David Rothzeid of Shield Capital discusses how Palantir successfully challenged the US Army in court and scaled in the defense market.
Opinion
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 …”
Disclosure
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…”
Opinion
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.”
Insight
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, …”
Opinion
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…”
Opinion
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?”