venture capital | The Contracting Education Academy

The Defense Department on Wednesday rolled out a new initiative meant to protect its future supply chain from investors that might seek to turn U.S. intellectual property into foreign military capabilities.

The “trusted capital” program — first authorized by Congress in 2017 — has already been up and running as a pilot effort in some pockets of DoD. Officials announced Wednesday they had quietly expanded it to a wider pool of vendors and investors in December via an online marketplace, and are now actively seeking more applicants.

The program works by pairing “capital providers” the Defense Department has vetted with small and medium-sized companies who are working on dual-use or military technologies, but need influxes of cash to get their products off the ground.

The main objective is to keep those firms from partnering with investment funds that exist primarily to take an ownership stake in a U.S. company’s intellectual property and then transfer it to China or other potential adversaries, said Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2021/01/pentagon-launches-online-marketplace-to-pair-small-firms-with-trusted-investors/

Also see DOD Launches ‘Speed Dating App’ Connecting Vetted Capital With Tech Companies at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2021/01/dod-launches-speed-dating-app-connecting-vetted-capital-tech-companies/171423/

In today’s changing geopolitical environment, concerns in Washington that the United States is falling behind in critical emerging technologies are commonplace.

China and Russia — both identified as great-power competitors of the United States by the current administration — are forging forward with critical investments in technologies ranging from quantum computing to artificial intelligence.

But the United States is still by far the most innovative nation on earth. America’s strengths run from its fundamental pull to brilliant minds the world over through its relatively open immigration system to the unparalleled resources of its universities. The free-market structure of the economy, vibrant venture capital ecosystems, world-class universities, and government support of R&D combine to form the most innovative ecosystem in the world.

However, when it comes to defense and positioning for future competition with Beijing and Moscow, the government has not figured out how to tap this flow of innovation emanating from the civilian sector.

Keep reading this article at: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/getting-critical-technologies-us-defense-applications-119541

Pentagon launches online marketplace to pair small firms with ‘trusted’ investors

The Defense Department on Wednesday rolled out a new initiative meant to protect its future supply chain from investors that might seek to turn U.S. intellectual property into foreign military capabilities.

Getting critical technologies into DoD applications

In today’s changing geopolitical environment, concerns in Washington that the United States is falling behind in critical emerging technologies are commonplace.

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