STARTUPS-VCJune 3, 20261 min read16 views

Ross Fubini wrote Anduril’s first check. Here’s what he’s looking for in defense tech.

Defense tech is red hot right now, but most startups will get lost in the Valley of Death. Ross Fubini, the venture investor who wrote Anduril’s first check, shares what separates the survivors from the rest.

Defense tech is red hot right now. Anduril and Mach Industries just doubled and quadrupled their valuations, respectively, and the U.S. government is proposing a 40% increase in defense budget. A wave of new startups is chasing those government contracts, but according to Ross Fubini, the venture investor who wrote Anduril’s first check, most of them will get lost in the Valley of Death between prototype contract and real production deal.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan asks Fubini — the founder and managing partner of XYZ Venture Capital, built on the Palantir alumni network and now approaching $2B AUM — what separates the survivors from the rest.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

Why Ukraine and Iran have become live testing grounds for U.S. defense startups, and which companies are getting in the field.
Why other countries are building their sovereign defense tech ecosystems, and what that means for where U.S. startups build and sell.
The sustainment problem nobody wants to talk about, and why autonomous logistics is the real moat.
Where Fubini is writing checks next, from AI-driven U.S. manufacturing to government software for health and human services.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Source: TechCrunch Startups

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