David - Thank you guys for pushing this thesis and area of investment. I know it’s not easy.
The country needs more funds like a16z who understand the world we live in and why we can’t lose technological superiority relative to our adversaries.
It’s necessary for our survival as a country and if you believe in our values (freedom, individual rights, justice for all, democracy, etc.)
The compressed timeline point is critical too. When Anduril hits $100M programs in 3 years, it's not just speed — it's a completely different relationship between builder and buyer. The acquisition reforms created a lane. The founders drove through it. Now the question is whether that lane stays open for the thousands of companies that should be following them through.
The theme running through this summit is clear: the infrastructure layer determines who wins. AI models, autonomous platforms, space systems — all of it runs on communications. And the communications layer for contested environments is still stuck on 1971 ALOHA flooding protocols that choke at 50 nodes.
GPS-synchronized TDMA changes the equation. Deterministic time slots, zero collisions, works without infrastructure. That's the substrate underneath the substrate Emil Michael was describing.
The $500M OCUDU initiative announced this week at MWC is building the infrastructure RAN. But the sub-infrastructure mesh layer — what works past the last cell tower — is the gap that still needs filling. That's where the next wave of American Dynamism companies should be building.
The goal of American venture capitalism is to extract profit - not to achieve some lofty goal of American Whateverism. More jobs have been lost to automation than offshoring; lost manufacturing jobs reflect the growth of global competitiveness post-WWII, not just NAFTA.
The goal may be to "being manufacturing home" but it won't involve human employment as is implicit here. TL;DR, American Won't Be Great Again for anyone but shareholders.
Second, China and the far east have cultivated to best supply chain logistics in the world to support manufacturing. Even if venture cap invests in domestic fabrication at any level, it cannot compete at the level of supply chain - especially if it involves certain raw materials.
Sure, it's great to see more reliable, stable employment. But this will remain anecdotal in comparison to the millions of displaced workers that are nowhere near qualified to fulfill the labor pool standards for anything high tech. Meanwhile, we defund higher education, close government research facilities, bar foreign student visas, alienate the entire rest of the world from ever doing business with us, and soil our reputation as a world leader in science. Hah! You are an eternal optimist, Mr. Ulevitch. Good luck with that.
David, The stat that hits hardest: 57 of 64 critical technologies. We went from leading in 60 to leading in 7. That's not decline — that's a rout.
What gives me hope is that the builders are already here. I'm in New Orleans — same state as Saronic's shipyard expansion - building GPS-synchronized mesh communications hardware. Three patents filed, working prototype on my bench. Not because someone asked me to. Because 33 years in RF infrastructure taught me that the country that controls its own communications fabric controls its own future.
The founders at Summit today aren't chasing trends. They're building things that are hard to build, in places most VCs won't look, solving problems most people don't know exist yet. That's the real American Dynamism.
Fund it like our lives depend on it. Because they do.
The West is thankful that we have America and that we have companies like a16z who proudly stand for, invest in and champion technological supremacy, the land of the free and defense innovation. Watching from afar, it's great to see what American Dynamism is doing, as well as companies like SpaceX and Saronic. God speed!
David - Thank you guys for pushing this thesis and area of investment. I know it’s not easy.
The country needs more funds like a16z who understand the world we live in and why we can’t lose technological superiority relative to our adversaries.
It’s necessary for our survival as a country and if you believe in our values (freedom, individual rights, justice for all, democracy, etc.)
“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”
usa2032.ai
please invite me. i DM'd marc
The compressed timeline point is critical too. When Anduril hits $100M programs in 3 years, it's not just speed — it's a completely different relationship between builder and buyer. The acquisition reforms created a lane. The founders drove through it. Now the question is whether that lane stays open for the thousands of companies that should be following them through.
The theme running through this summit is clear: the infrastructure layer determines who wins. AI models, autonomous platforms, space systems — all of it runs on communications. And the communications layer for contested environments is still stuck on 1971 ALOHA flooding protocols that choke at 50 nodes.
GPS-synchronized TDMA changes the equation. Deterministic time slots, zero collisions, works without infrastructure. That's the substrate underneath the substrate Emil Michael was describing.
The $500M OCUDU initiative announced this week at MWC is building the infrastructure RAN. But the sub-infrastructure mesh layer — what works past the last cell tower — is the gap that still needs filling. That's where the next wave of American Dynamism companies should be building.
The goal of American venture capitalism is to extract profit - not to achieve some lofty goal of American Whateverism. More jobs have been lost to automation than offshoring; lost manufacturing jobs reflect the growth of global competitiveness post-WWII, not just NAFTA.
The goal may be to "being manufacturing home" but it won't involve human employment as is implicit here. TL;DR, American Won't Be Great Again for anyone but shareholders.
Second, China and the far east have cultivated to best supply chain logistics in the world to support manufacturing. Even if venture cap invests in domestic fabrication at any level, it cannot compete at the level of supply chain - especially if it involves certain raw materials.
Sure, it's great to see more reliable, stable employment. But this will remain anecdotal in comparison to the millions of displaced workers that are nowhere near qualified to fulfill the labor pool standards for anything high tech. Meanwhile, we defund higher education, close government research facilities, bar foreign student visas, alienate the entire rest of the world from ever doing business with us, and soil our reputation as a world leader in science. Hah! You are an eternal optimist, Mr. Ulevitch. Good luck with that.
Thank you for the invite. The calling is high but we have the talent to respond.
Phenomenal event. Very excited for the future of America and her children.
David, The stat that hits hardest: 57 of 64 critical technologies. We went from leading in 60 to leading in 7. That's not decline — that's a rout.
What gives me hope is that the builders are already here. I'm in New Orleans — same state as Saronic's shipyard expansion - building GPS-synchronized mesh communications hardware. Three patents filed, working prototype on my bench. Not because someone asked me to. Because 33 years in RF infrastructure taught me that the country that controls its own communications fabric controls its own future.
The founders at Summit today aren't chasing trends. They're building things that are hard to build, in places most VCs won't look, solving problems most people don't know exist yet. That's the real American Dynamism.
Fund it like our lives depend on it. Because they do.
CJ
The West is thankful that we have America and that we have companies like a16z who proudly stand for, invest in and champion technological supremacy, the land of the free and defense innovation. Watching from afar, it's great to see what American Dynamism is doing, as well as companies like SpaceX and Saronic. God speed!