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David Jeans

@davidjeans.bsky.social

Reporter @Reuters.com covering defense and space. Co-author of WONDER BOY: http://shorturl.at/bjKMS david.jeans@thomsonreuters.com

41 Posts1515 Follower227 Folgt
David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · 2w ago

New-- DOGE team are back: Four alumni have raised funding from a16z and Sequoia at a whopping $1.4B valuation for a company called Cathedral still in stealth. They're going after US military cyber operations and hope to acquire a dedicated data center. www.reuters.com/technology/d...

EXCLUSIVE: DOGE alumni launch military cyber startup with $1.4 billion valuation

A ​team of former DOGE employees have raised a major funding round for a startup that aims to use AI ‌to expand U.S. military cyber capabilities, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuter...

reuters.com

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · 10mo ago

New: Steve Simoni sold a company to DoorDash for $125M in 2022. Now he's building Allen Control Systems, which makes an AI-powered autonomous machine gun turret called the "Bullfrog" to shoot drones out of the sky. "The future is Skynet, basically." www.reuters.com/technology/h...

How a Silicon Valley 'warlord' got the Pentagon’s attention

Steve Simoni was a Silicon Valley success story who sold a company to DoorDash. Now he sells an AI-powered weapon to shoot drones out of the sky.

reuters.com

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · 10mo ago

For anyone who cares about China, national security and tech... this book by my incredible friend @ebakerwhite.bsky.social is a must read.

Emily Baker-White@ebakerwhite.bsky.social · 10mo ago

My TikTok book is out in stores today! Why should you read it? Because 1 in 5 Americans now get their news from this thing. We should all understand how it works. It was inevitable that strongmen would seek to control a tool this powerful. The book is the story of what happened when they did.

Alex Konrad@alexrkonrad.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Scoop: Meta has held talks with Midjourney about a partnership including a potential acquisition, among several previously-unreported AI video startups it's met recently, sources tell me at @upstarts.bsky.social. Midjourney's been busy, too, pitching an API. www.upstartsmedia.com/p/meta-talks...

Scoop: Meta Held Talks With Midjourney As Part Of Video AI Talent Search

Meta has talked deals with Midjourney and video AI startups including HeyGen and Krea as part of its researcher talent hunt, sources tell Upstarts, while Midjourney has pursued other partnerships.

upstartsmedia.com

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Exclusive: Military leaders have said they need autonomous swarms of maritime drones to take on China. But the Navy's effort to achieve this is under scrutiny following test failures, the firing of a top admiral and a pause on a contract with L3Harris. www.reuters.com/business/aer...

Exclusive: The US Navy is building a drone fleet to take on China. It's not going well.

During a U.S. naval test off the California coast last month, which was designed to showcase the Pentagon’s top autonomous drone boats, one vessel stalled unexpectedly.

reuters.com

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · last yr.

New- Will Somerindyke supplied munitions to warzones for years. Now with investor BVVC, he's joined the defense tech boom, and is in talks to raise "hundreds of millions" for Union, a startup making artillery shells. www.forbes.com/sites/davidj...

Meet Silicon Valley’s Arms Dealer Will Somerindyke

Will Somerindyke founded Regulus Global a decade ago. Now, he’s raising hundreds of millions for ammunitions startup Union — and Regulus is the first customer.

forbes.com

Zach Everson@zacheverson.com · last yr.

In Oct. 2024, this very same Open AI exec, Katrina Mulligan, boasted on LinkedIn about going to a Taylor Swift concert with the Secretary of the Army. @davidjeans.bsky.social and I wrote about it for @forbes.com

OpenAI Exec Boasts About Taylor Swift Evening With Army Secretary

OpenAI policy advisor Katrina Mulligan has revealed a cozy relationship with the Army Secretary as the AI behemoth pursues Pentagon contracts.

forbes.com

Noah Shachtman@noahshachtman.bsky.social · last yr.

Uhhhhhh

OpenAI DOD
Richard Nieva@richardnieva.bsky.social · last yr.

For this year’s Midas List, we profiled Hemant Taneja and General Catalyst, which has been stretching the scope of its VC firm so far that it’s buying a hospital and cofounding AI companies. With @iainmartin.bsky.social www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...

This Top VC Wants To Use Main Street America As An AI Lab

Investors are always encouraging startups to push the innovation envelope. General Catalyst’s Hemant Taneja is applying that advice to his own firm.

forbes.com

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · last yr.

NEW: Shield AI is one of defense tech’s most hyped startups, largely thanks to its V-BAT drone. But last year, a grisly injury involving a U.S. service member threw the $5 billion company off course. www.forbes.com/sites/davidj...

How A Grisly Injury Threw $5 Billion Drone Startup Shield AI Off Course

Shield AI executives overlooked its V-BAT drone’s safety hazards. With sales falling short and the CEO stepping down, the company is trying to win back military customers.

forbes.com

Rashi Shrivastava@rashis.bsky.social · last yr.

“Meta is seeing every other big tech firm and reading the tea leaves, seeing that maybe the expected windfall from civilian use of AI is not going to appear,” said Shana Marshall from George Washington University. Great story by @davidjeans.bsky.social. www.forbes.com/sites/davidj...

Meta’s Military Ambitions Take Shape Under Trump Administration

Meta is recruiting former national security officials, months after opening up its Llama AI model for military use.

forbes.com

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · last yr.

New- Pentagon leaders are calling for thousands of drones to face China. But they face an uncomfortable reality: Silicon Valley drone companies rely on Chinese components. www.forbes.com/sites/davidj...

Silicon Valley’s Military Drone Companies Have A Serious Chinese Parts Problem

As Pentagon leaders call for thousands of drones to face China, they are grappling with an uncomfortable reality: Silicon Valley is addicted to Chinese drone components.

forbes.com

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · last yr.

Subscribed and you should too. Can't wait to see where @alexrkonrad takes this. Will be a must read for those following startup land.

Alex Konrad@alexrkonrad.bsky.social · last yr.

I am thrilled to announce the launch of my new tech media brand, Upstarts Media 🎉 Upstarts will focus on the startup ecosystem, from inception through IPO 📈 We launch a twice-weekly Upstarts newsletter next week. Video, podcast, and events to follow! Read more: open.substack.com/pub/upstarts...

The logo and website, for my new business Upstarts Media, upstartsmedia.com
David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · last yr.

New: Among those leading Elon Musk's DOGE effort at the Pentagon is Justin Fulcher, a telehealth startup founder with a degree in terrorism studies. Like other DOGE employees, he's got impressive tech chops. But other parts of his story don't add up. www.forbes.com/sites/davidj...

A Top Pentagon DOGE Official’s Success Story Doesn’t Always Add Up

Justin Fulcher ran a telehealth startup that went bankrupt and appears to have overstated his credentials. He’s among those leading Elon Musk's DOGE effort at the Pentagon.

forbes.com

Iain Martin@iainmartin.bsky.social · last yr.

Lucy Guo’s first startup hit, AI unicorn Scale, made her one of America’s richest women. Her second startup, Passes, promised to rip up Patreon and Fanfix's script on the creator economy. Working with underage creators threatened to blow it all up. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...

How Underage Creators Threatened Lucy Guo’s OnlyFans Rival Passes

The Scale AI cofounder’s second startup Passes banned creators under 18 ahead of being sued for allegedly hosting child sexual abuse material, which Guo has denied.

forbes.com

Alan Ohnsman@aohnsman.bsky.social · last yr.

NEW: Elon Musk, leading Trump’s haphazard effort to cut government overspending, is among the largest beneficiaries of federal government support. His empire was built on it. In the past 15 years, Tesla and SpaceX have sucked in $30 billion in public dollars #doge www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...

Elon Musk Is A Billionaire Federal Welfare Vampire

As Elon Musk’s DOGE chainsaws through federal agencies with budget and staff cuts, Tesla and SpaceX, cornerstones of his wealth, continue to benefit from public money. They probably wouldn’t have succ...

forbes.com

Jeremy Bogaisky@jeremybogaisky.bsky.social · last yr.

It's conventional wisdom in Washington that the Pentagon needs to speed up development of weapons, use more commercial technology and tap new suppliers. Now one of the most promising experiments at the DoD to do exactly that has been upended by a bureaucratic backlash. www.forbes.com/sites/jeremy...

Trump Wants The Next Generation Of Military Satellites. Pentagon Turmoil Is Endangering That

The head of a hard-charging unit building a futuristic satellite network that’s key to Trump's Iron Dome plan has been suspended amid a DoD turf war that threatens its independence.

forbes.com

Kerry Dolan@kerrydolan.bsky.social · last yr.

The CEO of Clearview AI, the shadowy facial recognition company that was fined more than once in Europe for illegal measures, has resigned, reports @davidjeans.bsky.social

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · last yr.

New: Clearview AI's CEO Hoan Ton-That has resigned. After he led the company through controversy and lawsuits, the company struggled to secure big federal contracts. Now, Clearview is focused on selling to the Trump border effort and the Pentagon. www.forbes.com/sites/davidj...

David Jeans@davidjeans.bsky.social · last yr.

New: Clearview AI's CEO Hoan Ton-That has resigned. After he led the company through controversy and lawsuits, the company struggled to secure big federal contracts. Now, Clearview is focused on selling to the Trump border effort and the Pentagon. www.forbes.com/sites/davidj...

Clearview AI’s CEO Resigns As Facial Recognition Company Focuses On Trump 'Opportunities'

Hoan Ton-That left Clearview after the company struggled to secure big federal contracts. New leadership has been brought in to capitalize on “opportunities” under the Trump Administration.

forbes.com