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A Pentagon-led effort to restore ties between Silicon Valley and the U.S. military isn’t bearing fruit yet, but it is sowing a lot of seeds.
In recent days, the U.S. Department of Defense announced its first round of funding through its new division known as the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx). Launched as a pilot last year, DIUx has set up at Moffett Federal Airfield to help finance local start-ups that can be honed to help the U.S. maintain a military and cybersecurity advantage. As part of the effort, military officials said they were trying to shake the Pentagon’s reputation for bureaucratic sluggishness.
The initial round of $36 million in seed money was spread between 12 companies, many located in the Bay Area. Among the recipients, the Emeryville-based firm Tanium will receive $12.7 million to help the Department of Defense update it legacy network of countless machines to allow simplified monitoring and better defenses against cyber-attacks. The Cupertino firm Bromium will receive $400,000 to help develop end-point defenses against malware and other internet threats. The San Francisco-based company Quid is using $400,000 in investment money to help military personnel rapidly analyze online data to derive intelligence perceived as useful to national security.
Good to see this. It was very sad to see the blue cube demolished and the earth terminals removed. It was a big loss for the area. 99.99% of the people driving by on 237 never knew how they were being kept safe.
When I showed up in MV in 1987 – I also had no idea the the existing Blue Cube was the lone military reconnaissance satellite downlink station for the USA. So, like most of the people driving by, or living within a few miles:
I had no idea, that the Blue Cube was the final target for probably several USSR multi-megaton yield inter-continental ballistic missile warheads. Plus probably a few lower-yield submarine launched ballistic or cruse missiles.
DARPA and the self driving car effort is fine. But there really are parts of the military-industrial complex that are better to live away from [anyone for living near the Lockheed Missles and Space BOMB trigger plant up in Ben Lomand area?]
not SO sad (the facility got moved to the center of the country away from major populations)