Deep Tech (and Dual Use) Innovation in 2020 — Onward to 2021

2020 is fast coming to a close.

Yet, the pace of the last few weeks has hardly let up — from the good news that the virus is on its way to the super high volume of IPOs via SPACs that have Deep Tech content (Virgin Galactic, Momentus, Blade, Indie Semi to name a few), to the USAF ending the year on a high note with their AFWERX Accelerate — announcing yet another prime [the pump] endeavor that promises to make a difference to any one of six selected industry sectors…

Key concerns remain, however. Our nation is tremendously divided. We are being hacked and harassed by silent cyber forces that we may not even know are lurking underneath the surface (SolarWinds, penetrating corporate and government networks ~18000 of them???). Systemic biases continue to haunt personal and professional lives.

But, I have hope. I am optimistic. Hope and optimism are an iconic American attribute which defines our culture and frames our resiliency. 2021 certainly will be better. We have learned and we will apply those learnings to a whole new set of challenges, to rectifying the wrong, to improving our collective future lives.

We need to be seeding basic research in order to generate options for the future. We need to be prying apart the uneven opportunities each of us receives so that we can solve the world’s grand challenges — as a team.