E11 – Lockheed Martin Ventures The Merge

Mike and Jake chat with Chris Moran, VP and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, for an inside look into why the world’s largest defense company invests hundreds of millions of dollars into tech startup companies.
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Links
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* Lockheed Martin Ventures https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/who-we-are/lockheed-martin-ventures.html
* Machina Labs https://www.machinalabs.ai/
* Norm Augustine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_R._Augustine
* Augustine’s laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine%27s_laws
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Show Notes
(01:03) intro
(03:08) icebreaker
(04:59) how Chris got into defense
(07:35) how Chris got into defense finance
(11:52) VC 101
(12:21) Lockheed’s investment track record
(14:32) how to exit an investment
(19:10) quantum use-cases
(20:30) Machina Labs
(23:02) investment tension
(25:11) times have changed
(32:20) dual-use hedge
(38:15) Lockheed Martin CEOs
(41:46) Kelly Johnson
(48:16) magic wand
(49:51) what everyone gets wrong about innovation
(52:17) graveyard of eVTOL companies
(55:13) lightning round
(58:45) outro