David Rothzeid
Principal, Shield Capital. On 1 show, 1 appearance. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
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David Rothzeid is a Principal at Shield Capital focused on dual-use innovation in defense technology. He is also a U.S. Air Force veteran and current reservist.
1shows
1appearances
14statements
5resolved
5supported
0contradicted
100%fully supported
Everything David Rothzeid said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Rothzeid: Palantir is the most valuable publicly traded defense contractor
“I think so much now that they're the most valuable, you know, defense contractor out there on the public market.”
Rothzeid: Companies abuse SBIR grants with no intention to commercialize
“What I would say about the CIBA program writ large is, If used correctly, they can be great stepping stones, but I think what we have seen is kind of an abuse of the Cibber program writ large, where companies just compete to win these grant dollars with never …”
Shield Capital Advises Certain Startups to Avoid DoD and SBIR Contracts
“In certain cases, we actually advise our startups not to work with the DoD. Even, you don't even bother doing a SIBR. The DoD is not organizationally structured to leverage your technology in a way that makes sense for your business goals and outcomes, and you…”
Rothzeid: Dual-Use Tech Entrepreneurs Will Outpace Their Peers
“We strongly believe that entrepreneurs that can operate, you know, within those two worlds are really going to outpace their peers, and that you can do good and well simultaneously.”
Rothzeid: Modern warfare proved commercial tech like Starlink has military value
“There's nothing like, you know, modern warfare to sort of showcase the material benefit that some of this new gray technology, whether they be UAV drones or access to You know, commercial satcom like Starlink, the effect that that can have on the battlefield, …”
Government Defense Tech Adoption Remains Far Below Necessary Levels
“By no means are we even close, you know, to where we need to be. So I think we're still sort of investing on the promise and potential of recognizing this generational change that is occurring within the acquisition workforce, not just across the Department of…”
Rothzeid: DoD treats software as an afterthought slapped onto hardware
“Famously, I would say the DoD buys software after the fact, you know, you sort of slap the software onto the hardware, and, you know, it's very clunky, does not give a joyful experience, right?”
Rothzeid: Entrepreneur Mindsets Shifted Toward Defense Tech Due to Geopolitics
“Today, when we engage with entrepreneurs, The mindset has totally shifted. I think a lot of that has to do with Ukraine, but also the just geopolitical issues facing the world today, where all of a sudden, you know, partners that were great market opportunitie…”
Rothzeid: DoD contracts offer high customer stickiness and guaranteed payment
“If you get that customer, it's a sticky customer. There are significant switching costs to trading out one software platform for another or one capability for another. And, you know, the DOD always pays its bills.”
DIU Was DoD's First Move to Bridge Silicon Valley and Defense
“And that was the Department of Defense's like first real move to try to build bridges between the kind of Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem and the national security apparatus.”
Rothzeid: SpaceX cut launch costs from $16k to $3k per kilogram
“When you lower the cost of access to space from something like 16,000 dollars per kilogram to now roughly 3000 dollars per kilogram”
Rothzeid: Anduril gained early defense momentum via SBIR Phase III award
“And so it was actually a phase three that Andrew got pretty early on for their century tower that allowed them to then get some real momentum in the defense space.”
Rothzeid: Scaling DoD prototypes to procurement takes 18 to 24 months
“That budgeting process in a normal year. And this year, fiscal year, 25 is anything but a normal year. But that process can take 18 to 24 months to sort of ramp up. So you might have a great prototype that won an SBIR or a different other R&D contract, and it …”
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens David's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 INNOVATORS & INVESTORSLEDGER | Principal, Shield Capital | 1 | 14 | 100% 5/5 | full record on Innovators & Investors → |