The Washington AI Network and the General Catalyst Institute convened top voices in defense innovation, AI, and industrial reinvention on Wednesday evening, July 9, at The House at 1229 for a conversation exploring the future of national security through private sector leadership.
The evening featured a live podcast taping and panel discussion, led by Tammy Haddad, founder of the Washington AI Network and host of its podcast.
Teresa Carlson, founding president of the General Catalyst Institute, highlighted the unique opportunity and responsibility for private-sector founders to partner with government.
“You’re not just building companies—you’re building capacity,” Carlson said. “The role of the private sector is to help government scale and succeed. That’s what tonight is all about.”
Dr. Jason Rathje, former director of the Office of Strategic Capital at the U.S. Department of Defense, echoed that message:
“The nation is at an inflection point. We need to re-industrialize America. And it’s not just about the Defense Department anymore—it’s commerce, energy, state, industry, investors. You all are part of the solution set.”
The conversation then spotlighted three General Catalyst-backed founders working at the intersection of AI, automation, and industrial resilience:
- Evan Beard, CEO of Standard Bots, whose U.S.-made AI-powered robotic arms are redefining industrial automation.
- Cameron McCord, CEO of Nominal, which builds a software platform for testing and certifying complex hardware systems.
- Jon Battles, vice president of technology strategy at Cobot and an Amazon veteran, who is applying autonomous robotics to logistics, healthcare, and defense.
Beard explained how Standard Bots is making automation easier and more accessible for American manufacturers:
“If you quote parts in the U.S. versus China, it’s 10x more to make parts in the U.S.,” he said. “We need better training, and we need centers of excellence to show how to build best-in-class facilities.”
“What we heard this week is that this is a priority… It really feels like a moment of tremendous change.”
McCord described the need for software that can rapidly test and validate hardware:
“It is a solved problem in the world today to test and validate software. That same luxury does not exist if you are building hardware—and especially software-defined hardware.”
“Admiral Davidson talks about 2027. Time matters.”
Battles reflected on lessons from the pandemic and his time at Amazon:
“COVID taught us how critical the supply chains were. We had to fly in masks from China for our employees… and we just simply couldn’t make them in the U.S.”
“The government knows what needs to be done. They know the technologies that need to be developed. Now it’s about aligning these needs to a quick execution plan.”
The discussion also touched on systemic challenges—from procurement timelines to industrial workforce gaps—and the urgent need to scale innovation across agencies and across the country.
Mark Huntington, managing director, North America at PhysicsX, and Carey Browning, chief commercial officer at Re:Build Manufacturing, also spoke about modernizing industrial capabilities through software and advanced production.
Attendees included: U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach; Artem Sherbinin, CTO of the U.S. Navy’s Task Force Hopper; John Sankovich of DIU; Colonel Chris Keller, U.S. Air Force; Jim Goyer, Alex Flemister, and Jordan Wood of the White House Office of Public Liaison; Jake Denton, CTO of the FTC; Economic Club of Washington CEO Mary Brady; Jeremy Bash, managing director and partner at Beacon Global Strategies; Andrew Wills of Invenergy; Ashley Callen of Jenner & Block; Jonathan Cousimano from Gov. Gavin Newson’s office; Tyler Lewis from Gov. Wes Moore’s office; Cornerstone’s Andy Flick; GCI’s Maryam Mujica, Jonathan Clifford, and Peter Nonis; Palantir’s Machalagh Carr, Palantir; Alan McQuinn of the House Research and Technology Subcommittee; EqualAI CEO Miriam Vogel; NTIA Associate Administrator Jaisha Wray; Trevor Smith from Rep. Vince Fong’s office; Seven Letter’s Sabrina Singh; Anita McBride, author and former chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush; Onebrief CEO; Grant Demaree; NIST’s Martin Stanley; Thomas Halvorsen of the Middle East Institute; Alex Yergin of Booz Allen Hamilton; and Alex Poulin of Lavrock Ventures.
