Josh Wolfe and Tony Thomas - The Past, Present, and Future of Defense – [Invest Like the Best, EP. 216]

My guests today are Josh Wolfe and Tony Thomas, better known as T2. Josh is the co-founder and General Partner at Lux Capital. T2 is now a venture partner alongside Josh at Lux Capital, after serving for almost 40 years in the US military and becoming a 4-star general and the 11th Commander of US Special Operations Command. Our conversation focuses on the technology frontier in defense as well as the geopolitical threats that the US faces. We talk about everything from semiconductors and autonomous weapons systems to the moral dimensions of investing in defense technology. I hope you enjoy this fascinating conversation with Josh Wolfe and Tony Thomas.

 

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

[00:03:46] - [First question] - Overview of Tony Thomas’s career

[00:06:36] - His focus on the information wars and truthiness

[00:08:50] - How Josh and Tony met

[00:12:27] - Experiencing the slow pace of technology growth within the Department of Defense

[00:15:51] - History of businesses selling to and engaging with the government

[00:23:52] - Consensus of the threats we face today 

[00:28:55] - Most important competitive frontier today 

[00:35:09] - The lessening of kinetic warfare

[00:46:51] - State of the drone technology and industry 

[00:52:56] - Mapping the arctic and the geopolitical ramifications

[00:54:31] - The frontier of space 

[00:59:26] - What shouldn’t be unmanned technology 

[01:02:31] - The cutting edge of simulation technology 

[01:06:50] - The most important thing to know about the future of semiconductors

[01:11:36] - The moral lens of working with and investing in defense companies

[01:20:53] - Traits of the most exceptional soldiers he’s served with

[01:23:53] - Kindest thing anyone has done for Tony