#30 - Meet the Startup Revolutionizing Road Safety with Radar Tech

23 Jul 2024 · 41 min
Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast

23 Jul 2024 · 41 min

0:00

In this episode of The Tech Optimist, host Mike Collins interviews Nathan Minns, a Stanford‑trained material‑science engineer and veteran of Raytheon and Boeing, about his two companies—Epirus and Spartan—and the broader transformation of the defense and automotive radar industries. Minns recounts his early work testing sensors on a modified 727/F‑18 test plane, the founding of Epirus to create solid‑state, gallium‑nitride phased‑array counter‑UAS systems that replace costly EMP weapons, and the company’s growth into a $1.3 billion defense unicorn. He then describes Spartan, a spin‑out that builds software to boost the resolution and latency of automotive radar, now shipped in hundreds of units worldwide for commercial‑vehicle fleets and heavy equipment. The conversation shifts to macro trends: the erosion of bespoke defense electronics, consolidation among legacy prime contractors, and the rise of Silicon Valley‑backed defense startups that bring rapid, low‑cost innovation to a market historically dominated by a few large firms. Minns argues that the United States faces an inflection point where cheap, network‑centric drones and directed‑energy weapons will reshape warfare, and that venture capital, academic talent, and an entrepreneurial mindset are essential to maintain strategic advantage. The episode concludes with practical advice for hard‑tech founders—treat capital as expensive, hit milestones, keep teams lean, and iterate quickly—followed by a brief sponsor read for Alumni Ventures and a plug for Minns’ Substack, Boethesius.

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