Why Defense Is—Now—Eating the World

Nearly fifteen years after Marc Andreessen published his legendary op-ed, Why Software Is Eating the World—August 20, 2011—we find ourselves witnessing another domain shift, this time not in code, but in combat. As the U.S. asks its allies and adversaries alike to reimagine national power through the lens of defense spending, innovation, and deterrence, one thing becomes clear…

But ecosystems aren’t purchased—they’re built. And this new world of defense innovation requires a different blueprint. Not the blitzscaling of Silicon Valley. But the long game of Boulder, Colorado.

Enter Brad Feld.

Feld, a venture capitalist and co-founder of Techstars, laid out a generational theory of how to build startup communities. His Boulder Thesis argues that real ecosystems need four key ingredients, 1. entrepreneurs as leaders (not bureaucrats), 2. long-term vision, 3. inclusive networks, and 4. substantive engagement through shared experience.

That’s exactly a mindset the Department of Defense—and its international counterparts—must adopt now.

That burden falls on the United States.

If the Pentagon is the founder of this new defense ecosystem, then its role is not simply to adopt innovation, but to architect it. That means shaping not only what defense innovation looks like—but how it behaves.

I felt this shift personally. Sitting in a Pentagon waiting room, I could’ve sworn I was at Startup Weekend. Entrepreneurs were pacing. Engineers were reviewing. Slide decks were loaded. The only difference? Instead of seed capital, they were vying for battlefield relevance.

The Pentagon has become both platform and pitch room. But unlike startups, it doesn’t just need to convince investors. It must inspire international replication.

Marc Andreessen’s piece framed software as the invisible architecture behind every modern industry. In the same way, the mindset of defense today must shift from acquisition to architecture. From simply sourcing talent and tools to cultivating the conditions that allow new defense capabilities to emerge, scale, and compete.

This is where Brad Feld’s model becomes essential. Here's how the Pentagon might apply the Boulder Thesis…

1. Entrepreneurs Must Lead

In DoD, “entrepreneurs” include warfighters, program managers, and technologists willing to build from zero. Too often, the feeders—contractors, compliance offices, budget reviewers—lead instead.

2. Take a Generational View

Ecosystems don’t scale in one budget cycle. Defense innovation must take the long view—20 years, not two. As Josh Rogin recently highlighted in Disrupting Defense, the players winning are those with patience and persistence.

3. Practice Secure Inclusivity

Startups thrive through network effects. So too should defense. That means welcoming non-traditional vendors, academic researchers, small primes, and others to the ecosystem—safely, but strategically.

4. Enable Substantive Engagement

It's not about tech expos. It’s about testbeds. Accelerators. Simulations. Real-world iteration. Think SOFWERX, DIU, and AFWERX—not just acquisition offices but platforms for learning-by-doing.

Ben Horowitz’s book The Hard Thing About Hard Things reminds us that the work of transformation isn’t just technical—it’s personal. Pete Hegseth, or anyone aiming to lead this new defense buildout, must navigate the chaos of startup culture within a legacy bureaucracy.

They are founders. But their investors are Congress, the White House, the American public—and in many ways, the global order.

That’s what makes this moment so difficult, and so important.

If we lead with strategy, systems, and patience—we will shape a new era of global defense norms. One that is more resilient, inclusive, and networked than any in history. If we fail—if we fall back into hierarchical procurement over networked innovation—others will fill the void. The future of war will be written by those who know how to iterate.

So let us write it. Let defense eat the world. But let us eat wisely.

Because if the Pentagon is now the platform—then every nation, every innovator, every strategist is part of the code. And together, we’re not just building warfighting capabilities. We’re architecting the world’s next operating system for peace, deterrence, and resilience.

Defense is eating the world. But how we feed it will define the future, and how we lead it will determine the taste.

Will it be bitter, borrowed, or boldly ours?

Chad Williamson is a military veteran and is currently pursuing his graduate degree in national security policy. He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Dr. Heather Williamson, and their two chocolate labs, Demmi and Ferg.