In October 2024, IST released Why Venture Capital is Indispensable for U.S. Industrial Strategy, written by IST senior fellows Michael Brown, Partner at Shield Capital and former Director of the Defense Innovation Unit, and Pavneet Singh, member of the EXIM Bank’s Council on China Competition and advisor to the Department of Defense. 

In the first episode of the TechnologIST Talks series “The Strategic Edge in Techno-Industrial Competition,” the authors join IST Chief Executive Officer Philip Reiner for a conversation on their plan for harnessing the power of venture capital. They paint a picture of the “superpower marathon,” in which the United States is racing China for technology leadership, and discuss what makes VC unique. “We're in a global competition with China, whose aim is to displace us as the technology and economic superpower. So unless we're happy with that outcome, we better be figuring out what we want to do that would counter those aims,” Michael Brown explained.

How should the U.S. government restructure its current industrial policy approach to attract private investment? What is the importance of team, tech, and TAM? And why should we be ‘waxing poetic’ about contracts? 

Join us for this and more on this episode of TechnologIST Talks. 

Read the report: https://securityandtechnology.org/virtual-library/reports/why-venture-capital-is-indispensable-for-u-s-industrial-strategy/

Learn more about IST: https://securityandtechnology.org/

00:00 Introduction to Technologist Talks
00:55 About the Podcast
01:39 Welcoming Guests: Michael Brown and Pavneet Singh
02:04 The U.S.-China Techno-Industrial Competition
03:06 Mike's Journey: From CEO to Venture Capitalist
08:55 Pav's Experience in U.S. Government and Research
17:11 The Role of Venture Capital in National Security
23:43 Government's Role in Technology and Innovation
36:03 Developing a Capital Framework for Deep Tech
42:09 Conclusion and Future Steps