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.

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

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

01:11 XYZ VC’s Palantir roots, Anduril investment, and the defense investing thesis

09:25 Ukraine, Iran, and real-time battlefield testing of startups

17:59 The global shift: sovereign defense tech & decoupling from the US

23:29 The dual-use dilemma & how startups should structure GTM

34:35 Manufacturing, govtech, and beyond weapons systems

36:25 Outro

Motorola’s first book-style foldable makes a strong debut, with long battery life, impressive cameras and a sleek build. But there are some caveats, including the hefty $1,900 price.

00:00 – Build Quality and Design
01:09 – Inner and Outer Displays
01:36 – Multitasking and App Continuity
02:02 – Camera System and Features
02:40 – Battery Life and Charging Performance
03:32 – Processor, Software, and AI Features
04:03 – Pricing and Final Verdict

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Glasses, pendants, AirPods, watches and what else? Apple may not reveal everything at WWDC, but it should start discussing the changes to AI that are coming.

0:00 Apple’s Wearable and AI Aspirations
0:19 Rumored AI Pendants and Smart Glasses
1:33 Bringing Generative AI to the Apple Watch
2:21 The Future of AirPods: Cameras and Gestures
3:18 Apple’s AI Roadmap and Multimodal Inputs
4:00 Leadership Transition and Final Thoughts

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