Autonomous weapons, distributed strategies, and startup speed – this is not the future of defense, it is now. Ethan Thornton, CEO and founder of Mach Industries, who is in disarray in 2025 at TechCrunch, moves on to the AI stage and talks about how the next generation of defense is built within AI.
AI Arms Race Inside – and founders aiming to rewrite it
Ethan Thornton is not your typical defense industry leader. As CEO and Founder of Mach Industries, he launched the company from MIT in 2023 on a bold mission. The goal is to build decentralized, next-generation defense technology that can protect freedom on a global scale.
Thornton, who currently leads one of the most ambitious startups in the space, brings a new perspective to a legacy player-dominated industry. His work combines frontier hardware, software and autonomy to rethink how nations protect in a rapidly changing world.
From Startup Lab to Battlefield Impact
The Mach Industry is part of a new wave of companies that prove that AI-Native startups can play a key role in national defense. This session unlocks what really means, from autonomous systems and edge computing to double-use technologies that blur the line between commercial innovation and military capabilities.
Listen to Thornton about navigating funding, regulation and responsibility at the intersection of technology and geopolitics.
ai doesn't just drive chatbots – redefine global power
With global tensions rising and investment in defense technology accelerated, the conversation will take an urgent and timely look at how artificial intelligence is reshaping security, strategy and sovereignty. Sign up now to save up to $675 before prices go up next week, and you'll be in a room where over 10,000 startups and VC leaders are shaping the next era of innovation.