Private Capital Crucial for Defense Innovation DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
4/23/2021
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China and Russia’s technological investments and the uncertainty surrounding future applications have fundamentally altered the geopolitical environment.
This view, which has become a point of consensus in the United States, has also sparked another widely and correctly perceived imperative: the need for creating enduring public-private relationships between the Defense Department and defense-oriented companies.
If the nation is to address this burgeoning threat, the country must foster a culture of innovation and integration of various critical technologies into the military. Private investment and venture capital, which provide funding to companies making advancements within critical technology areas that are key to defense, play an integral part in this high-stakes competition for fielding innovative capabilities such as artificial intellige
Saturday, January 16, 2021
On January 13, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the launch of its Trusted Capital Digital Marketplace (TCDM) to support qualified small and medium sized businesses (“Domestic Companies”) that make up the defense industrial base (DIB). The TCDM establishes a forum to provide selected innovative domestic companies with access to “vetted” sources of private capital in the form of loans, loan guarantees, incentives, and investments to enhance the capability of the DIB to serve our defense and national security needs.
The TCDM has been in development for several years, and is comprised of military stakeholders, trusted capital providers, and capability providers.
The U.S. Department of Defense on Wednesday announced the launch of a forum meant to link small technology companies with government-trusted investors, saying it will help to cut off "predatory" foreign investors seeking access to U.S. intellectual property.