Stay ConnectedFew companies make it from pilot to production in the defense market. Those who do often change the industry in the process.
How do they do it? What lessons can startups take from their trials, successes, and failures? Crossing the Valley tells the stories of the trailblazers who are forging a new path for America’s defense.
Copyright: © Noah Sheinbaum
How Palantir, SpaceX & Anduril Veterans Are Redefining Cybersecurity for the Defense Industrial Base
About the Guests
Nik Seetharaman and Grace Clemente represent perhaps the most elite defense tech pedigree possible. Between them, they've touched the holy trinity of modern defense juggernauts: Palantir, SpaceX, and Anduril.
Nik's journey began in special operations before transitioning to the private sector. At Palantir, he learned the art of aggressive execution and brutal feedback loops that forge high-performing teams. His stint at SpaceX reinforced the culture of rapid iteration and learning from failure. But it was at Anduril where he faced his defining challenge: becoming the first security engineer at a company scaling from 100 to 4,000 people while building weapon systems under constant foreign adversary attention.
Grace built her expertise in the most sensitive areas of corporate security—insider threat and counter-espionage programs at both SpaceX and Anduril. She witnessed firsthand the daily reality of nation-state adversaries attempting to penetrate critical infrastructure and defense technology companies. Her experience shaped a deep understanding of what real security looks like versus the theater of compliance checkboxes.
Their pain points weren't academic—they were personal and professional crises. Waking up at 3 AM to alerts, logging into 40+ different security tools, spending hours gathering context for simple decisions, and watching talented security professionals burn out from cognitive overload and poor tooling.
About Wraithwatch
Wraithwatch emerged from a simple but profound question: What would we have wanted to gift ourselves as lone security engineers told to "protect the company" with 100,000 possible next steps?
The company addresses a fundamental market shift in defense technology. Security has evolved from a cost center to a revenue generator. Defense companies literally cannot sign government contracts without robust security controls, making cybersecurity teams direct contributors to revenue generation rather than overhead expenses.
Wraithwatch's core innovation is a unified security platform that breaks down the data silos plaguing modern cybersecurity. Instead of forcing teams to operate 40+ point solutions, Wraithwatch creates a "digital twin" of customer environments and runs thousands of attack simulations to identify the most critical vulnerabilities and provide actionable remediation steps.
Their "gain of function" approach uses advanced AI offensive capabilities to continuously improve defensive strategies—a co-evolution process that mirrors how nation-state adversaries actually operate. The platform deploys in as little as 22 minutes and immediately begins autonomous threat modeling without executing actual attacks against production systems.
The user experience philosophy is radical for cybersecurity: make defenders feel like Tony Stark commanding an intelligent system rather than helpless operators drowning in alerts. This includes features like AI-generated daily briefs with voice narration, 3D network visualization, and one-click remediation capabilities.
For more on Wraithwatch: https://www.wraithwatch.com/
About James Boyd
James Boyd is the archetype of a mission-driven founder. Born in California but raised in the UK, his trajectory changed completely on September 11, 2001, when he was a Stanford computer science student. Instead of following his peers into consulting or investment banking, Boyd made the contrarian decision to enlist in Army Special Forces—a choice that would define his entire career.
Boyd was in the First Special Forces Group for about three years. It was during these deployments that he experienced firsthand the friction between cutting-edge intelligence systems and the analog processes that dominated day-to-day military operations. This experience led him to Palantir, where he spent nearly seven years building and deploying data analytics platforms across special operations units.
The combination of Stanford computer science education, Special Forces operational experience, and Palantir's high-velocity startup culture created a unique skill set: deep technical capabilities paired with intimate understanding of military operations and bureaucratic navigation. This intersection would prove invaluable when founding Adyton.
About Adyton
Adyton was founded in early 2020 with a simple but powerful thesis: while defense organizations had invested heavily in enterprise systems and data analytics, the actual warfighters—the people doing maintenance, training, and operations—remained trapped in analog processes using paper notebooks, clipboards, and manual data entry.
The company's flagship product, Adyton Operations Kit (AOK), transforms these analog workflows into seamless digital experiences optimized for mobile devices. Rather than requiring new government-furnished equipment, AOK leverages the smartphones that service members already carry, addressing everything from personnel accountability to digital asset management to training coordination.
Adyton's growth trajectory has been impressive: 500% growth in 2024, deployment across 39 of 59 Army Brigade Combat Teams, adoption by seven Special Forces groups, and recent expansion to multiple Navy aircraft carriers. The company achieved this scale through organic, bottom-up adoption—end users demanding the product rather than top-down procurement mandates.
Follow James Boyd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-alexander-boyd/
Learn more about Adyton: https://www.adytonpbc.com/
Subscribe for more Crossing the Valley: www.valleycrossers.com
LeoLabs is Building the "Living Map" of Space Activity
About Tony Frazier
Tony Frazier joined LeoLabs as CEO after a distinguished career scaling technology companies in complex government markets. At Maxar Technologies, he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Earth Intelligence, overseeing partnerships with over 60 allies worldwide and supporting critical missions from humanitarian assistance to the Ukraine conflict. His earlier experience includes leadership roles at Cisco Systems and Infor, plus startup experience during the late 90s internet boom. Tony's unique combination of product expertise, P&L management, and deep government market knowledge made him the ideal leader to scale LeoLabs from innovative technology to mission-critical infrastructure.
About LeoLabs
Founded in 2016, LeoLabs commercialized radar technology from Stanford Research Institute to create the world's most comprehensive space domain awareness platform. The company operates a globally distributed network of 11 radars across 7 countries, tracking over 24,000 space objects daily and providing persistent monitoring services to government and commercial customers. LeoLabs has raised over $140 million through Series B funding and serves a diversified customer base spanning US government (33% of revenue), international governments (60%), and commercial space operators (7%). With recent wins including a $60 million STRATFI award and $4 million TACFI award, the company is positioned to scale its next-generation "seeker" class radar technology as space activity explodes toward 100,000+ trackable objects in the coming decade.
For more about LeoLabs: https://leolabs.space/
For more Crossing the Valley: www.valleycrossers.com
About Lieutenant General (ret) Ross Coffman
Ross Coffman represents a rare breed in defense innovation - a senior military leader who transitioned directly from the Pentagon to startup leadership. During his final seven years in the Army, Lt Gen Coffman was deep in technology, serving as director of the next generation combat vehicle cross-functional team before becoming deputy commanding general for combat development at Army Futures Command from 2022 to 2024.
His portfolio at Army Futures Command spanned satellite payloads to vaccines for monkeypox - giving him a unique perspective on how the military evaluates and adopts new technology. After 35 years of military service, Lt Gen Coffman joined Forward Edge-AI as president, a company building cybersecurity products for the quantum age.
About Colonel Dan Cormier
Colonel Cormier brings the operational perspective as both a seasoned warfighter and current educator at the Naval Leadership and Ethics Center in Newport. His focus on senior leader development provides crucial insight into how bureaucratic processes shape military thinking, particularly the tension between compliance-based junior leadership and the dynamic thinking required at senior levels.
About Forward Edge AI
Forward Edge AI is an early-stage startup focused on cybersecurity for the quantum age. The company's core values align with national defense, public safety, and national security - a mission alignment that drew Coffman from his military career to startup leadership.
For more on Ross Coffman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-coffman
For more on Daniel Cormier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-j-cormier
For more Crossing the Valley: www.valleycrossers.com
Case Study: Bridging the Strategy-Industrial Reality Gap
About the Experts
Becca Wasser and Phil Sheers from the Center for New American Security (CNAS) authored "From Production Lines to Front Lines: Revitalizing the U.S. Defense Industrial Base for Future Great Power Conflict." Wasser specializes in defense strategy and great power competition, while Sheers focuses on defense budgets and acquisition policy. Their research combines strategic analysis with practical policy recommendations.
About CNAS
The Center for New American Security is a leading defense policy think tank that bridges the gap between government and industry through rigorous research and strategic analysis. CNAS's defense industrial base work examines how America's manufacturing capacity intersects with national security strategy, and makes recommendations for policymakers and industry leaders on navigating the transition from “Pax Americana” to great power competition.
About Dr. Alex Miller
Dr. Alex Miller serves as the Chief Technology Officer of the United States Army, a position that oversees technology modernization across one of the world's largest and most complex organizations. An intelligence professional by trade, Miller was elevated to this strategic role to drive the Army Transformation Initiative—the most significant military modernization effort in decades. Working directly with Army Chief of Staff General Randy George and Secretary Dan Driscoll, he manages everything from organic industrial base operations (e.g., production of ammunition for the Joint Force) to next-generation command and control systems.
About the Army Transformation Initiative
The Army Transformation Initiative represents a fundamental shift in how the military acquires, tests, and fields technology. Directed by an April 30th memo from the Secretary of Defense, the initiative focuses on two critical areas: divesting outdated systems and investing in war-winning capabilities. The program encompasses everything from holistic soldier fitness to counter-drone warfare, magazine depth for missile systems, and close combat force equipment. What makes this transformation unique is its emphasis on real soldier testing through the "Transforming in Contact" program, where three brigades serve as beta testers for new technologies in demanding training environments. Rather than relying on contractor demonstrations, the Army is letting soldiers determine what works in actual field conditions—from Louisiana swamps to freezing German winters.
Timestamps:
[00:01:33] Army 250th birthday celebration and family military legacy
[00:03:15] Role and scope of Army CTO - "The Army does everything, everywhere, all the time"
[00:05:51] Army Transformation Initiative focus areas and modernization priorities
[00:07:45] Counter-drone warfare: "This generation's IED flying at 100 mph"
[00:10:01] "Transforming in Contact" - fixing broken Pentagon procurement process
[00:14:02] Learning from ABMS failures and structuring top-of-funnel experimentation
[00:18:30] The divestment challenge: divesting old equipment and congressional battles
[00:20:40] RQ7 Shadow case study: $77M for sub-50% readiness rates
[00:22:30] Humvee divestment after 40 years and 103,000 vehicles
[00:24:45] Detachment 201 deep dive: Big Tech executives commissioning as Lieutenant Colonels
[00:33:28] Final thoughts: Building irreversible momentum beyond personality-driven change
Check out the full interview on YouTube and follow Crossing the Valley on LinkedIn!
Checking in on Accrete: Building a Dual-Use AI Company That Scales
About Brian Drake & Bill Wall
Brian Drake serves as Federal Chief Technology Officer at Accrete AI, bringing deep government intelligence experience from his time at Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Bill Wall leads federal operations, managing the complex dance between classified and unclassified work across government contracts. Together, they've built a successful dual-use AI company that serves both commercial and government markets effectively.
About Accrete AI
Accrete AI develops decision analytics platforms that process massive information flows to identify patterns and predict outcomes. Their technology began in the commercial music industry, helping record labels identify viral talent from millions of social media posts. This same capability now serves government customers for information operations, supply chain risk assessment, and cognitive warfare applications. The company recently secured a $15M strategic financing agreement from the Air Force.
For more on Accrete: www.accrete.ai
For more Crossing the Valley: valleycrossers.com
About Brian Streem
Brian Streem is the founder and CEO of Vermeer, a company building vision-based navigation systems for GPS-denied environments. His unconventional path began at NYU film school, where a screenwriting teacher taught him that good stories are "both unpredictable and inevitable" – a principle that would define his entrepreneurial journey. Streem became one of the first legal drone cinematographers in America, working on Fast & Furious movies and Steven Spielberg films before pivoting to defense tech.
About Vermeer
Vermeer develops hardware-software systems that enable drones to navigate without GPS by using computer vision and locally stored terrain databases. Their solution combines cameras, NVIDIA chips, and neural networks to match real-time imagery with pre-loaded 3D maps, creating jam-proof navigation for military applications. The company has secured millions in product sales and works with tier-one defense contractors across the US, Europe, and Asia.
Key Takeaways
1. Customer Discovery at Scale Beats Perfect Pedigree: The story that defines Brian’s hustler ethos takes place in a cabin on a lake during COVID. Brian scraped 50,000 .mil emails for DoD personnel, emailed every one, and conducted over 2,000 individual conversations to understand the market before he started his business. This aggressive customer discovery revealed that GPS-denied navigation was the #1 problem across multiple military branches. Customer discovery is the way. In his own words: "Don't build a goddamn thing. Speak to a thousand people who have a lot of money in your market and ask them what their biggest problem is."
2. Naivety Can Be Your Greatest Weapon: Brian’s lack of defense experience became an advantage. While experts said solutions already existed, he asked simple questions: "If it exists, where is it? Why do they tell me it's still a problem?" His outsider perspective led him to pursue solutions that insiders had dismissed, ultimately winning five Phase II SBIRs in his first year.
3. Test in Real Conditions or Risk Building Fantasy Products: Instead of raising venture capital, Streem moved to Ukraine for 14 months to test his product in actual combat conditions. "There's no point of wartime technology if you don't fight in a war," he argues. This real-world testing revealed critical issues – like the challenge of testing $30,000 systems on one-way drones – that he simply wouldn’t have learned as quickly back home in the comforts of the United States.
4. Services Revenue Can Fund Product Development: Vermeer is not Brian’s first startup. He previously funded software development by running a drone cinematography service company, which generated millions in revenue. But like many founders who start with services and aim to pivot to products, he hit a wall — he captured most of the Hollywood market, and realized that he couldn’t scale himself as fast as he wanted to grow his business. At the same time, he saw that "investors would rather fund your product from zero" than hear about “distracting services revenue.” They wanted him to focus.
5. Solve the Hardest Version of the Problem First: Brian discovered that in some ways, "Hollywood drone cinematography is actually harder than military drone missions" because of their highly specific aesthetic requirements and demands around precision. Learning to fly for Hollywood actually made it easier to handle the military applications. Just like Tesla started with the high-end car, and SpaceX started with bespoke missions, solving the complex use case first created competitive advantages that have proven sticky.
Brian is a star in the making — honestly, listen to this on 1.5x if you have to, but don’t delete this email. You can thank me later.
For more on Vermeer: getvermeer.com
For more on Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianstreem/
For more Crossing the Valley: Valleycrossers.com
Building Multi-Domain Capabilities Through Iterative Experimentation
About our Guests
Repeat guests from Episode 43, Lt Colonel Tommy Burns and Lt Colonel Aaron Ritzema are completing their tours with the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany, where they've spearheaded some of the Army's most innovative experimentation efforts. Both officers bring operational experience to the challenge of transitioning emerging technologies from concept to battlefield capability.
As they prepare to transition to new roles, they re-joined Crossing the Valley to share their experience leading the Arcane Thunder exercise, and to give a candid look into what worked, and what didn’t, as we look toward the future.
Key Takeaways
1. Network Architecture Enables All Other Capabilities
The exercise's biggest breakthrough was achieving real-time data sharing between operations in Poland and Arizona. This network integration became the foundation for every other success, enabling live video feeds across continents and coordinated multi-domain operations. Without robust network architecture, individual technologies remain isolated capabilities rather than integrated systems.
2. Honest Assessment Accelerates Innovation Cycles
Despite multiple drone crashes and weather setbacks, the team gave themselves a "passing grade" because they proved the core digital signal flow concept. This honest evaluation—celebrating successes while acknowledging failures—enabled rapid iteration and course correction. Organizations that hide failures slow their own progress.
3. Training Systems Must Evolve With Technology
The unit broke Army records by launching 10 micro-HABs in one day (previous record was 5) because they developed deliberate training progressions from individual to collective tasks. Their success came from building human proficiency alongside technological capability.
4. Performance Standards Need Development for New Capabilities
Unlike traditional military capabilities with established time and accuracy standards, multi-domain operations lack comparative benchmarks. "We still don't even really know what good looks like yet," Burns explained. Building evaluation criteria and collecting baseline performance data must happen in parallel with capability development.
5. Human Judgment Remains Critical in Automated Systems
Even with sensors automatically connecting to shooters across domains, empowered junior leaders remain essential. The exercise reinforced that technology should enhance human decision-making rather than replace it. "There's absolutely room for empowered junior leaders to execute within commander's intent," Ritzema emphasized, highlighting the enduring importance of the "humans over hardware" philosophy.
For more on Arcane Thunder 25: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/496977/exercise-arcane-thunder-25-press-release
For more Crossing the Valley: www.valleycrossers.com
Case Study: How ULA CEO Tory Bruno Stewarded a Legacy Giant Through Existential Threats
About Tory Bruno
Tory joined United Launch Alliance as CEO in August 2014, bringing four decades of aerospace experience and a track record of over 400 rocket launches. Previously at Lockheed Martin, he led programs in hypersonics, directed energy, and missile defense while running one of the company's largest and most profitable business units. Bruno initially resisted the ULA opportunity, preferring to work on critical national security technologies, until his wife (also a rocket scientist) convinced him that taking on the ULA mission would be too important for the nation’s space capabilities to pass up.
Bruno is known for his technical depth, strategic foresight, and unconventional approach to business challenges. He is a steady hand in stormy waters. The contrast to his fellow space executives at SpaceX and Blue Origin is quickly apparent.
About United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance was formed in 2006 as a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, combining their Delta and Atlas rocket programs. Created to solve a national security crisis when both companies threatened to exit unprofitable space launch, ULA became a "monopoly of service" focused on mission success over commercial competition.
When Bruno arrived in 2014, ULA faced existential threats: Senator McCain had outlawed their primary Atlas rocket by 2017, SpaceX was emerging as serious competition, and the company culture was unprepared for competitive markets. The 50-50 ownership structure prevented traditional equity financing, requiring creative approaches to fund development of the new Vulcan rocket.
Today, ULA maintains a 100% mission success rate, has achieved National Security Space Launch certification for Vulcan, and holds major contracts including a multi-billion dollar government award and 47 launches for Amazon's Kuiper constellation.
For more on the United Launch Alliance, visit their website at https://www.ulalaunch.com/
Tory recently launched the Burn Sequence Podcast - you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2XFxZO6iLo
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