Exclusive: GDIT and NightDragon unveil emerging-tech partnership
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
General Dynamics Information Technology and NightDragon have teamed up and are on Wednesday making public their plans to accelerate U.S. government adoption of commercial and emerging tech.
Why it matters: Trump 2.0 is seeking new suppliers for the Pentagon and rewriting how the military does business.
- Symbiotic relationships between traditional primes and smaller, venture-backed startups are emerging — and appear to be bearing fruit.
- Meanwhile, interest in dual-use continues to tick up. The battlefield and boardroom are not mutually exclusive.
Zoom in: The GDIT-NightDragon collaboration will concentrate on national security, civilian and health sectors. AI, autonomy, cybersecurity and quantum are of particular interest.
- "It's not just the Pentagon or the Department of War that is facing problems that could be solved with autonomy," GDIT president Amy Gilliland told Axios.
- Government services and response times can be streamlined; sensitive personal information, like medical records, can be better protected from prying eyes.
- "I see this perfect storm that's been happening in the world," NightDragon CEO Dave DeWalt told Axios. "And it's created not just a perfect storm of threats, but also a perfect storm of opportunities."
The intrigue: GDIT has already won more than $120 million in contracts alongside NightDragon portfolio companies, like Horizon3.ai and Claroty.
Yes, but: Integrating companies, their tech and their strategies to win competitive contracts, sometimes worth billions of dollars, is no simple feat.
What's next: Expect more announcements from the pair in the near future.
- "I think this is the triangle that you're going to see happen more and more," DeWalt said. "How do we partner with government, together with our national security partner, together with venture capital?"
