If there is anything unique about the military in the US, it's that the budget is extremely sticky and it only goes up. Its basically as "recession-proof" as it gets. Why wouldn't you fund a startup that targets:
1) A niche with a well defined TAM and stable growth prospects
2) No real recession prospects
3) Entrenched players that by all accounts are inefficient
4) An industry where its hard to imagine FTC really flexing its muscles to prevent anti-competitive mergers, in an era where FTC is trying to shut off the acquisition exit for startups.
It's also a part of a much bigger trend, Gov spending as a % of GDP is trending only one way over the last 70 years in the West(up) and so at a certain point why not explicitly start targeting the government as your end user?
If there is anything unique about the military in the US, it's that the budget is extremely sticky and it only goes up. Its basically as "recession-proof" as it gets. Why wouldn't you fund a startup that targets:
1) A niche with a well defined TAM and stable growth prospects
2) No real recession prospects
3) Entrenched players that by all accounts are inefficient
4) An industry where its hard to imagine FTC really flexing its muscles to prevent anti-competitive mergers, in an era where FTC is trying to shut off the acquisition exit for startups.
It's also a part of a much bigger trend, Gov spending as a % of GDP is trending only one way over the last 70 years in the West(up) and so at a certain point why not explicitly start targeting the government as your end user?