Why Young People Are Building the Future of Defense

Inc Magazine just spotlighted Usul CEO Jarren Reid in their feature "Defense Tech's New Guard: They're Young, Patriotic, and Building the Future of Warfare."

The piece profiles a new generation of defense founders stepping up as the gap between Silicon Valley's innovation pace and Pentagon procurement cycles creates dangerous capability gaps. At 21, Reid is among the youngest CEOs working with the government today, building infrastructure to close that gap.

Connecting DC to Silicon Valley

Reid's path to founding Usul is unconventional but intentional. He grew up in Washington D.C. working for defense contractors throughout high school, then dropped out of Stanford to start Usul after seeing firsthand how broken the acquisition process was.

"Companies like SpaceX and Palantir set the tone for founders like me to take their chance in the defense industry," Reid told Inc. "They can offer very incentivizing packages to kids, which is a door opener. It brings kids into an industry they might not have considered in the first place."

Defense Tech's New Guard

This moment matters because it signals a broader shift. Young engineers and builders increasingly see defense as a viable career path where they can make real impact. The article profiles founders like Ethan Thornton (21, Mach Industries) and Andrew Powell (32, Ethos) who are building autonomous weapons systems and pilot training software respectively.

What unites this generation isn't just youth. It's the conviction that America's defense technology stack needs to move faster, and that Silicon Valley innovation belongs in national security.

As Inc writes: "The future of national defense is intertwined with tech startups and their young founders, who appear poised to remain for the long haul."

We're proud to be part of this movement. The defense industrial base needs better infrastructure, and we're building it.

Read the full Inc Magazine feature here