Akhil Iyer, co-founder of defense tech VC Shield Capital, responds to host John Coogan on whether the US is underestimating robotics competition compared to China.
“I grow increasingly concerned that we are just frankly behind. In terms of the model development, the application of hardware and the synthesis they're in both from a hardware standpoint, from the software standpoint, and then critically the ability to test.”
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More from Akhil Iyer
Opinion
Iyer: Very few defense tech startups will ever reach Anduril's scale
“There's only gonna be so many andurals, right? There's only gonna be so many that can, that, that can speed and scale.”
Akhil IyerApr 8, 2025▶ 8:58Why 2027 and 2049 are KEY YEARS | Akhil Iyer on TBPN April 3rd
Opinion
Iyer: Defense tech founders and investors do not need military backgrounds
“I don't think you need to have a military background to do this. I think there's amazing American patriots that just want to get involved and they have really core technical skills elsewhere. I think it's helpful that, you know, folks came from the visceral op…”
Akhil IyerApr 8, 2025▶ 12:11Why 2027 and 2049 are KEY YEARS | Akhil Iyer on TBPN April 3rd
PredictionNot checkable as stated
Iyer: US industrial base capacity cannot significantly expand by 2027
“We are going to have the industrial base we have. By 20, 27, right? That's not that. That's 18 months from now. So we have to figure out what we can do with the capacity we have.”
Akhil IyerApr 8, 2025▶ 2:10Why 2027 and 2049 are KEY YEARS | Akhil Iyer on TBPN April 3rd
Insight
Iyer: 'Contested logistics' misses the point; the real issue is constrained sustainment
“And I specifically call it sustainment, not logistics for a couple of reasons. One, this term of contested logistics, while important, doesn't get to the root of the issues, which is how do you both operate in a constrained environment? So how do you do things…”
Akhil IyerApr 8, 2025▶ 7:04Why 2027 and 2049 are KEY YEARS | Akhil Iyer on TBPN April 3rd
Insight
Iyer: Accreditation and deployment bottlenecks stall defense AI applications
“Half half the challenge with a lot of the AI applications is you don't have the models accredited. You don't have the models deployed in a way that they can actually be used.”
Akhil IyerApr 8, 2025▶ 9:32Why 2027 and 2049 are KEY YEARS | Akhil Iyer on TBPN April 3rd
AssertionSupported
Iyer: Defense startups are increasingly using middle-ground contract vehicles like OTAs
“It's not just Sibers and program of record, right? And you saw the Secretary of Defense's memo around use of, you know, the newer software acquisition pathways and specifically other contract vehicles or other transactions to help facilitate this. And that's e…”
Akhil IyerApr 8, 2025▶ 14:01Why 2027 and 2049 are KEY YEARS | Akhil Iyer on TBPN April 3rd
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