President-elect Donald Trump and his crew consulted with Trae Stephens, government chairman of protection know-how startup Anduril Industries Inc., underscoring the incoming administration’s plans to shake up the US army, based on individuals conversant in the matter.
Trump and different members of his inside circle met Thursday with Stephens to debate methods to rework the nation’s protection, stated the individuals, who requested anonymity to debate a non-public dialog. Stephens, additionally a associate in Peter Thiel’s enterprise capital agency Founders Fund, beforehand labored in assist of US intelligence and on Capitol Hill.
A number of distinguished Silicon Valley enterprise capitalists threw their weight behind Trump and his working mate, US Senator JD Vance, who invested in Anduril’s first enterprise spherical whereas at Steve Case’s agency Revolution. Elon Musk has emerged as Trump’s staunchest ally, spending greater than $100 million on the election effort and lending the marketing campaign credibility amongst many inside the tech trade.
Spokespeople for Anduril had no rapid remark whereas the Trump transition didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Trump has promised to revamp the US protection institution, chopping waste and modernizing how weapons are made and procured. Anduril, valued at $14 billion in its most up-to-date funding spherical, makes underwater automobiles, surveillance instruments and autonomous weapons methods, and sees itself as an alternative choice to extra established army contractors.
Learn extra: Anduril Hits $14 Billion Valuation in New Protection Tech Funding
These adjustments are already underneath means with a sequence of iconoclastic picks for key nationwide safety jobs. This week, Trump named former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard as director of nationwide intelligence, Fox Information host Pete Hegseth as protection secretary and staunch loyalist Consultant Matt Gaetz as Lawyer Common. All three will have to be confirmed by the US Senate.
The outreach to Stephens additionally highlights the persevering with affect of Thiel, who supported Trump in 2016 and helped place a number of of his mentees and allies in key roles in the course of the first administration.
Michael Kratsios, beforehand a principal at Thiel’s eponymous non-public funding agency Thiel Capital, served as US Chief Expertise Officer earlier than becoming a member of Thiel-backed Scale AI in 2021. He joined the president-elect’s transition crew earlier this week to deal with tech coverage, based on Politico. Thiel’s longtime colleague Ken Howery additionally served as Ambassador to Sweden in Trump’s first time period.
Learn extra: AI Is Reshaping the Battlefield and the Way forward for Warfare
Anduril was co-founded by Stephens and Palmer Luckey, one of many creators of the Oculus digital actuality headset and an ardent Trump backer. The corporate has blossomed into an vital US authorities contractor because it vies with conventional protection giants for a bigger piece of nationwide safety enterprise.
Stephens start his profession 20 years in the past engaged on Capitol Hill and for the political affairs workplace on the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington. He graduated from Georgetown College’s Faculty of International Service, based on Anduril’s web site.
