Silent Ventures Signs Letter of Support For DIU, Delivered to Congress by SVDG
Yesterday morning, Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG), along with Silent Ventures and 60+ prominent defense tech companies and frontier-focused venture funds, jointly sent a letter of support to congressional leaders responsible for ensuring U.S. national security. Our objective is to highlight the importance of continued support for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Led by Doug Beck, a former Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve and VP at Apple, DIU is the only Department of Defense (DoD) organization focused on accelerating the adoption of commercial and dual-use (i.e. private sector and government) technologies to solve operational challenges at speed and scale. It is one of several agencies bridging the gap between DoD and innovative startups. DIU works alongside fellow organizations DARPA and AFWERX, among others, to improve America’s defense apparatus and protect Western interests.
The impressive cadre of signatories to this letter reflects widespread, and quickly growing, national support for DoD initiatives and reiterates the importance of U.S. innovation as an unparalleled global differentiator, one unmatched by adversarial nations — we must maintain this edge. Accordingly, it is imperative that USG strengthens its collaborative efforts with A&D startups, and their investors, to guarantee America’s perpetual absolute technological advantage in an increasingly volatile world.
Specifically, the SVDG-led letter of support commends provisions in the House-passed FY24 NDAA that seek to enhance DIU’s reporting structure, define its authorities, better formalize its responsibilities, and establish a hedge portfolio named the Non-Traditional Innovation Fielding Enterprise (NIFE). Collectively, these provisions, when combined with $1 billion in authorized funding, are mission critical steps that empower DoD to better harness new and superior commercial capabilities designed to protect U.S. servicemen, women, and interests.
Read the full letter here.
About Silent Ventures
Founded by Jackson Moses, Silent Ventures is an early stage venture firm that invests in exceptional founders building unrivaled aerospace, defense, and national security companies.
About Silicon Valley Defense Group
The United States must maintain an edge in the global techno-security competition. SVDG seeks to align and connect the people, capital, and ideas that will ensure allied democracies retain a durable techno-security advantage.
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