Palmer Luckey Wants to Be Silicon Valley's War King | The Circuit
Summary
TLDRThe transcript details a conversation with Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril Industries, a defense technology company. Luckey discusses the need for modernization in the U.S. defense industry, expressing concerns about the country's outdated and expensive legacy systems. He shares his vision of integrating Silicon Valley innovation with defense technology, aiming to compete for a share of the Pentagon's budget. The discussion touches on the historical relationship between the tech industry and the military, Luckey's personal journey from virtual reality to defense, and the challenges of working within the bureaucratic defense sector. It also explores the potential of AI in warfare, the ethical considerations of autonomous systems, and the current geopolitical landscape, particularly the conflict in Ukraine and its implications for future military strategies. Luckey emphasizes the importance of human accountability in the use of AI in warfare and the need for the U.S. to adapt quickly to emerging threats.
Takeaways
- 🚤 The Mark 5 Special Operations craft is a fast and advanced boat designed for Navy SEAL missions, symbolizing the push for modernization in military technology.
- 💰 Palmer Luckey's defense company, Anduril, aims to disrupt the Pentagon's $850 billion budget by introducing Silicon Valley innovation to the defense industry.
- 📈 Luckey criticizes the US for investing in legacy weapon systems that are not keeping pace with emerging threats, particularly from China.
- 🤝 The collaboration between tech and defense industries has a long history, with post-WWII investments fueling the rise of Silicon Valley.
- 🚀 Anduril's initial product was an autonomous security tower for border surveillance, which has since expanded to include a range of advanced military technologies.
- 🎮 Luckey's background in virtual reality and gaming has influenced his approach to defense technology, with applications in heads-up displays and augmented reality for the military.
- 🤖 Anduril is developing AI-driven systems like Lattice, which act as intelligent control centers for their hardware, emphasizing the importance of software in modern warfare.
- 🚀 Anduril's approach contrasts with traditional defense contractors by focusing on building and selling products that work, rather than getting paid for R&D.
- 🤖 The company is exploring the use of AI in autonomous vehicles and drones, with the potential for AI fighter jets and counter-drone systems.
- 🌐 The Pentagon's Project Maven is an example of the military's increasing reliance on AI, despite concerns about its ethical implications and readiness for combat.
- 🚢 Luckey's personal collection, including a Mark 5 warship and a 1967 Disneyland Autopia, reflects his passion for technology and innovation.
Q & A
What type of boat is Palmer Luckey driving in the beginning of the transcript?
-Palmer Luckey is driving a Mark 5 Special Operations craft, which is a fast boat designed for Navy SEAL insertion and extraction missions.
What is the main concern expressed about the current state of the United States' defense technology?
-The main concern is that the United States' defense technology is outdated, expensive, and not adapted to the types of conflicts expected in the future. There is a significant investment in legacy weapon systems that may not deter modern adversaries like China.
How does Palmer Luckey's defense company aim to change the Pentagon's approach to defense?
-Palmer Luckey's company aims to bring Silicon Valley speed and innovation to the Pentagon by competing for a share of the Pentagon's budget and reinventing how they do business from the outside in, provided they can convince the top brass of their seriousness and capability.
What is the significance of the Disneyland Autopia vehicle in Palmer Luckey's collection?
-The Disneyland Autopia vehicle is significant because it is a 1967 model designed by Bob Gurr and Walt Disney, and Palmer Luckey claims his is the only complete Autopia outside of the parks, with original mechanicals, gearboxes, and wheels.
What is the role of Anduril's AI-driven system called Lattice?
-Lattice is an AI system that acts as an intelligent control center for Anduril's hardware, processing data for computer vision, machine learning, and creating an operating picture of the world to aid in decision-making for autonomous systems.
What is the 'Valley of Death' in the context of the defense industry?
-The 'Valley of Death' refers to the challenging process that startups face when trying to bring new ideas from prototype to adoption within the defense industry. The lengthy and complex bureaucracy often leads to the failure of most startups.
How does Anduril's business model differ from traditional defense contractors?
-Anduril operates as a defense products company that manufactures and sells functional products rather than being paid to conduct research and development. This model incentivizes efficiency and innovation, as faster development and production contribute to better profit margins.
What is the significance of the war in Ukraine for the US defense industry?
-The war in Ukraine has highlighted the need for the US defense industry to modernize quickly. It has also demonstrated the effectiveness of using AI and autonomous systems in warfare, which could influence future development and procurement strategies.
What is the role of AI in distinguishing between enemy and non-enemy targets?
-AI is being developed to analyze data and assist in identifying targets more accurately. However, human responsibility remains crucial for the deployment of weapon systems, and AI is not intended to replace human decision-making in these matters.
How does Palmer Luckey view the potential misuse of technology on American citizens?
-Luckey acknowledges the potential for misuse but emphasizes trust in the system and democracy. He believes that there are checks and balances in place, and that the focus should be on policy to control the use of technology appropriately.
What are the challenges faced by the US military in terms of technological competition with China?
-The US faces significant challenges, particularly in shipbuilding capacity where China has a considerable advantage. The US must innovate and leverage its strengths in technology and AI to maintain a competitive edge in potential conflicts.
Outlines
🚤 High-Speed Navy Craft and Modern Defense Concerns
The speaker discusses driving a Mark 5 Special Operations craft, highlighting its speed and purpose for Navy SEAL missions. He expresses concerns about the outdated and expensive U.S. technology, suggesting that his defense company aims to modernize the Pentagon's approach. The narrative touches on the historical connection between Silicon Valley and the military, and the current need for innovation in the defense industry due to global conflicts.
💰 The Shift from Silicon Valley to Defense and the Challenges Within
The speaker, Palmer Luckey, reflects on his transition from the tech industry, where he created a prototype for modern VR, to the defense sector. He talks about the controversy surrounding his political donation and the subsequent rift with Silicon Valley. Luckey's focus on defense technology is driven by his experiences and observations of inefficiencies within the industry. He also discusses the difficulties that tech startups face in breaking into the defense market, which is dominated by a few large companies.
🤖 Building Autonomous Defense Systems and AI's Role in Warfare
The narrative delves into the development of autonomous defense systems by Anduril, including security towers, submarines, and drones. The company's approach contrasts with traditional contractors by selling products rather than receiving payment for R&D. The speaker emphasizes the potential of AI in warfare, predicting future engagements between AI-controlled systems. He also addresses concerns about AI misuse and the importance of maintaining human responsibility and accountability in deploying weapon systems.
🚀 Anduril's AI System, Lattice, and the Ethical Considerations of AI in Defense
The speaker describes Lattice, Anduril's AI-driven system that serves as a control center for their hardware. He outlines the process of using autonomous systems for military operations, emphasizing the value of牺牲ing these systems for intelligence. The discussion extends to the ethical implications of AI in warfare, including liability and the potential for civilian casualties. The speaker advocates for human accountability and better solutions to minimize unintended harm.
🌐 China's Technological Advancements and the US's Strategic Response
The speaker shares his insights on China's capabilities in AI and manufacturing, reflecting on the U.S.'s dependency on Chinese supply chains. He expresses concerns about China's military shipbuilding capacity and the potential for conflict in the Pacific. The narrative explores the necessity for the U.S. to innovate strategically to maintain its military edge, suggesting that traditional methods of warfare may no longer suffice.
🚢 Personal Arsenal and the Impact of Economic Realities on Innovation
The speaker showcases his personal collection of military and technological artifacts, including a high-speed boat and a video game collection. He discusses the impact of economic conditions on startup funding, suggesting that the scarcity of capital has led to more practical and necessary innovations. The speaker also contemplates the U.S.'s preparedness for global conflicts and the potential response to aggressive actions by China, emphasizing the need for agility and swift adaptation in the face of emerging threats.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Palmer Luckey
💡Navy SEAL
💡Silicon Valley
💡Legacy weapon systems
💡Anduril Industries
💡AI-driven system (Lattice)
💡Project Maven
💡Autonomous systems
💡Electronic warfare
💡Unmanned systems
💡Replicator program
Highlights
Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril, is driving a Mark 5 Special Operations craft, emphasizing its speed and design for Navy SEAL missions.
Anduril aims to bring Silicon Valley innovation to the Pentagon, challenging the status quo of expensive and outdated U.S. military technology.
Luckey criticizes the U.S. for investing in legacy weapon systems that do not deter modern adversaries like China.
Anduril is betting on a slice of the Pentagon's $850 billion budget by offering new approaches to military operations.
The transcript discusses the atypical appearance and demeanor of Luckey compared to the standard Silicon Valley founder.
The war in Ukraine and China's military expansion have accelerated the need for modernization in the U.S. defense industry.
Anduril's technology, such as autonomous security towers and submarines, is designed to be more cost-effective than traditional military solutions.
Luckey's background in virtual reality and gaming has influenced Anduril's approach to defense technology, particularly in heads-up displays and augmented reality for soldiers.
Anduril's AI-driven system, Lattice, serves as an intelligent control center for their hardware, enhancing decision-making capabilities.
The company faces skepticism about the use of AI in defense, but Luckey argues that it can lead to more informed and better decisions on the battlefield.
Anduril is developing an autonomous fighter jet called Fury, showcasing their commitment to unmanned and AI-driven military technology.
The Ukraine conflict has demonstrated the effectiveness of small unmanned systems and the need for rapid adoption of new military technologies.
The Pentagon's Replicator program aims to fast-track the development of low-cost autonomous drones, indicating a shift towards commercial technology in warfare.
Luckey expresses concerns about the U.S. falling behind China in military shipbuilding capacity, emphasizing the need for innovative strategies to maintain an edge.
Anduril's business model is focused on selling effective defense products rather than working on a cost-plus basis, which is common in the industry.
The company is not yet profitable and relies on venture capital, highlighting the risks and challenges of being a high-growth defense tech startup.
Luckey discusses the ethical considerations of AI in warfare, stressing the importance of human accountability and the potential for AI to reduce civilian casualties.
The transcript concludes with Luckey's reflections on the current state of global conflicts, the need for the U.S. to adapt quickly, and the potential implications of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Transcripts
[Music]
I'm driving Palmer luy's personal
warship and we're all about to
die sorry
guys so this is a mark 5 Special
Operations craft that I purchased from
the Navy are you sure I'm not going to
flip the boat y you're going to be fine
it's the fastest boat that the Navy ever
built it was designed specifically for
Navy SEAL insertion and extraction
missions it runs really fast and it's a
lot of
fun while this boat may be part of the
Old Navy lucky is trying to bring
Silicon Valley speed and Innovation back
to the Pentagon well some of the United
States technology is very bad it's also
extremely expensive and not necessarily
adapted to the types of conflicts we're
going to see in the future the United
States has a lot of investment in Legacy
weapon systems that are not necessarily
having China quaking in their booze
he's betting his new age defense company
can take a slice of the pentagon's $850
billion budget and reinvent how they do
business from the outside
in that is if they can beat the
incumbents and convince the top brass
that a billionaire founder sporting
Hawaiian shirts is just as serious about
rebooting America's Arsenal as they are
you're not the typical Silicon Valley
founder wearing a black turtleneck nor
are you walking around and talking like
a buttoned up defense contractor CEO
like how does that play I am a little
bit of a caricature uh but it's because
I just haven't changed it was really
easy when we started andall to say
conflict is over we're living at the end
of History this idea of putting our best
brains towards things that can kill
people is a waste of talent and a waste
of money and unethical and that's not
what anyone's saying anymore the war in
Ukraine and China's rapid military ation
have renewed fears that the US defense
industry isn't modernizing fast
enough that's brought a controversial
handshake between Tech and defense back
out in the
[Music]
open the military has a long and storied
history with the tech industry
[Music]
post World War II billions in defense
funding transformed California into
Aerospace and Technology boom
towns the first company to manufacture
microchips that guided missiles
satellites and helped Silicon Valley get
its name was funded by the
Pentagon founders of that very company
pioneered modern-day venture capital and
helped cultivate a vibrant tech
industry today there's a new generation
trying to bring back a America's past
proven by Palmer luy's collection of
unusual Vehicles you sure it still works
it should it
[Laughter]
should
yeah so this is a 1967 Disneyland
autopia uh designed by Bob gur and Walt
Disney as far as I know mine is the only
complete autopia that is outside of the
parks mine has the original Mechanicals
original gear boxes original Wheels the
whole deal when I got it though
uhoh technical
difficulties got a got got a flaad
screwdriver oh there we go look at
that we got to get
moving all right there we go back in
back in business so are you sure this is
street legal we're on the street aren't
we you grew up in Long Beach right not
too far from here that's right close to
the port and it was a place with a lot
of car culture a lot of Aerospace
culture a lot of Defense
activity I grew up watching the the
Marine Corps practice right offshore in
their helicopters watching Navy ships do
exercises and uh you know get it gets in
your brain and it doesn't
[Music]
leave Southern California unlike a lot
of places is a place where almost
everybody knows someone who has served
in the military or has a family member
who served in the military when that's
the case because of the density of
military population here you don't
really have the crazy political ideology
that you get in places like the Baran
but when I started andril of course it
was a totally different world uh defense
was not cool and it was definitely not
the hottest
thing before launching andil lucky
worked on virtual reality headsets in
his parents garage by age 18 he had a
prototype that kickstarted the modern VR
movement and caught the world's
attention including mark Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg bought Oculus for $2 billion
lucky was later ousted the thing is I'm
I'm actually not nearly as political of
a person as people think I am I mean
people think you got kicked out of
Silicon Valley yeah I got kicked out of
Silicon Valley because I made a $99,000
political donation the reason that
people pay attention to it at the end of
the day is because it's novel for a
person in Tech to have supported the
person who became president that year to
be clear he means this guy meta disputes
that lucky was fired for his political
views but whatever the reason the result
was a rift between lucky and the valley
so he turned his attention to defense
and set up shop in Southern
California this my extraordinarily tall
door the house was built in the 1980s
and I've kept all the bones the same I
think it's a pretty cool place has some
good Miami Vice
Vibes I've got my my 2-in uh teal shag
carpet this is my fish tank it's about a
6,500 gallon
aquarium this looks like a Dungeons and
Dragons table oh no this is just my
coffee table although it does have a map
of our Dungeons and Dragons campaign
what kind of character are you in
Dungeons and Dragons I aan chaotic
neutral wizard uh named nrim 5 he's from
the Lost Nation of Atlantis how much
success have you had with that pretty
limited so far pretty limited so
far I know you're a big gamer what are
the connections between navigating a
virtual Battlefield and a real
Battlefield probably the the main
similari is are some of the technology
that we're applying to things like heads
up displays and augmented reality for
for soldiers and Airmen to allow them to
see where the danger on the battlefield
is it's also worth noting that really
virtual reality came out of military
research in the first place and the
games industry and the military
industrial complex have always shared
kind of back and forth
[Music]
how'd you get interested in defense
technology I briefly was able to work as
a lab technician on an army project
called Brave mind that it was treating
veterans with PTSD using virtual reality
exposure therapy and that was actually
before I started Oculus I kept in touch
with a lot of friends in the defense
industry and what I heard over and over
again is that it was broken the
incentives were wrong they were being
punished for doing the right thing
rewarded for doing the wrong thing they
made more money when they were over
budget and uh that really got me worried
especially in a world where we were
running a new experiment as a country an
experiment where for the first time in
American history tech companies were not
working with
[Music]
dood the relationship between Silicon
Valley and Washington splintered after
the Cold War top talent caught the do
wave ditching government jobs in
windowless rooms for positions at shiny
Tech firms everybody used to work on
Capitol Hill or the government for the
military now everybody works for an
internet St up the defense industry
Consolidated power around five big
primes to supply the military's hardware
and software it's a large complex
oligopoly with a strict chain of command
that filters ideas through layers upon
layers upon layers of
bureaucracy for Tech startups looking to
get a piece of the action welcome to the
Valley of Death the government tries to
nurture new ideas but the amount of time
it takes to go from prototype to
adoption puts most startups in the
defense Market graveyard it seemed
impossible for Outsiders to compete
until SpaceX and paler sued the
government claiming the bidding system
unfairly favored the incumbents paler
co-founder Peter Teal's Venture firm was
the first to invest in andero it's no
coincidence that the only two companies
to break through in the last 35 years
since the winding down of the Cold War
really uh were both founded by
billionaires it's it's it's unfortunate
but it reflects the reality that we've
created where this muscle we used to
have as a country of turning small
Innovative defense companies into large
scale providers of weapons uh we we lost
it and the only way to bypass that was
to already have made billions of dollars
somewhere else as a as a country we need
to do
[Music]
better so this is the old LA Times
Printing plant it was the old LA Times
Printing Press I started Oculus in
Orange County and it was a place where I
could hire people from all over the
country when I moved up to the Bay Area
it actually became a lot harder to hire
people who weren't already in the Bay
Area but this is a place where you can
build great companies that draw from all
of America not just from that one tight
little isolated bubble well I was
actually wondering is it is it is it
hard to poach people from sort of big
tech companies oh no no the way that you
poach people from Big tech companies is
to tell them that their career is
meaningless and that they're wasting
their lives on something that doesn't
matter a decent trick of people when you
can kind of shock them out of the Matrix
being what are you doing with your life
there's big problems in the world and
you're not part of solving them that's
been behind a lot of the people who
leave big tech companies come to work at
andil anderl has been clear from the
get-go to come here is to build weapons
and surveillance
systems they started with this tall
autonomous security tower that sits on
borders in the US and abroad launched in
the early days of the Trump
presidency they've expanded their
Arsenal to autonomous submarines counter
drones and other robots that are cheaper
to build with menacing
names this is a halfs scale model of
Fury which is an autonomous fighter jet
that we're
building this is wisp this is scanning
infrared imager that's able to detect
aircraft by building a 360° sphere that
it integrates as
scams and uh this is an electronic
warfare system it can jam and hack and
make sure that you're able to talk and
the other guy isn't in a whole bunch of
really powerful
ways you're trying to run a defense tech
company like a startup how does that
compare to like lockie Martin and Boeing
and how do you get Washington to accept
that most new R&D is down on a Cost Plus
basis meaning the contractor gets paid
for their time their materials and then
a fixed percentage of profit on top of
course that incentivizes you to come up
with expensive Solutions and to drag it
out as long as as long as you can andal
we're the opposite because we're a
defense Products company that makes
things that work and sell them rather
than getting paid to do work uh it means
that when we do something faster it
helps our profit
margins You're Building Products that
the government doesn't even know it
needs yet right very often it's pretty
rare that we work on something that is
consensus in the government where
there's widespread belief that what
we're doing is the right solution to the
problem often we're building things that
they've written off as not feasible or
not viable there was a lot of skepticism
about applying artificial intelligence
to defense a lot of skeptic about
artificial intelligence in general chat
GPT was one of the most helpful
Technologies to us because it helped
convince people that AI can do things
they didn't believe computers could
do are we getting to a point where
battles could be fought by Ai and
counter AI only we're not going to have
systems that are acting entirely on
their own without human Direction but
will we see dog fights between AI
fighter jets that don't have people in
them yes absolutely in fact in Ukraine
there's been a variety of engagements
where you had uh unmanned systems
destroying other unmanned systems it
seems like what's happening in Ukraine
has marked a shift in in Warfare
strategy what's happening in Ukraine is
is fascinating because they can't afford
to treat Warfare as a thing to be think
tanked or as a thing to be debated in
white
papers they have to actually win today
and that means that a lot of barriers to
trying new ideas have been lifted and
that's one of the reasons you've seen
for example the proliferation of small
unmanned armed quadcopters it's why
you've seen the proliferation of a lot
of really interesting counterd drone
systems things that were not nearly
mature enough to be deployed let's say
by the United States uh but they are
willing to deploy them in a very early
stage maturity because they know they
can't win doing things the old
[Music]
way the old way meant having the biggest
most expensive weapon on the
battlefield now it's about having a
swarm of commercial technology available
quickly and
cheaply to that end the Pentagon
recently announced the replicator
program to FastTrack thousands of
lowcost autonomous drones startups and
Venture capitalists who historically
shunned military work declared it's time
to build to get in on the action the old
school way of working through five six
large primes and developing technology
just doesn't work you have to work with
the private sector to bring new
technologies in big Tech firms have had
more long-term success offering Hardware
Ai and cloud services in exchange for
billion dooll deals but there's been
friction on the tech company side from
Engineers who don't want anything to do
with the military some tech employees
have pushed back on working with the US
government and the US military do you
see where they're coming from
fundamentally I think it's an emotional
thing they came to a company to work on
consumer Tech they weren't told that
their work would be used for potentially
violence and they don't like that and I
I I empathize with that because to them
it feels like a little bit of a bait and
switch critics see the technology You're
Building worry it could be misused on
American citizens for example are they
right to worry oh of course anything can
be misused but like if you want to point
to things that can be misused against
American citizens I mean the military
has a lot of guns the military has a lot
of aircraft you have to have trust in
the system you have to believe that
democracy works and you have to believe
that the right way to control these is
on the policy side there are actually
things I would like to build that the
dod would not use and would not deploy
that they do think are beyond the pale
and that's the way that it should be US
foreign policy and military policy
shouldn't be in the hands corporate
Executives the heart of ander's
Technology isn't its Hardware but it's
software Engineers here have developed a
proprietary AI driven system called
lattice that acts like an intelligent
control center for the company's
Hardware lce is our AI system for
controlling distributed robots we're
doing processing and computer vision
machine learning on that data and
producing an operating picture of the
world so we understand the chessboard so
to speak and then the autonomy can apply
those very logical decisions about what
to do and move forward and act so walk
me through the process from
identification to decision or decisions
so we've got a manned crew that's going
to try and fly in and land somewhere
they have some Mission they need to do
on the ground but there's threats that
are unknown so we're going to send the
autonomous systems forward they're going
to try and draw out any enemy fire and
with the autonomous systems you're okay
if they if they die you're okay if they
get taken out because that tells you
more information about the the
battlefield so that you can make
informed decisions interesting but
there's still a long way to go still a
lot to build y there's the old saying
Hardware is hard the United States used
to be able to build things that would
fly twice as fast as our adversaries and
we'd be twice as fast for a decade those
days are gone Hardware advantages like
that are going to be quickly copied by
our adversaries so a lot of the most
durable advantages we build for example
using software to make decisions twice
as fast or 10 times as fast is a is a
capability that I don't think our
adversaries are close to to
copying Lattis is just one example of
the military's increasing use of
AI the Pentagon has been developing
project Maven an AI system that analyzes
images from military drones and helps
suggest targets Google initially won
this contract in 2018 but backed out
after thousands of work workers
protested the deal paler Amazon
Microsoft and anderl are currently among
the main
contributors Maven is now deployed but
there are still open questions about
ai's combat Readiness at the end of the
day you just have to be correct and
you're doing it from
afar and so uh yes I would still submit
that that is one of the toughest things
that my organizations have encountered
is that idea of distinguishing enemy
from non-enemy or combatant from
non-combatant and the scale of it is
impressive there are concerns that AI
could deepen the fog of War what do you
think about that no I I super I super
disagree I think AI is going to be a
tool to put all the cards on the table
for everyone my hope is that you're
going to have dictators who make better
decisions because even they have better
information from AI let's use Putin as
an example I don't think he would have
launched this invasion in Ukraine if he
would have understood what was actually
going to happen remember they believe
this is like a 3 days Special Operation
they were going to roll in it was going
to be over very very quickly if he had
had a better understanding of what he
had and what they had I think he
probably would not have made the
play there are a lot of thorny ethical
questions we're talking about a possible
future of self-guided bombs and Killer
Robots who is liable when a human isn't
in the loop the key is that a person is
responsible for the deployment of those
systems the existence of an algorithm
cannot replace human responsibility for
deploying that weapon system and it has
to be a person who deeply understands
the limitations of that system and who's
going to be held to account when it goes
wrong but or as hell and it's not going
to be perfect there will be people who
are killed by AI who should not have
been killed that is a a certainty if
artificial intelligence becomes a core
part of the way that we fight Wars we
need to make sure that people remain
accountable for that because that's the
only thing that'll drive us to better
Solutions and fewer inadvertent deaths
fewer civilian casualties I don't want
AI to do these things but a lot of times
the existing Technologies are much
worse China and Taiwan how does this
play out it can play out in a lot of
different ways everything that Andel is
working on on the R&D side is oriented
towards that fight right now China
believes that they can take Taiwan they
believe that the United States is some
combination of won't stop them isn't
willing to stop them won't win if we do
try to stop them they believe Taiwan is
in a similar position with their own
military we have to change their minds
I'm probably going to eat these words
but if China ends up invading Taiwan I'm
going to feel like we've really failed
in our
[Music]
mission you actually spent a lot of time
in China working on Oculus headsets what
do you know about China's capabilities
in AI what don't you know I spent time
in China back in the Oculus days because
that's where we did our Manufacturing
and we didn't really have a
choice I deeply understand how dependent
our country has become on Chinese
manufacturing Chinese engineering
Chinese supply chain materials it's
really extraordinary how they've pulled
themselves up from almost nothing to
being an economic superpower and we did
this too we're the ones that gave him
the blueprints we're the ones that gave
them the tech we're the ones that
shipped it all overseas and I'm part of
the problem I'm one of the guys who did
it what a do you worry that China is
outpacing the US on technological
innovation like could the US military
lose it its Edge to China well depending
on who you ask China has between 50
times and 300 times the military ship
building capacity of the United States
this is a huge problem especially if
you're fighting a war where you lose all
your ships and it takes you decades to
rebuild they lose all their ships and
they rebuild the same year this is
really inarguably an area where China
has outpaced the United States now they
haven't outpaced us everywhere but in a
lot of the areas that matter for a fight
in the Pacific they are kicking our ass
and the United States is not going to be
able to win by following the same
strategy they do we're not going to be
able to build enough shipyards and train
enough welders to build 300 times more
ships that's off the table so we have to
win with our brains despite all its
Innovation andal and other defense Tech
startups are still bit players in the
world of military
suppliers Venture capitalists plowed in
a hundred billion doll between 2021 and
2023 but only a handful of companies
have won meaningful
[Music]
contracts right now Ander is very much
in a high- growth stage we've done a lot
of things that I'm very very proud of
but I'm very aware of the fact that we
are not a profitable business we are
living on borrowed time and so I I I
it's hard for me to come and feel like
I've made it when I know that you know
anyone can raise money from VCS buy a
really big office and fill it full of
people the question is are those people
building the right things and will those
things pay
off it's not your average Newport Beach
Boat no it's not is it most of my
neighbors like it and a handful hate it
but that's good enough we've got a mock
M2 heavy barrel 50bmg machine gun have
real ones that I can that I can throw on
but I I I keep I keep the fake ones on
most of the time one of the other cool
features of the boat is these shock
mounted seats you'll notice they bounce
up and down so we're going to go below
deck into the Navigator's
room this is also where we run all of
our Communications gear processing gear
computer gear radio gear you've got all
of your rifle racks here so that you can
rack them
up so these are twin MTU engines the
boat's got a little over 5,000
horsepower this whole thing is basically
a big giant jet
[Music]
ski so what else do you have in your
personal Arsenal oh I got a whole bunch
of stuff got a uh60 Blackhawk 1985 X
Marine Corp hanvey how many helicopters
I used to have seven but I only have six
now I do hear that you have a vault
where you have every video game
ever created a while ago I purchased the
world's largest video game collection
and I I also collect US Air Force
nuclear missile bases so I put that in
one of my missile bases 200 ft
underground where's that oh I can't tell
[Music]
you all
right we're going to do some turns
everybody hold on
[Music]
all right what was that that was one of
our own weeks but we're going to go find
one of the other ones hold
[Music]
on you want to try steering I'm good all
right we'll bring us down to
zero so as we accelerate uh you're going
to hear first the first turbocharger
kicked in and then after we get at about
20 knots you're going to hear the second
turbocharger kick in and that's when the
engine changes
pitch I try a starboard turn you're
going to move your stick over to the
right and then watch your positions
here I'm turning a
warship when I say Center Center center
now there you
go we're going fast like the the beach
is approaching all right we're going to
do a a little bit of a fast stop you're
going to pull on the throttle just pull
pull keep going give it here we go all
right leave it
there there you go oh my
God so am I hired
no you started endural in 2017 and
you've lived through Silicon Valley in
the era of zerp and easy money sure what
do you think about the frenzy the zero
interest rate phenomenon yeah there's a
lot of companies that shouldn't have
existed they never should have been
funded all that money went to paying
people to do things that were a waste of
time I know lots of young Founders who
were working on crypto art nonsense and
a fifth delivery app or a 10th delivery
app and now that money has become harder
to come by you know what they're working
on they're working on energy they're
working on National Security they're
working on transportation and uh I I
think that I I see people working on
real problems because the market forced
them to and that's a good thing in my
opinion so it's time to build it's time
to
built the war in Ukraine it's been 2
years now how are we going to look back
on it well I think that we're going to
look back on it as one of the best
examples of the hubis of the modern era
thinking that we lived at the end of
History the end of conflict the large
scale War was a thing of the past that
artillery is irrelevant that Manpower is
irrelevant that sternly worded letters
from the United Nations mean anything at
all to expansionist dictators like Putin
or X that's I think going to be the
legacy of this
fight is the US government working fast
enough to like Foster the agility we
need to to survive or win Global
conflicts it depends on what kinds of
fights we fight hopefully we have enough
time uh we might not why not well let's
say that China starts making moves on
Taiwan and moves on other countries in
the next 24 months I think we're going
to be in
trouble I think in 36 months 48 months
we're actually still kind of in trouble
if it takes long enough I think that the
United States military has recognized
the problem uh but you know like you're
steering this boat when you turned how
long did it take for the boat to respond
a while it was a bit of a lag time the
US military is the same way it's a large
machine it takes a long time to move
even once you've applied the control
even if once you've applied the input I
think that's the phase we're in the
government has realized the problem
they've applied the input we're waiting
for the system to adjust
[Music]
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