
Co-Founder & CEO @RSEVentures Co-Founder @PDW_ai Executive Fellow @HarvardHBS WSJ Bestselling Author, Burn the Boats Recurring Shark on Shark Tank (USA & Dubai)
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For more than a decade, the United States has been dependent on foreign technology and has lacked a domestic drone component ecosystem. This financing would allow us to build the components necessary for a thriving, sovereign dual-use drone industry and help to secure our nation's industrial future.
We at @PDW_ai are so honored to serve this important mission. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
The @DeptofWar’s Office of Strategic Capital announced an $820 million conditional loan commitment with Performance Drone Works (@PDW_ai) to expand domestic manufacturing for critical drone components.
This financing will establish a new, high-volume source of domestically manufactured components for Group 1 and Group 2 unmanned aircraft, strengthening the U.S. drone industrial base and addressing critical supply chain bottlenecks.
ACHIEVING AMERICAN DRONE DOMINANCE
Matt Higgins retweeted
BREAKING: OpenAI says it found a critical flaw in Brotli, a widely used compression library built into software like Node.js, Bun and Envoy.
The bug could let an attacker take over a system just by sending it malicious compressed data, with no login needed. That works both ways: a hacker could hijack an unpatched server, or a malicious server could hijack an unpatched user’s device.
We continue to bring on some serious fire power. Welcome everyone to the PDW team!
We’re also not done.
If you’re looking to join the mission and make a real impact for team USA, check out PDW for open positions.
And our recent announcement with DoW.
war.gov/News/Releases/Releas…
PDW is proud to welcome four exceptional leaders to our executive team who will help strengthen our mission to deliver decisive airpower in the hands of every operator.
𝗧𝗶𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿: Most recently VP of IT & Security at Hermeus and previously CIO and CISO at Sierra Space, Tim brings deep experience leading enterprise technology, cybersecurity, AI, and mission-platform security across aerospace and defense organizations. His background includes positions at Booz Allen Hamilton, Northrop Grumman, and the U.S. Air Force, with work supporting Air Force satellite systems and NASA missions. Tim will lead PDW’s information technology, cybersecurity, and AI strategy.
𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿: A former Naval aviator and aerospace executive, Shawn brings more than 25 years of experience spanning operational leadership, aviation, corporate growth and strategy. Previously an executive at BETA Technologies and BBA Aviation and a partner at McKinsey & Company, Shawn will lead PDW’s global revenue strategy and expand adoption of its systems across the United States and allied nations.
𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗰𝗵, 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄: Previously with Skydio, Apple, Applied Materials, Qorvo and Micron, Scott brings deep expertise in developing complex products, driving innovation and scaling manufacturing across drones, semiconductors and consumer electronics. Scott will lead and work alongside teams across PDW to develop the facilities, processes, and business systems that support our manufacturing operations.
𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝘅, 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿, 𝗣𝗗𝗪 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻: Formerly with Symbotic, Teledyne FLIR, and iRobot, Dave brings extensive experience designing autonomous systems that operate in harsh environments. Dave will lead PDW's new engineering hub in Boston, MA.
Also in other PDW adjacent news 👇
So excited for my friend and @PDW_ai board member @1775Dave who is taking the helm as cofounder and CEO of Warhound (posting this so I am first in line for the merch).
Former CDO of SOCOM and the Pentagon. Ex Palantir.
And someone universally liked at every level of government and tech.
If anyone can make this dog hunt, it’s Dave Spirk.
You see what I did there? 🐾
So excited for my friend and @PDW_ai board member @1775Dave who is taking the helm as cofounder and CEO of Warhound (posting this so I am first in line for the merch).
Former CDO of SOCOM and the Pentagon. Ex Palantir.
And someone universally liked at every level of government and tech.
If anyone can make this dog hunt, it’s Dave Spirk.
You see what I did there? 🐾
Excited to announce WARHOUND. techcrunch.com/2026/10/22/be…
Matt Higgins retweeted
Project Agincourt will establish AUTOWARCOM and prototype the fusion of development and operations, pushing money and decisions to operational units.
Maritime operators need airpower that can launch, recover, and keep pace with the mission.
Last week, PDW and Waiv Robotics conducted initial static integration testing of the C100 with Waiv’s WR-15 UAV launch-and-recovery platform. The collaboration addresses a persistent challenge: safely recovering larger unmanned aircraft aboard moving vessels.
The goal is to put organic UAS capability aboard @USnavy, @USCG, and unmanned surface vessels without relying on traditional aviation infrastructure. Next steps include integration refinements and dynamic underway testing to validate performance in real-world maritime conditions.
For operators, the objective is clear: extend their reach, deliver persistent ISR, and reduce risk to personnel.
Decisive airpower in the hands of every operator.
“Be an agent in your own rescue.”
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten - from @PeterGuber, owner of Golden State Warriors.
He also had a crystal ball.
I think ultimately this will be the winning take and all the back doors will be shut for good.
Cloudflare CEO @eastdakota believes the next two years of AI cyberattacks will be terrifying but will ultimately make the internet more secure.
"The next two years are going to be incredibly, incredibly, incredibly fraught with new tools that have infinite patience to go look for vulnerabilities across the Internet."
"It's going to feel like the sky is falling. It's going to feel like there's nothing we can do."
"There are going to be stories that characterize AI as the bad guy. AI is not the bad guy here, AI is the good guy."
"AI didn't create these vulnerabilities, AI found them."
"If you're living in a house with deadly monsters in every closet, but you don't know they're there, are you in a better place or a worse place than if you start going through the closets and finding the monsters and killing them?"
"It's going to be a lot more frightening to go through and kill the monsters, but you're probably going to get a lot safer."
Cloudflare CEO @eastdakota believes the next two years of AI cyberattacks will be terrifying but will ultimately make the internet more secure.
"The next two years are going to be incredibly, incredibly, incredibly fraught with new tools that have infinite patience to go look for vulnerabilities across the Internet."
"It's going to feel like the sky is falling. It's going to feel like there's nothing we can do."
"There are going to be stories that characterize AI as the bad guy. AI is not the bad guy here, AI is the good guy."
"AI didn't create these vulnerabilities, AI found them."
"If you're living in a house with deadly monsters in every closet, but you don't know they're there, are you in a better place or a worse place than if you start going through the closets and finding the monsters and killing them?"
"It's going to be a lot more frightening to go through and kill the monsters, but you're probably going to get a lot safer."
What does sovereign AI mean in practice?
Interim CEO @Ryan_M_Hartman shares Regna AI’s perspective on @PalantirTech's announcement, and why the shift from promise to deployed capability matters.
Read the response in The Loop: regnaai.com/loop/sovereign-a…
The brilliant engineering of the AM10.
Our mission to put decisive airpower in the hands of every operator isn't limited to a single environment or mission set.
AM is built to adapt, removing the barriers that keep operators standing by for airpower and giving them the flexibility to configure one aircraft as mission demands change.
Learn more at go.pdw.ai/4yG4O11
Matt Higgins retweeted
Bucha. It was a genocide, recognized by everyone. They buried hundreds of people. They tortured people. We found the grave. There were, I believe, around 500 people. When we liberated those towns near Kyiv, there emerged this, you know, this kind of hatred for the Russians, right at that moment. Not even at the moment when they started the full-scale war. Back then nobody understood what it really was yet. People understood what this war was and what Putin did personally when we found those mass graves of tortured adults, children. I mean they didn't just kill them, they tortured and killed them.
When we liberated Bucha, I said, bring every journalist here. Don't touch anything, just bring the journalists. The whole world simply has to see this. Imagine finding a mass grave in the U.S. or in Britain, God forbid, with 500 tortured people, adults, kids, dogs, animals shot dead. I mean, they held hunting sprees there from military vehicles. People were running, they were shooting, just hunting, playing games. They literally just played with people, like slavery. So how, after this, can you listen to Putin? And how, after this, can you forgive?
From The Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett. (2/3)
Matt Higgins retweeted
There were reports on efforts to deal with the aftermath of Russian attacks on our cities and communities.
Overnight, Russia used, among other weapons, three ballistic missiles with cluster warheads against Kyiv. These missiles are designed to detonate in the air as they approach their targets, spreading damage across an area 400 meters in diameter.
One of them struck Pechersk, Kyiv's historic center, hitting the area between the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Holy Presentation Monastery.
Monastery buildings, homes, shops, cafés, and other civilian infrastructure were damaged.
This is another extraordinarily revealing strike – revealing because it was no accident. The choice of weapon was deliberate, the choice of target area was deliberate, and so was the intent to inflict as much loss and damage on civilians as possible. There was no military target nearby, not even in theory, and the weapon was designed to cause widespread destruction. Russia has not changed the way it wages this war, and it is taking no steps that would signal a genuine desire to end it.
Throughout the day, air raid alerts have continued in Kyiv and many other cities. So have the strikes. In Kharkiv, a regular commuter train was hit. Dnipro, Marhanets, Mykolaiv, and Kherson, as well as cities and villages in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Rivne regions, came under attack.
Russia keeps targeting our energy infrastructure. Since October 11, there have been more than 170 strikes on critical energy facilities, even though we are shooting down a significant number of “shaheds” and some of the missiles. I thank all our friends around the world who are helping us restore our energy system.
Our intelligence services report that Russia has set priorities for further terror against Ukrainians in the coming weeks. Russia is clearly taking advantage of the slowdown in air defense supplies from our partners. It is equally clear that when some partners ease the pressure on Russia, it only reinforces Putin's belief that his goals are within reach. We need different signals and different steps – stronger ones.
I have instructed the Ministry of Defense, together with the military command and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to brief our partners on every aspect of the real situation and the threats we face, based on intelligence data. It is important to speed up deliveries of defense packages that have already been approved. I thank all the leaders and countries that are helping!
Matt Higgins retweeted
While some in the Western tech elite fear that AI agents will spin out of control, Ukrainian developers worry about something else: that authoritarian regimes will win the AI race.
That’s how @WSJ sums up its conversations with Ukrainian pioneers of autonomous systems for defense, among them @thefourthlawai founder and CEO @YaroslavAzhnyuk.
Yaroslav’s position is clear: AI-based autonomy is needed to reduce the danger to soldiers, not to replace a commander in the decision-making process. Ultimately, it’s the human who determines the limits within which the system operates.
A drone with autonomous terminal guidance locks onto and strikes a target identified by a human. In that case, is launching an autonomous drone much different from firing artillery? The ethical side of the question works in the drone’s favor here, since it’s more precise and lowers the risk of collateral damage.
Matt Higgins retweeted
It’s now officially confirmed.
Tonight, russia struck Kyiv’s historic centre with an Iskander ballistic missile carrying a cluster warhead.
58 submunitions explode in mid-air, designed to inflict maximum casualties across a 400 × 400 metre area.
“This strike had no military purpose. The goal was to destroy part of the old city and injure as many people as possible,” said a Ukrainian presidential adviser.
No military objective. Just terror.
UPDATE: Specific mitigation guidance for the recently identified PHP critical vulnerabilities is now available. Secure your servers today. Guidance and technical steps here: nsa.gov/Press-Room/Press-Rel…
Effective Immediately, all organizations using PHP for their systems are advised to be prepared for an update addressing two critical vulnerabilities. PHP is widely used for web applications. These vulnerabilities often provide a direct path to the server's file system or database. If an immediate update is not feasible, it is recommend that organizations take the system offline until it can be fully mitigated. NSA will follow up shortly with more specific guidance.
Matt Higgins retweeted
President Trump announces a @DeptofWar Office of Strategic Capital deal with @Wolfspeed, Inc., advancing efforts to onshore AMERICAN semiconductor manufacturing:
"I'm pleased to announce [that] the Department of War will be investing $1.5 billion to produce cutting edge semiconductor chips right here in North Carolina."

























