War has always been shaped by technology—from steel and gunpowder to GPS and nuclear weapons. But the decisive technologies of tomorrow aren’t coming—they’re already here.
In this episode, recorded live at our third annual American Dynamism Summit, a16z’s Senior National Security Advisor Matt Cronin sits down with Ryan Tseng (cofounder & CEO, Shield AI) and Adam Bry (cofounder & CEO, Skydio) to discuss the rise of autonomous drones, AI-driven warfare, and the escalating great power competition with China. They cover:
-Why drones are reshaping the battlefield in Ukraine, Israel, and beyond
-The asymmetry of $1,000 drones taking out $10M tanks
-Why U.S. drone production lags China—and how to catch up
-The ethical and tactical implications of autonomy in combat
-What it will take to reindustrialize America and maintain deterrence
If the future of warfare is software-defined, who writes that software—and who deploys it first—matters more than ever.
Ryan Tseng is the cofounder and CEO of Shield AI
Adam Bry is the cofounder and CEO of Skydio.
Matt Cronin is the senior national security advisor at Andreessen Horowitz.
The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.