US Department of Defense to become venture investor

This week, the Pentagon announced plans for its work with technology companies and startups. The US Department of Defense is going to open its own representative office in Silicon Valley, investing in technology companies and startups, Vedomosti writes . The military hopes to gain access to the technologies of commercial companies in order to use them to develop new types of weapons, as well as intelligence systems. True, the plans of the Ministry of Defense are not very popular with technology companies and venture investors who fear the bureaucracy of the ministry, as well as the uncertain budget for the defense.

Nevertheless, the Pentagon plans to actively work in the field of venture investment, which, according to the organization, will allow to receive and introduce new technologies more efficiently. And this, in turn, will help the United States remain a leader in the field of military technology, despite the fact that now China and some other countries are very actively developing their own “defense” and everything related to it.

In a month, the Pentagon intends to open an office, which will be located on the territory of the Moffet Federal Airfield. 15 people will work here - military men on active duty and reservists.

It is worth noting that now in the Silicon Valley there are offices of hundreds of companies, including banking organizations and representatives of the automotive industry. The US government has not yet opened its own representative office here, but now the situation is gradually improving.

It is worth noting that it was the Pentagon that contributed to the transformation of Silicon Valley into a global technological center, this happened in the 70s of the last century. The Pentagon invested in the development of microprocessors, which were later used to create high-precision weapons, and even later - in the development of computers for peaceful purposes, with access to the mass market. Now the ministry is interested in developments in 3D printing, robotics and data processing for intelligence.

The final U.S. Department of Defense strategy will be announced during Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's speech at Sanford University on Thursday. The Pentagon’s new strategy to combat all sorts of cyber threats will also be affected here. In-Q-Tel , which was founded in 1999 by US intelligence agencies,

will be used as the basis for the creation of the state venture fund . During its activities, this company has invested in many projects, including the Keyhole project, which is a key technology for the Google Earth service. According to experts, when starting work in the field of venture investment, the Pentagon should be prepared for failures, since this is a business where the risks are quite high.