"When former Space X engineer Josh Giegel launched his North Hollywood tech company Gambit in 2023, he had a vision for the battlefield of the future, one with fewer soldiers and more AI-driven assets. His software would allow unmanned tanks and swarms of armed drones to communicate and adapt in real time - without human intervention. The company now employs more than a dozen people and has contracts with the military, which is testing his software."
"In 2024, 124 contracts worth $173 million were awarded to 71 California companies through SpaceWERX, an El Segundo-based arm of the Space Force that distributes SBA funding to innovative defense startups. The money also is disbursed by other branches of the military and departments of the government, which do not take stakes in the companies. Gambit received funds through the Air Force. Other local recipients of SBA funding include Costa Mesa autonomous weapons maker Anduril Industries, now valued at more than $30 billion;"
Josh Giegel launched Gambit in 2023 to build software enabling unmanned tanks and armed drone swarms to communicate and adapt in real time without human intervention. Gambit employs more than a dozen people and holds military contracts testing the software. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) seed fund provided $3.3 million to Gambit and the company sought another $5 million allocated by the military; SBIR funding expired in September amid a Capitol Hill dispute. Southern California defense startups rely heavily on SBA disbursements through SpaceWERX and other military arms, increasing pressure to find alternative capital.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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