This panel at Georgetown’s 2024 Venture in the Capital Conference, moderated by Drew Peterson (MSB’25) and Phoebe Martin (MSB’24), brought together Don Burnette of Kodiak Robotics, Sarah Hess of the Silicon Valley Defense Group, Neil Keegan of Marlinspike and J.D. Englehart of In-Q-Tel, who began his venture career at Georgetown as an MBA student.
Panelists explained how defense differs from software investing: the government is largely a single, slow-moving customer used to buying from large contractors. Keegan argued that the defense industrial base must be rebuilt, while Hess noted that startups now face many “front doors” to the Pentagon and must find who actually buys. Burnette described the cost of building autonomous trucks before long-term contracts arrive. The group discussed cheap drones versus costly missiles, supply chain and energy security as national security, and agreed that the future of land, sea and air is autonomous.