On Dec. 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin established the Office of Strategic Capital with the mission of building “an enduring technological advantage by partnering with private capital providers.” The announcement comes after years of growing concern in the national security ecosystem about the wide availability of adversarial capital and the corresponding lack of trusted capital in critical technology sectors. The true test of the well-intentioned office will be whether it has sufficient impact on the American innovation ecosystem.
That ecosystem encompasses much more than just Silicon Valley, ranging from startups, companies, venture capital firms and angel investors to manufacturers and government agencies involved in driving innovation. As the U.S. government pays more attention to the financing of the American tech sector, it’s doubling down on industrial goals, aiming to increase its role in the ecosystem and diminish that of its competitors.
Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital must win over Silicon Valley (defensenews.com)
