Building the Future of Defense: Investing in Founders, Factories, and Autonomy | Vardan Gattani, 645 Ventures

<p>Defense venture capital has entered a new era.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Steve Simoni speaks with Vardan Gattani, Partner at 645 Ventures, about why investors are increasingly focused on national security, how defense startups are evaluated, and what founders need to build enduring companies.</p><p><br></p><p>Vardan on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vardangattani/</p><p><br></p><p>645 Ventures: https://645ventures.com/</p><p><br></p><p>Steve on X: https://x.com/StevenSimoni</p><p><br></p><p>Steve on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevensimoni/</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Follow the show!</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3F1sc8yzQIF9WcdHQ3w7kf</p><p><br></p><p>Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-drone-ultimatum/id1770994541</p><p><br></p><p>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://thedroneultimatum.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</p><p><br></p><p>X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://x.com/DroneUltimatum</p><p><br></p><p>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-drone-ultimatum/</p><p><br></p><p>Our website: https://www.thedroneultimatum.com/</p><p><br></p><p>The conversation covers the rise of defense investing, lessons from Shield AI, manufacturing and supply chains, defense procurement, and why the next generation of defense companies will need to excel across both software and hardware.</p><p><br></p><p>Whether you’re a founder, investor, or simply interested in the future of defense technology, this episode provides an inside look at how one of the industry’s leading venture firms thinks about building category-defining companies.</p>