DEFCON AI: Transforming military logistics and strategy

As geopolitical conflicts persist, militant and military activities require the movement of supplies, personnel, and equipment absolutely critical in military strategy. Despite the complexity behind military operations, leaders currently rely on whiteboards and Excel spreadsheets to map out logistics. 

We believe it’s past time for a more sophisticated, tech-enabled approach to military strategy. That’s why we’re backing DEFCON AI, an insights company, building a next-generation modeling, simulation, and analysis (MS&A) toolset for the modern military logistics and transportation environment. DEFCON AI enables the Department of Defense (DoD) to optimize and get products where they need to be in a faster, better, and more economical manner, a difficult problem given the kaleidoscope of DoD constraints and moving pieces. 

Underpinning its software is a mix of mathematical optimization techniques and artificial intelligence. DEFCON AI’s tools empower planners and leaders to formulate strategies for transportation modality, sustainment, and logistics operations in the face of disruptions. The company’s simulation capability enables planners to leverage even imperfect information and data-sparse environments for rapid scenario development in a matter of minutes. 

Today, total DoD spend on software is less than 1% of its total ~$850 billion budget, meaning software penetration is still only in its early days. Indeed, we believe deeply in the inevitability of software growth in the DoD, since software is America’s unqualified, asymmetric advantage relative to all other countries in the world. And for a problem as critical as crafting military strategy, where the DoD already spends tens of billions of dollars (e.g., on logistics planning, contested mobility, wargaming, etc.), increasing software penetration is not only inevitable, but necessary.

“We are developing powerful solutions to reshape response planning in contested and disrupted environments,” said Yisroel Brumer, DEFCON AI co-founder and CEO. “With this latest round of funding, we are positioned to not only continue to support the DoD’s scenario modeling and analytics efforts, but to help ensure personnel, equipment, and cargo reach the right places at the right times.”

A cornerstone of our defense tech roadmap is to partner with visionary founders with a deep understanding of the kinds of technology the DoD needs. The DEFCON AI team’s Defense IQ is among the sharpest we’ve met. Co-founder and CEO Yisroel Brumer is a quantum physicist who then spent 15 years at the DoD. While there, he reported directly to the U.S. Secretary of Defense and was responsible for building the defense budget at the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE). Chief Strategy Officer Paul Selva was previously the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the former commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), where he witnessed firsthand the difficulty of logistics planning across the Department. Chief Technology Officer Scott Stapp, a 30-year veteran of the Air Force, previously worked at Northrop Grumman, where he served as Chief Technology Officer. And Chief Operating Officer Matt Isler was a former one-star Air Force General Officer.

For decades, Bessemer has been at the forefront of investing in defense tech, leading early investments in transformative companies such as Rocket Lab, Claroty, and Bastille Networks. We believe that the recent advancements in AI and machine learning will transform the DoD’s capabilities across the entire defense value chain. That’s also what inspired our recent investment in TurbineOne, an intelligence platform to empower frontline military analysts with cutting-edge low-code/no-code ML capabilities for real-time data processing. DEFCON AI now joins the ranks of our companies at the intersection of breakthrough technological capabilities and defense, as the security of the U.S. increasingly depends upon innovative software that delivers speed, intelligence, and resilience.

Leaders Yisroel Brumer, Ret. General Paul Selva, Ret. Brigadier General Scott Stapp, Ret. Brigadier General Matt Isler, Grant Verstandig, and the entire DEFCON AI team are building the platform of choice for mission-critical military logistics, bringing innovation to our country’s borders and abroad. We believe DEFCON AI has the opportunity, team, and technology to support all military decisions in the United States and ultimately, be the next major prime for the DoD.