Inaugural Innovation Summit Unites Military Innovation Units, National Labs, Universities, Investors and Industry with Veteran Founders

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / October 6, 2026 / For the first time, the San Francisco Bay Area’s defense technology ecosystem will gather in one place, with veterans at its core. VetsinTech and the Bay Area Council will host the NatSec + Space Innovation Summit (NSSIS), October 8-9 at The Klamath, Pier 9, in San Francisco, during San Francisco Fleet Week. The centerpiece is Innovation Day on October 9. It is an invite-only convening of military innovation units, national laboratories, research universities, investors and the veteran founders building the next generation of defense and space technology, emphasizing the region’s deep roots in Defense Tech in Silicon Valley.

Innovation Day: The Bay Area’s National Security Ecosystem in One Room
Innovation Day opens with special remarks from Libby Schaaf, CEO of the Bay Area Council. Sean Randolph, Senior Director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, follows with a briefing on the U.S. defense tech market with a San Francisco Bay Area focus. His briefing draws on the Council’s forthcoming report on the region’s defense technology economy, the research foundation for the Summit.

From there, the program moves through every layer of the ecosystem:

  • Space. Artemis II Astronaut Victor Glover joins the former head of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, Raj Shah, Managing Partner of Shield Capital, for a fireside chat on the Artemis II mission. A Vets in Space panel features Col. Andrew S. Menschner, Deputy Commander of Space Systems Command, U.S. Space Force, and Dr. Victoria Coleman, Associate Provost of the Berkeley Air & Space Center.
  • Military Innovation. A panel on the history and mission of the Defense Innovation Unit is followed by a panel of the military’s own innovation units, including Army Fuze, Navy and Marine Innovation Units, AFWERX and SpaceWERX.
  • Academia and Research. Dr. Kimberly S. Budil, Laboratory Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Andrew Reddie of UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy along with Kaitie Penry of Emerging Tech and Innovation at the Naval Postgraduate School join an academic and research panel.
  • The Future of Warfare. Frank Kendall III, former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, and Maynard Holliday, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies, hold a fireside chat on lethal autonomy and the future of warfare. Panels follow on drones and robotics lessons from Ukraine, and on AI and cybersecurity at the edge of national security.
  • Founders and Capital. The VetVC panel, Capital Behind the Mission, brings together investors including Shield Capital, In-Q-Tel, ForgePoint Capital, and The Veteran Fund to examine how capital is backing veteran-led defense companies.

The afternoon’s signature moment happens on the water. As the Blue Angels fly overhead with Astronaut Victor Glover, attendees will watch a planned live demo of on-the-water autonomous systems, with Fleet Week’s naval vessels around the SF Bay. It brings legacy American defense power and next-generation capability together in one scene. The program reconvenes for a closing plenary.

Why the San Francisco Bay Area
Defense tech has deep roots in the Bay Area, dating back to WWII. The Defense Innovation Unit is headquartered at Moffett Field in Mountain View. Its funding grew roughly fivefold, from $191 million in FY2023 to $983 million in FY2024. Four national laboratories, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, Lawrence Berkeley and SLAC, anchor the region’s research base alongside NASA Ames Research Center, Stanford, UC Berkeley and SRI. Bay Area venture capital also funds the companies reshaping national security across California, from Anduril in Costa Mesa, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund, to Shield Capital in San Francisco. The Bay Area Council Economic Institute’s 2025 space report found that four of the ten most active venture investors in defense and aerospace were Bay Area firms.

As other regions move to claim the future of space and defense innovation, the NSSIS makes the case, in person, that the San Francisco Bay Area leads the ecosystem.

“Veterans have seen firsthand what works in theater and what fails. They know what’s missing because they’ve operated without it. That’s why the best defense technology is being built by warfighters for warfighters. More and more, veterans are the founders building it. The Bay Area is the AI and tech capital of the world. The future of aerospace and defense will be built by veterans, and NSSIS puts them at the center of the region’s entire defense tech ecosystem,” said Katherine Webster, founder and CEO of VetsinTech.

“The Bay Area is where the innovation-based commercial space industry was born, and the evidence shows it is where the industry’s future is being built,” said Libby Schaaf, CEO of the Bay Area Council. “Bay Area venture capital is playing the leading role in funding companies in this industry, in the region, as well as nationally. Our forthcoming report documents the strength of this ecosystem. NSSIS puts the people behind it in the same room.”

NSSIS Career Day on October 8 | Fireside Chat with Doug Beck, Former DIU Director
Career Day will connect veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses with employers and recruiters at the forefront of AI, defense technology, and space innovation. The program opens on Thursday, October 8 with a panel focused on Careers in Space and Defense that includes speakers from Space Systems Command, Blue Origin, and Vast, followed by a second panel with advice from vets who landed in tech and recruiters from companies including Scale AI and Accenture. The day features a fireside chat between Doug Beck, Former Director, Defense Innovation Unit, U.S. Department of Defense, and VetsinTech CEO Katherine Webster. In the early afternoon, OpenAI Academy will lead a hands-on session exploring how veterans can use ChatGPT to solve practical problems, develop ideas, and work more effectively.

NatSec + Space Innovation Sponsors
NSSIS sponsors include Holland & Knight, J.P. Morgan, Arkenstone Defense, Scale AI, Blue Origin, Google, Navier, Shield Capital, OpenAI Academy, Venable and Relativity Space.

Attendance and Information
The Summit is an invite-only convening of 250 to 300 attendees. Attendance is subject to approval. Program updates, speaker information and registration details are available at vetsintech.co/nssis.

About the Bay Area Council
The Bay Area Council is a business-sponsored, public-policy advocacy organization for the nine-county Bay Area. The Council proactively advocates for a strong economy, a vital business environment, and a better quality of life for everyone who lives here. Founded in 1945, the Bay Area Council is widely respected by elected officials, policy makers and other civic leaders as the voice of Bay Area business. Today, more than 350 of the largest employers in the region support the Bay Area Council and offer their CEO or top executive as a member. Our members employ more than 4.43 million workers and have revenues of $1.94 trillion worldwide. Learn more at www.bayareacouncil.org.

About VetsinTech
Based in San Francisco with more than 150,000 veterans and 28 chapters across the country, VetsinTech is the leading national non-profit devoted 100% to springboarding veterans into tech careers. VetsinTech harnesses the national technology ecosystem to help veterans returning from active military duty pursue new technology careers by applying their exceptional training, skills, and experience. Comprising technology industry leaders and former service members, VetsinTech is the only non-profit supporting veterans and military spouses through tech-based education, employment, and entrepreneurship programs. Learn more at www.vetsintech.co.

Media Contacts:
For VetsinTech
Carmen Hughes
Ignite X
Cell: 650.576.6444
carmen@ignitepr.com

For the Bay Area Council
Rufus Jeffris
rjeffris@bayareacouncil.org
Cell: 415.606.2337

SOURCE: VetsinTech

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