us the time and how to get from point A to B via the fastest and most convenient route. We do this through the GPS chipset in our phone via the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). This is a familiar example of how we rely on GPS. And then there’s the examples you don’t think about: the ATM you used for cash or the tech used to pay the toll on the highway. While GPS has many benefits, there are very real concerns: accidental and deliberate interference and cyber attacks, for example. During this panel, you will hear from industry leaders about our societal reliance on GPS, its drawbacks, and why quantum sensing technology may surface as a technology solution for positioning, navigation, and timing.

Speakers

• Heather Penney, Senior Resident Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace studies
• Evan Kubes, President and Co-founder, The Quantum Insider
• Maximillian (Max) Perez, VP of Research and Security Solutions, ColdQuanta
• Sarah Gamberini, Policy Fellow, National Defense University center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction

👩🏽‍✈️ The World’s Best AI Pilot for the DoD & Beyond

A session on Shield AI’s work at the intersection of AI, autonomy and aerospace engineering, resulting in the development and delivery of the world’s best AI pilot for the DoD and beyond. We started this company by asking “what does the military of 2030 look like?” The answer for that was “ubiquitous AI and autonomy,” or AI pilots for every military asset. We started with a problem our cofounder and former Navy SEAL was familiar with, which was clearing buildings in combat with quadcopters. Our goal has never been to just build quadcopters. From here, we are working with larger defense companies and the government to integrate our AI and autonomy software stack on aircraft of every size, to include our own aircraft, V-BAT: the most tactical, logistically simple VTOL aircraft in the world.

Speakers

• Brandon Tseng, President, Co-Founder, Shield AI

✋🏽✋🏾✋🏿 WoC and National Security: Reimagining Our Futures

“We think a lot about whether traditional definitions of national security are enough when it comes to threats to Americans, particularly women of color, at home and abroad.” Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins. As threats posed to the United States national security become more intense, the U.S. must reimagine what it considers a threat to its national security. This discussion session aims to deduce ways in which Americans define national security. A few of the questions we will discuss include:

• How do we define and address domestic terrorism?
• How does cybersecurity intersect with national security?
• Does national security include the protection of Brown and Black Americans?

Speakers

• Sayako Quinlan, Senior Security Researcher, CrowdStrike
• Harriet Lewis, Chief Visionary Officer, Konesens Development
• Pam Campos, Director of Peace & Security, Working Families Party
• Kara Hernandez, Illicit Trafficking Working Group Co-chair, Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation

📘 A New National Plan for Securing Critical Infrastructure

In 2022, CISA will issue the National Infrastructure Protection Plan for the first time in a decade.

The requirement for a national plan to secure critical infrastructure is as old as the US Department of Homeland Security. But what is critical infrastructure? In an entangled global environment of pandemics and supply chain stress, nation-state cyber threats and school shootings, how does the US decide what is nationally critical, and how do government and industry work together to secure it? How can business and government share strengths to keep up with rapidly propagating vulnerabilities and attack technologies?

In this session, listeners will hear policy experts and practitioners — including primary authors on multiple iterations of the National Plan — debate the past and future of the

Speakers

• Jack Anderson, Branch Chief, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

🌎 Innovation, Geopolitics, and U.S. Competitiveness

Are you passionate about ensuring we build a vibrant, resilient, and prosperous future by tackling the biggest challenges with urgency, dynamism, and innovation? Do you want to contribute to big ideas and projects transforming our economy, national security, and society?

Come join our community to meet like-minded innovators helping the United States lead in technology innovation and uphold democratic values. This is an all-of-nation effort requiring the brightest minds in all levels of government (local/state/federal), industry, academia, and civil society. The United States needs a strategic vision to strengthen its long-term competitiveness.

We will kick off with short introductions before opening up the networking for shared interests and potential collaborations.

Speakers

• Joe Felter, Founding Member & Center Director, Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation
• Abigail Kukura, Associate Director of Research & Analysis, The Special Competitive Studies Project

🛰 The Future of Space-Based Intelligence

Four directors from space-based intelligence agencies (NRO, NSA, NGA, and ODNI) participate in a one-hour panel moderated by a space industry scholar or pop culture figurehead to discuss the future of space-based intelligence. We are planning to ask Neil deGrasse Tyson or potentially an actor from Star Wars to moderate. This person has not been identified yet.

Speakers

👩🏽‍🔬 How Can Biotech Futureproof Our World?

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated clinical development of mRNA technology. In this session, we ask: what technologies are needed to save us from the next biological crisis?

Speakers

• Dr James Coates, Principal for Health & Human Performance, Decisive Point
• Justin Fanelli, Chief Architect of Defense Medical Intelligence & Technical Director, Naval Information Warfare Center
• Dr Paul Le Floch, CEO & Co-Founder, Axoft, The MIT-backed Soft Neural Probe Company
• Dr. Niels Olson, Chief Medical Officer, Defense Innovation Unit

💰 Customer Diversification: Taking Tech Dual Use

Pursuing the government as a customer is not for the faint of heart, particularly for start-ups. Many are wary of going dual-use due to the perception of long contract award times, shifting customer demands, and uncertain budgets. Many are unaware that the Department of Defense has made major strides in making it more friendly to emerging tech. This panel brings together the Honorable Heidi Shyu, defense thought leaders, investors, and technologists to discuss how the landscape has changed. It provides insights into new initiatives designed to align the government to the commercial tech marketplace and takes a sincere look at the obstacles that remain to maximize benefits for early-stage, venture-backed companies — providing new tech to our country and customer diversification to companies.

Speakers

• Trish Martinelli, Executive Director of DEF, Regional Director at Large for NSIN, National Security Innovation Network, Defense Entrepreneurs Forum
• Adam Rentschler, Founder & CEO, Valid Evaluation, Inc.
• Dan Madden, Principal, National Security, Squadra Ventures
• Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense (Research & Engineering), United States Department of Defense

🚀 Igniting Trust & Spurring Innovation in Government

Governments face ever-changing circumstances, priorities and needs. Yet, history is littered with failed attempts at promising innovative solutions. Innovations succeed not because a single person can champion an idea, but because many people — a network of people — trust that an innovation will help to accomplish a broader mission. Success of an innovation is not just a magical idea, it takes trusting an idea enough to give it resources, enough to risk careers advocating for it, and enough to adopt it. When a network of people trusts a similar vision, they rally together to bring an innovation to fruition. While this chain of trust is needed for a single innovation, it can be scaled as an agency-wide innovation vision to help sustain development and instill trust among innovators over time.

Speakers

• Kelley Lane, Senior Government Innovation Consultant, Deloitte Consulting
• Brian Whittaker, Acting Chief Innovation Officer, FDIC
• Daniel McCoy, Chief Innovation Officer, Transportation Security Administration