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☆ Axon and Skydio CEOs talk partnership developing first responder drones
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAxon and Skydio CEOs talk partnership developing first responder dronesAdam Bry, Skydio co-founder and CEO, and Rick Smith, Axon founder and CEO, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk there partnership on first responder drones

Persons: Adam Bry, Skydio, Rick Smith

☆ Read about U.S. arms transfers to Israel since Oct. 7
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Arms Transfers to Israel Since October 7 Recent U.S. decisions to withhold certain arms transfers to Israel, resume others, and the inconsistent reporting around those decisions highlight the challenges of accounting for vital resupplies to help Israel wage an unexpected, prolonged, multifront, munitions-intensive conflict. JINSA has produced an infographic detailing publicly-listed U.S. military assistance to Israel since October 7, including withheld supplies. JINSA Because arms deliveries are not publicly disclosed, it is difficult to assess exactly which supplies the United States agreed to send since October 7, versus sales that were contracted before that date and delivered afterward - nor is this list likely to be exhaustive, given backlogged and incomplete reporting of agreed arms transfers by the Pentagon. Weapon Type AGM-114 Hellfire-2 Missiles and Precision Guided Munitions Armored Vehicles, Armaments, Personal Protective Equipment, Medical Supplies, and Ammunition Artillery Ammunition and Ancillaries: M107 155mm D Quantity of Weapons & Supplies Value of Weapons MO/YR Requested MO/YR MO/YR Appropriated Approved Delivered 3,000 Missiles Yes 10,000 Tons Through 12/23 4,792 Rounds $147.5 Million 12/23 Artillery Ammunition: M795 155mm 52,229 Rounds 12/23 Bomb Live Unit (BLU)-109 Bombs: 2,000-lb 100 Bombs Yes Cannon Ammunition: 30mm 36,000 Rounds Yes Colt M16, M4, and MK18 Rifles 44,000 Rifles $34 Million 11/23 Yes $26.675 Million 5/24 ≤50 Aircraft $18+ Billion 25 Aircraft Yes Yes ཪི་ $14.1 Billion 4/24 Colt M4A1 Carbines, Suppressors, and Flash Suppressors F-15 Tactical Fighter Aircraft F-35A Multirole Combat Aircraft High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi- Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) Tank Cartridges and Related Equipment: M830A1 120mm Iron Dome Missile Defense System Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024: Iron Dome and David's Sling Systems, and Iron Beam Development Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) JP-8 Jet Fuel M141 Bunker-Buster Ammunition 13,981 Rounds $106.5 Million 2 Batteries 3,000 Rounds 41,227,000 kg ≥1,800 Rounds Delivered of 3,000 Requested 12/23 Yes Yes 12/23 Yes M4 Propelling Charges Mortar Ammunition Night-Vision Devices 30,000 Charges 12/23 $60 Million 5/24 3,500 Devices Yes Skydio X10 Series Drones 100+ Drones Yes Small Diameter Bombs (SDB): Various Types 2,600 Bombs Yes Switchblade 600 Drones 200 Drones 10/23 Tactical Vehicles $500 Million 5/24 Tamir Interceptors for Iron Dome Undisclosed Number of Rounds Yes Tank Ammunition 14,000 Rounds $700 Million Unguided Bombs: MK82 500-lb Unguided Bombs: MK82 500-lb 6,500 Bombs Unguided Bombs: MK84 2,000-lb 1,700 Bombs 14,000 Bombs Unguided Bombs: MK84 2,000-lb 1,800 Bombs 12/23 Yes 6/23 Yes Yes Yes DDDD Currently Reported to be Suspended Recently Unsuspended Transfers

Persons: ཪི, Tamir, DDDD Organizations: Pentagon, Guided Munitions, Vehicles, Armaments, Medical Supplies, Artillery, MK18 Rifles, Colt, Fighter Aircraft, Dome Missile Defense System Israel, Systems, Beam, Attack Munitions, Buster, Iron Locations: Israel, States

☆ The man who led Google Photos to 1 billion users is now the newest group partner at Y Combinator
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Lieb, having a background in semiconductors and not server management, reached out to his fellow Y Combinator founders for support. After a year and a half of advising at the accelerator, he's stepping up as a group partner, Y Combinator tells Business Insider exclusively. It was never released, but many of the ideas would later come back in the form of Google Photos. From there, he reached into the Y Combinator alumni network to find other promising upstarts. David Lieb, second from left, speaks to a group of Y Combinator founders.

Persons: David Lieb, Lieb, Alex Polvi, Combinator —, Garry Tan, Jared Friedman, Harj Taggar, Michael Seibel, Sam Altman, it's, Y Combinator, " Lieb, Dan Lieb, Y, Xoogler, Patrick, John Collison's, Mixpanel, Jake Mintz, Forbes, Kevin Systrom, Flock, Andy Huibers, Mary, 72m2YgJZq8 — David Lieb, Ryan Peterson, He's Organizations: Apple, Business, Investors, Google Locations: Cloudkick, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Flexport

☆ American drones are glitching and getting lost in Ukraine, giving way to a flood of Chinese drones
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

American drones aren't performing as well as those from other countries, like China's, in Ukraine. AdvertisementThe drone war in Ukraine is constantly evolving and forcing both sides to innovate quickly. American-made drones haven't excelled on the battlefield, prompting Ukraine to turn to buying Chinese-made drones. Chinese DJI drones have long played a role in the war, with Ukraine buying many of the retail models. Many said that details on the program were unclear, especially with Chinese dominance in the small drone industry.

Persons: —, haven't, Adam Bry, that's, Replicator Organizations: Wall Street Journal, Service, Wall Street, Getty, Pentagon, Defense Locations: Ukraine, American, Russia, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, Russian

☆ This defense-tech startup bootstrapped its way to nearly $30 million in revenue. Now, it has another $35 million from Sapphire Ventures.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now, Defense Unicorns, a startup that creates open-source software for national security systems, has announced it raised $35 million in a round of funding led by Sapphire Ventures and Ansa Capital. The world of open-source software for the military is small, making the opportunity much greater. TestifySec, a tiny startup building open-source software for the Department of Homeland Security, raised a $6 million seed round last fall. This year, Defense Unicorns says it will use the initial round of funding to go on a hiring spree. Defense Unicorns will compete for talent in artificial intelligence with tons of other startups.

Persons: —, Jai Das, Rob Slaughter, Das, siphoning, Slaughter, it's, Lockheed Martin Organizations: Service, Sapphire Ventures, Unicorns, Business, Defense Unicorns, Ansa, Department of Defense, Air Force, Lockheed, Department of Homeland Security Locations: Chicago

☆ 2023 has been an AI feeding frenzy, here are the startups that attracted the most investment this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Despite an overall slump in startup funding, 2023 saw a scramble among investors to pour money into AI and machine learning startups. And the company's star still appears to be rising, despite a messy leadership struggle that recently spilled into public view. Meanwhile OpenAI's perennial rival Anthropic attracted multi-billion dollar investments from both Google and Amazon to fund a competing AI model known as Claude. At the same time legacy companies from John Deere to accounting firm PwC played up their AI bona fides to capitalize on the hype. The list doesn't include startups who have not publicly released the amount of their funding rounds.

Persons: OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, Databricks, John Deere, PwC, Fresh Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Alpha, Technology, Monogram, Sigma, Lambda, Helsing, Metals, Eagle Eye, Amelia, Asimov, Farmers Business, Harbinger, Prins, Silo, Mistral, Alto, AMP, Management Software, Universal, Coro, Kodiak Robotics, Aerospace, Defense, Sana, Corti, Kyte, Mitra, Tech, Boss Digital Technology, Halcyon, & $ Locations: PitchBook

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (AP) — From underwater drones to electronic warfare, the U.S. is expanding its high-tech military cooperation with Australia and the United Kingdom as part of a broader effort to counter China’s rapidly growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with defense chiefs from Australia and the United Kingdom at the U.S. military’s defense technology hub in Silicon Valley on Friday to forge a new agreement to increase technology cooperation and information sharing. The three nations have laid out plans for the so-called AUKUS partnership to help equip Australia with a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines. AUKUS is an acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He added that as an island nation, Australia has a need for improved maritime drones and precision strike capabilities.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, Richard Marles, Grant Shapps, Austin, Marles, Shapps, we’ve, aren’t, Adam Bry, Alex Horn, Horn Organizations: Pacific . Defense, Australian Defense, Defense Innovation Unit, Britain, U.S, Australian Navy, Solomon Islands, warfighters, Air Force, Morris Air National Guard Base Locations: California, U.S, Australia, United Kingdom, Silicon Valley, United States, Virginia, Adelaide, China, Pacific, South China, Beijing, Solomon, Taiwan, DIU, Arizona

☆ Exclusive: Drone startup Aerodome flies out of stealth with $6.5 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

After seven months in stealth, Aerodome recently closed a $6.5 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz and 2048 VC. Sidhu is currently a reserve officer for the Redondo Beach Police Department and was a full-time officer for two years. Competitors to Aerodome include Motorola, Dronesense, and Skydio, but those companies are more focused on software than the all-in-one package Aerodome is offering. Aside from responding to crime, Sidhu also says Aerodome will also eventually be able to detect wildfires and alert authorities moments after smoke appears. Aerodome has a contract to roll out a trial with Redondo Beach Police Department next month and Albuquerque Police Department in December.

Persons: Rahul Sidhu, Andreessen Horowitz, Jake Paul's, Jamie Siminoff, Nikita Bier, Bier, Sidhu, Kenaniah Cerny, COVID, Aerodome Organizations: Aerodome's, SPIDR Tech, Versaterm, Redondo Beach Police Department, Motorola, Albuquerque Police Department Locations: York

☆ Can U.S. drone makers compete with cheap, high-quality Chinese drones?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Brad Howard | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. domestic drone industry has found itself at a disadvantage when it comes to producing these useful remote-controlled flying machines in America. Chinese drone maker DJI remains the king of the industry, controlling more than 70% of the global drone market. DJI drones are currently used by state university researchers, police departments, firefighters and other groups across the U.S. that could be affected by potential bans on Chinese-produced drones. "It is going to be key that the U.S.-produced drones, or drones produced by trusted allies, become more affordable." Watch the video above to find out if the U.S. drone industry can compete with Chinese drone producers.

Persons: Adam Bry, Adam Welsh, Mark Montgomery Organizations: CNBC, Israel, Center, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Locations: America, China, U.S, DJI, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Porsche-backed Sensigo deploys AI tools to smooth vehicle repairs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Leonhard Simon/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 5 (Reuters) - German automaker Porsche (P911_p.DE) and investor UP.Partners have launched Sensigo, a California-based startup using artificial intelligence to enable vehicle service technicians to diagnose, resolve and eventually predict repair issues. Sensigo said its AI-powered service platform and tools can improve the repair process for customers and techs, while boosting service center profitability, reducing repair costs and minimizing warranty risk. The partners’ first startup, Pull Systems, announced in March, manages electric vehicle battery performance. In addition to Porsche, UP’s investment partners include Toyota’s (7203.T) Woven Capital, Alaska Air Group (ALK.N), ARK Invest and others. Portfolio companies include aerial vehicle startups Skydio and Beta Technologies.

Persons: Leonhard Simon, UP.Partners, Sensigo, Paul Lienert, Nick Macfie Organizations: Porsche, REUTERS, Systems, Alaska Air Group, ARK Invest, Beta Technologies, Thomson Locations: German, Munich, Germany, California, Santa Monica, Capital, United States, Detroit

☆ Start-Ups Bring Silicon Valley Ethos to a Lumbering Military-Industrial Complex
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

While waiting for a decision by the Pentagon, the company recently moved to lay off some employees. Mr. Roper, the former Air Force procurement boss, said another problem is the Defense Department’s historical insistence on creating its own solutions to problems instead of buying new technologies from commercial firms. He noted that artificial intelligence, for example, still has not been integrated into Air Force flight operations beyond some basic experiments. Mr. Austin, the defense secretary, recently announced that the Defense Innovation Unit will report directly to him, supervised by a new recruit from Apple. But for each success, there are many other tech start-ups struggling to pay bills as they wait for the Pentagon to make a purchase decision.

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