Investors See Opportunity in Space Defense

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00:00There is tension economically and otherwise between the United States and China.

00:04But if you're a venture capitalist or private growth equity player, you see an opportunity.

00:09Thank you so much both for having me here today.

00:12At Washington Harbor Partners, we're running our daily ground game.

00:16We're meeting with the Department of War.

00:18We're meeting with the national security community, with the White House, with Congress,

00:22to listen and to engage and to understand what are the greatest mission needs?

00:27What are the market gaps and where can we find the best founders, with the best leadership,

00:32with the best technologies and capabilities to meet those needs and to fill those market gaps?

00:37You just mentioned the Department of War.

00:39Last week, I was in Los Angeles with many space technology leaders,

00:43and they very much say that space is the next warfighting domain.

00:47Their point, which I wrote about for the Tech in Depth newsletter,

00:50is that Space Force, as a government agency, is a real player here.

00:55Do you agree with that argument, and do you see yourself doing business with Space Force?

00:59That's a great question, and space is a critical warfighting domain that we're very interested in.

01:05We're very bullish on the Space Force.

01:07We're very excited about their leadership, their talent, their focus,

01:11the resources they're dedicating to this very critical warfighting domain.

01:15We're making active investments in the space domain.

01:18So, for example, we recently invested in a company called Turion Space,

01:22which is a space domain awareness company.

01:24They identify potential threats in space, they analyze them,

01:29and they potentially help to react to those emerging threats and emerging technologies.

01:35We also have investments in companies like Stokespace, Apex Space, and Quindar

01:40to meet these mission gaps and needs in space,

01:43and we're on the lookout to be much more active in the space domain.

01:46Stokespace just had some interesting news in and of itself about its own fundraise.

01:50I'm interested, Mina, more broadly then, what is your ask when you're thinking about later this week,

01:56the meeting between Xi and Trump?

01:59How worried are you about rare earth metals?

02:01How worried are you about access at the moment when so much of this is integral to some of the startups that you back?

02:07Thank you, Caroline.

02:10So, the whole world is watching.

02:12Everyone's following the headlines.

02:14And at Washington Harbor, we just have our heads down and we're running our daily ground game.

02:19Rare earths, the U.S. supply chain, we think is a very high priority.

02:23We're investors in a company called Vulcan Elements, which we think can help create that domestic supply chain

02:28and ensure that we have access to the most important materials for both robotics and drones

02:34and other very important mission needs.

02:38Production at scale, we think, is an increasingly important pain point.

02:43We're investors in companies like Andurl Industries, which brings hardware and sensors and munitions to the mission edge.

02:48Beyond just things, we think data is incredibly valuable and powerful.

02:55We think bringing data to the edge and empowering the warfighter and the operator with AI and AI-enabled capabilities

03:03is also of incredible importance.

03:06So, we're invested in a company called Raft, which brings that decision-making capability using AI to the mission edge.

03:12And finally, power and energy, resilient, mobile, safe power and energy anywhere in the world for the warfighter,

03:21we also think is incredibly important and very critical to the supply chain.

03:26Just remind us of, like, your thesis.

03:29At this moment, we've suddenly felt like 2025 has been the year that we're all talking about defense tech.

03:34But the LPs that are in Washington Harbor Partners, the likes of the corporate pension funds, the endowments, the foundations,

03:40have they always been there backing this thesis?

03:42How much have you suddenly heard of this wall of demand coming from those who want to access this VC focus that you have?

03:51We are very fortunate to have very focused LPs who have been very passionate about bringing the best technologies

04:00to not only the warfighter but also the civil servant.

04:03They see it as having been unfair that those who are making the greatest sacrifice and taking the most courage

04:11haven't had the best technologies and have critically been 8 to 10 years behind the Fortune 500.

04:18Today, they're all universally excited that, you know, in an area where we haven't had the U.S. military

04:25modernized in nearly a generation,

04:27all the stars are aligning now to change things now more than ever.

04:32Congress has appropriated real dollars

04:35to acquiring capability

04:37and next generation technologies.

04:40Both sides of the aisle

04:41are in agreement today

04:43that things have to change,

04:45that there needs to be acquisition reform,

04:48and that they're trying to enable

04:50the Pentagon to acquire

04:51modern technologies and capabilities.

04:53Just very quickly, the timeline that all of the apparatus, fence apparatus that this nation runs to

04:58is conflict of some form, 2027, U.S. and China.

05:02Do you model for that same timeline?

05:04You know, we model for ASAP.

05:06We model for the urgent needs and not knowing when there could be conflict.

05:10And so the critical thing here

05:13is that both military leaders, civilian leaders, entrepreneurs, investors

05:20are scaling up,

05:22and they're all acting with a sense of urgency

05:23to make sure that the warfighter has what they need in the next two weeks

05:27and doesn't have to wait two years

05:29to get what they deserve and need to fight this battle.

05:32So, let's see.

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