Leading Defense Technology Companies and Investors Pen Open Letter Urging Acquisition Reform

Applied Intuition, a software solutions provider for autonomous vehicle development, and 12 leading venture capital and defense technology firms announced an open letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III with concrete and actionable recommendations to reform acquisition, overcome barriers to innovation, and revise specific Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) structures. 

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“Silicon Valley companies are driving the innovation that will make a difference in a future conflict,” said Qasar Younis, Co-Founder and CEO of Applied Intuition. “Startups, dual-use companies, and other nontraditional defense contractors want to work with the Department of Defense, but often run into barriers that make it difficult to deliver cutting-edge, commercially-derived capabilities to the warfighter at speed and scale.” 

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The letter endorses the recommendations of the bipartisan Atlantic Council Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption, and highlights four recommendations that will enable the Department of Defense (DOD) to access the most innovative capabilities developed by the commercial sector: 

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1. Modernize the DOD to align with the 21st century industrial base
2. Strengthen the alignment of capital markets to DOD outcomes 
3. Incentivize tech companies to do business with the DOD
4. Establish a bridge fund for demonstrated technologies

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“We’re proud to be joined by prominent venture capital funds and leading defense technology companies in endorsing a series of actionable recommendations that will help ensure that our warfighters reap the benefits of commercial innovation,” said Younis. “Together, we believe that these recommendations will address the DOD’s critical technology gaps and construct agile funding structures that will dramatically improve the DOD’s ability to integrate the world’s best technologies.” 

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The letter is signed by leaders from Lux Capital, General Catalyst, Floodgate, Kleiner Perkins, Shield Capital, Haystack, Snowpoint Ventures, Anduril Industries, Palantir Technologies, Hermeus, Founders Fund, and Primer Technologies. 

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Applied Intuition is committed to being part of the solution and driving efforts that will enable the Department of Defense to adopt cutting-edge technologies that respond to the needs of the warfighter.