Articles
How the DoD’s Quest for Efficiency Turned into Monopoly
Most government departments are in the business of redistribution—reallocating tax revenues according to the government’s priorities. Taxpayers want the bureaucracy inside those departments to be efficient—their service is moving money around.
From bureaucracy to battle: Increase direct funding to combatant commanders
While it may be appealing and appropriate to aim for big-ticket program cancellations or giant policy shifts, there are immediate smaller changes that can be made that would increase warfighter capabilities at the edge.
Marlinspike’s Economic Outlook 2025
The U.S. Economy is going through a period of dramatic change. We are the first to acknowledge that we do not have a crystal ball, but we believe the mid/long term economic goal for President Trump is to replace the income tax with tariffs—reducing the tax burden as much as possible.
Revolutionizing Satellite Operations and Market Viability: The Case for VLEO
The unique characteristics of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) satellites present distinct challenges in satellite and constellation design, creating a substantially different market case for VLEO operations.
Synthetic Data Generation – Key to Autonomy
As fighting transitions from humans to autonomous systems, we need to build an AI layer to take full advantage of autonomy. With cutting edge models being mostly open-sourced, superior performance can only be achieved through superior data - data is the oil that powers AI.
Marlinspike Announces Fund II Advisory Board to Enhance Strategic Position Amidst Rapid Defense Innovation
Marlinspike, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm redefining defense innovation through dual-use investing, announced the formation of the Marlinspike Disruptive Technology Fund II (MDTF II) Advisory Board.
Fifth Service Branch – Alpha Force
As the global power competition increases pressure on innovation cycles, the Department of Defense (DoD) needs to make some fundamental changes to maintain America’s technological edge.
Alternative Vehicles are Enabling a Secondary Market Revival
Over the last five years, venture capital (VC) has seen remarkable growth, with approximately half a trillion dollars raised by VC funds, according to the National Venture Capital Association...
Q&A featuring Ben Duval: Former Marine, Military Expert and Author
Last month, Marlinspike hosted an exclusive webinar for select guests featuring Ben Duval to discuss the status of the war in Ukraine, and what we can learn from this conflict...
Large (Humans in the Loop) Models
The future of large language models (LLMs) has always been a topic of heated debate—open vs. closed; large vs. small; specialized vs. generalized. As these debates persist, aggressive fundraising continues...
Patent Laws Aren’t a Replacement for Good Business Execution
Patents grant legal monopolies under a guise that inventors need legal protections to make money. Those same legal protections reduce competitive pressures on inventors to avoid slowing innovation and technological progress...
Can VCs Add Value?
Prompted by the recent discussion between Parker Conrad (co-founder and CEO of Rippling) and Parker Thompson (partner at SAX Capital) on how much "value-add" investors can offer founders, we offer our experiences on the topic.
What can Meta teach us about the future of aerospace and defense?
In October 2021, Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook would change its name to Meta and committed to investing $10 billion into R&D over the next 12 months into the metaverse...
Five Questions with Marlinspike’s CSP Intern Jake Weber
Today is SkillBridge Intern Jake Weber's last day at Marlinspike. We asked him a few questions on the way out...
26 top defense tech VCs to know – Business Insider
As a nearly three-decade Navy veteran, Walter may be better suited than just about anyone else on this list to understand the real-world impact of advanced technology on the battlefield...
Thalidomide, GPS, and safety: At what point does excessive regulation lose its purpose?
The jury is still out on whether Congress will regulate artificial intelligence (AI)...
Aerospace is taking flight—investors should pay attention
Venture investing in aerospace and defense presents a unique generational opportunity, allowing investors to capitalize on three interconnected macro mega-trends...
Top Venture Capitalists in Tech: Neil Keegan
As the tech industry continues to evolve and innovate, venture capitalists play a crucial role in driving growth and shaping the future of technology. We would like to hear from these influential figures to uncover their insights, strategies, and predictions for the tech landscape. We had the pleasure of interviewing Neil Keegan.
Solving the DoD’s “hot capacity” problem
Our defense industrial base has a problem with hot capacity—the capability to rapidly produce needed military equipment, such as weapons systems or vehicles, in response to fluctuating demands or urgent requirements.
The 21st Century Offset
The more things change, the more they stay the same. For decades, Silicon Valley, the symbolic heart of venture capital, has driven commercial innovation...
Safety versus innovation: It’s time for a rebalancing
The air transportation industry has for years toyed with radical new designs but in the end has always stuck with the familiar tube-and-wing approach in the face of FAA’s safety standards. Mislav Tolusic of the venture capital firm Marlinspike argues that accepting more risk will spark needed innovation.
Bloomberg: Newly Rich Defense Tech Titans Seek Fresh Fortunes in Ukraine
Marlinspike's, Chip Walter offers his opinion on the impact of new tech beyond Ukraine.
Charles Carmakal Joins Marlinspike Partners
Charles is a one of the world's pre-eminent cybersecurity experts. He is currently CTO for Mandiant Consulting, where he oversees a team of incidence responders, analysts, and consultants that have helped thousands of organizations respond to complex security breaches orchestrated by foreign governments and organized criminals.
DoD has to change how it buys weapons
The size of the theater, number of troops and technologies used in the Ukraine conflict are markedly different from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It’s time for new incentives
If we are to meet the innovation goals of the NDS, we must incentivize the primes to move beyond the short-term partnership model and encourage them to form more holistic relationships with promising early-stage companies, including investment into operating businesses
Why DOD Should Get Out of R&D Business
Mislav discusses ways the government can tap into the innovation currently being funded by venture capital.
Marlinspike Debut For VC Growth Investments In Defense
Marlinspike eyes intersection of government, industry, with debut fund.
Most interesting first time funds
Marlinspike highlighted as one of the most interesting first time funds.
Podcasts
Pitchbook Tech Talks: Navigating the DefenseTech Frontier
This webinar featured an in-depth exploration of the rapidly evolving DefenseTech landscape, where innovation meets investment. Featuring Marlinspike's Chip Walter and others.
From SpaceX to Palantir: Navigating the World of Dual-Use Technology Investments
In this episode, Neil Keegan, founder of Marlinspike, shares his journey from being a Naval officer to establishing a venture capital firm focused on aerospace and defense technology.
Military Defense and Intelligence with Chip Walter
Chip discuss the roles of the Prime contractors in defense and intelligence, the process of trying to sell weapons to the Department of Defense, and a common mistake startups should avoid.
Applying Military Training to Raising Funds
Neil discusses how he and his partners apply their previous military training to push for success
Videos
Rearm & Rebuild (Marlinspike Anthem Video)
In order to sustain our global leadership, we must double-down in what has made our country the leader of the free world: American innovation and ingenuity. This is our moment, we must Rearm & Rebuild.
AoD Podcast: Private-Public Partnerships Are the Future of Defense Innovation
Neil Keegan, co-managing partner and CEO of Marlinspike, a DC-based venture capital firm, joins Hudson Institute's Marshall Kosloff to give a glimpse into the private sector side of defense innovation and marketplace challenges...
Military Defense and Intelligence with Chip Walter
Chip discuss the roles of the Prime contractors in defense and intelligence, the process of trying to sell weapons to the Department of Defense, and a common mistake startups should avoid.
Investing in Advanced Technologies that Matter
In this episode, we engaged in a conversation with Mislav Tolusic, Co-Founder and CIO of Marlinspike that focuses on four core industries: Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics, Autonomy & Robotics, Aerospace, and Cyber Security.
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Space Investing
Marlinspike's Nick Snoad provides insightful comments and his thoughts on key considerations a VC considers when investing.
Articles
How the DoD’s Quest for Efficiency Turned into Monopoly
Most government departments are in the business of redistribution—reallocating tax revenues according to the government’s priorities. Taxpayers want the bureaucracy inside those departments to be efficient—their service is moving money around.
From bureaucracy to battle: Increase direct funding to combatant commanders
While it may be appealing and appropriate to aim for big-ticket program cancellations or giant policy shifts, there are immediate smaller changes that can be made that would increase warfighter capabilities at the edge.
Marlinspike’s Economic Outlook 2025
The U.S. Economy is going through a period of dramatic change. We are the first to acknowledge that we do not have a crystal ball, but we believe the mid/long term economic goal for President Trump is to replace the income tax with tariffs—reducing the tax burden as much as possible.
Revolutionizing Satellite Operations and Market Viability: The Case for VLEO
The unique characteristics of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) satellites present distinct challenges in satellite and constellation design, creating a substantially different market case for VLEO operations.
Synthetic Data Generation – Key to Autonomy
As fighting transitions from humans to autonomous systems, we need to build an AI layer to take full advantage of autonomy. With cutting edge models being mostly open-sourced, superior performance can only be achieved through superior data - data is the oil that powers AI.
Fifth Service Branch – Alpha Force
As the global power competition increases pressure on innovation cycles, the Department of Defense (DoD) needs to make some fundamental changes to maintain America’s technological edge.
Alternative Vehicles are Enabling a Secondary Market Revival
Over the last five years, venture capital (VC) has seen remarkable growth, with approximately half a trillion dollars raised by VC funds, according to the National Venture Capital Association...
Q&A featuring Ben Duval: Former Marine, Military Expert and Author
Last month, Marlinspike hosted an exclusive webinar for select guests featuring Ben Duval to discuss the status of the war in Ukraine, and what we can learn from this conflict...
Large (Humans in the Loop) Models
The future of large language models (LLMs) has always been a topic of heated debate—open vs. closed; large vs. small; specialized vs. generalized. As these debates persist, aggressive fundraising continues...
Can VCs Add Value?
Prompted by the recent discussion between Parker Conrad (co-founder and CEO of Rippling) and Parker Thompson (partner at SAX Capital) on how much "value-add" investors can offer founders, we offer our experiences on the topic.
What can Meta teach us about the future of aerospace and defense?
In October 2021, Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook would change its name to Meta and committed to investing $10 billion into R&D over the next 12 months into the metaverse...
Thalidomide, GPS, and safety: At what point does excessive regulation lose its purpose?
The jury is still out on whether Congress will regulate artificial intelligence (AI)...
Solving the DoD’s “hot capacity” problem
Our defense industrial base has a problem with hot capacity—the capability to rapidly produce needed military equipment, such as weapons systems or vehicles, in response to fluctuating demands or urgent requirements.
The 21st Century Offset
The more things change, the more they stay the same. For decades, Silicon Valley, the symbolic heart of venture capital, has driven commercial innovation...
26 top defense tech VCs to know – Business Insider
As a nearly three-decade Navy veteran, Walter may be better suited than just about anyone else on this list to understand the real-world impact of advanced technology on the battlefield...
DoD has to change how it buys weapons
The size of the theater, number of troops and technologies used in the Ukraine conflict are markedly different from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It’s time for new incentives
If we are to meet the innovation goals of the NDS, we must incentivize the primes to move beyond the short-term partnership model and encourage them to form more holistic relationships with promising early-stage companies, including investment into operating businesses
Why DOD Should Get Out of R&D Business
Mislav discusses ways the government can tap into the innovation currently being funded by venture capital.
Marlinspike Debut For VC Growth Investments In Defense
Marlinspike eyes intersection of government, industry, with debut fund.
Most interesting first time funds
Marlinspike highlighted as one of the most interesting first time funds.
Podcasts
From SpaceX to Palantir: Navigating the World of Dual-Use Technology Investments
In this episode, Neil Keegan, founder of Marlinspike, shares his journey from being a Naval officer to establishing a venture capital firm focused on aerospace and defense technology.
Military Defense and Intelligence with Chip Walter
Chip discuss the roles of the Prime contractors in defense and intelligence, the process of trying to sell weapons to the Department of Defense, and a common mistake startups should avoid.
Applying Military Training to Raising Funds
Neil discusses how he and his partners apply their previous military training to push for success
Videos
Rearm & Rebuild (Marlinspike Anthem Video)
In order to sustain our global leadership, we must double-down in what has made our country the leader of the free world: American innovation and ingenuity. This is our moment, we must Rearm & Rebuild.
Investing in Advanced Technologies that Matter
In this episode, we engaged in a conversation with Mislav Tolusic, Co-Founder and CIO of Marlinspike that focuses on four core industries: Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics, Autonomy & Robotics, Aerospace, and Cyber Security.
Military Defense and Intelligence with Chip Walter
Chip discuss the roles of the Prime contractors in defense and intelligence, the process of trying to sell weapons to the Department of Defense, and a common mistake startups should avoid.
