The session brings together senior figures spanning public and private innovation systems, with Mile Corrigan (CEO, Noblis) moderating a panel of Sha-Chelle Devlin Manning (commercial strategy, DARPA), Todd Stavish (managing partner, SRI Ventures), each operating at the intersection of government-funded
research, venture creation and commercialisation.

  • Government-funded IP as a pipeline for venture creation
    o SRI Ventures builds startups directly from deep tech IP, often originating from
    government programmes; around 60% of its companies stem from DARPA-funded
    research.
    o Early-stage IP provides visibility into emerging trends, but ultimate applications are
    often unpredictable (e.g. Siri’s shift from defence logistics to consumer mobile).
  • DARPA’s model: de-risking breakthrough innovation
    o DARPA allocates ~$4.8bn annually to early-stage, high-risk technologies, with short
    timelines (18–36 months) to prove technical feasibility.
    o Focus extends well beyond traditional defence into areas such as food security,
    biotech and supply chains.
  • Bridging to commercialisation: capital, talent and ecosystems
    o Key bottlenecks include regulation, manufacturing, workforce and compliance.
    o DARPA actively engages venture investors, corporates and experienced
    entrepreneurs (e.g. its Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative) to accelerate transition to
    market.
  • Dual-use opportunity is broader than perceived
    o Defence technologies frequently evolve into large commercial markets; examples
    include biotech, diagnostics and advanced manufacturing.
    o Dual-use pathways operate on different timelines and require distinct go-to-market
    strategies.
  • Blended capital stacks are reshaping venture formation
    o Non-dilutive funding (e.g. DARPA grants) reduces technical risk but does not replace
    venture financing; startups still require conventional seed rounds.
    o Increasing participation from non-traditional investors, including corporates, is
    expanding the ecosystem.
  • Emerging opportunity areas
    o Quantum (compute, communications and enabling infrastructure), space systems,
    energy bottlenecks and advanced health technologies are highlighted as key
    frontiers.
    Bottom line: defence-linked innovation ecosystems are becoming increasingly open, commercially
    oriented and collaborative—creating a growing opportunity set for corporate venture investors
    willing to engage earlier and more actively.

This summary was generated by AI and lightly edited by GCV staff.