Are AI companies just defense tech now?
AI is everywhere. And increasingly it’s being described as defense tech.
This week, the Equity pod gang — which included newcomer Max Zeff, Margaux MacColl, and Kirsten Korosec — noticed an emerging trend: The worlds of AI and defense tech are colliding. And that matters, for a few reasons.
For one, venture money is flowing to both AI and defense tech. Dual-use is here for awhile, folks. AI also has the attention of lawmakers and national defense experts who are concerned about influence from China and the U.S. maintaining a leading position as a developer of the tech.
Listen to the full episode to hear about:
- A new fund is in town. And surprise, surprise, Humba Ventures’ $40 million fund is focused on deep tech and defense .
- How enterprise AI startup Cohere is unlike all the other AI startups out there, and why they’ve been so quiet. Particularly in this new deal with Palantir .
- Dig into the great philosophical question of 2024: Is it dumb to IPO in an election year? And, perhaps more importantly, will this IPO dry spell continue in 2025?
- Should founders be cautious of investors with foreign backing ?
Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned!
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here .