CEOs of Epirus & Galvanick on the Future of Defense & Cybersecurity

Epirus and the "Sixth Domain" of Warfare

• Strategic Shift: Epirus identifies a "sixth domain" of warfare where cyber attacks manifest physically through drones, robots, and automated systems, rendering traditional one-to-one defense mechanisms ineffective against mass "swarm" attacks.
• Manufacturing Gap: There is a drastic disparity in drone production capacity, with China estimated to produce ~60 million drones annually compared to the U.S.'s ~50,000, necessitating a move away from "me too" volume matching toward leveraging U.S. advantages in phased arrays and Gallium Nitride technology.
• Product Evolution (Gen 2): Epirus is finalizing its second-generation "Force Field Generator," which offers 2.5x the range of its Generation 1 system within the same physical footprint (10x10 feet), designed to contain threats before they breach a protected perimeter.
• Deployment Readiness: The new Generation 2 systems are described as "fully mission-capable prototypes" ready for official testing with the U.S. Army in January/February 2024, with anticipated orders from the Department of Homeland Security and other military services.
• Supply Chain Reindustrialization: Epirus is addressing critical U.S. manufacturing gaps in high-powered microwave amplifiers and drone components, collaborating with partners like General Dynamics to rebuild domestic capacity that was largely offshored since the early 2000s.

Galvanic and Operational Technology (OT) Security

• Core Mission: Founder Joshua Steinman launched Galvanic to protect Operational Technology (OT) systems—the physical infrastructure managing power, water, and manufacturing—where security investment is near zero compared to the $100B spent on Information Technology (IT) security.
• Talent Shortage: A White House charter revealed fewer than 10,000 Americans possess the specific skill set required for OT cybersecurity, prompting Galvanic to build software that replicates the analysis capabilities of human teams in 2–5 minutes.
• Attack Vectors: Steinman cites recent remote takeovers of Iranian steel mills where hackers manipulated molten metal gantries, illustrating how unencrypted industrial networks and lack of "network segmentation" allow actors to physically destroy critical infrastructure.
• Primary Threat: The Chinese Communist Party is identified as the most prolific adversary actively pre-positioning malware (e.g., Salt Typhoon, Volt Typhoon) on U.S. critical infrastructure to enable potential future disruption of water, power, and supply chains.
• Strategic Assessment on Taiwan: Steinman judges Taiwan's defensive readiness not by U.S. policy but by whether the Taiwanese population is equipping military-age males (15–50) with weapons and conducting drills to survive the first 24 hours of a PLA onslaught.

Leadership, Policy, and Future Outlook

• Administration Dynamics: Joshua Steinman describes President Trump as "two increments smarter than most smart people," citing a high-trust environment where his judgment consistently proven correct, contrasting the current term with the first where "stovepiped" personnel allegedly undermined the President's agenda.
• Reindustrialization Imperative: Both speakers emphasize that the U.S. must bring the entire supply chain back domestically, noting that "Made in America" labels are often superficial; true security requires manufacturing microprocessors, rocket motors, and amplifiers within U.S. borders.
• AI and Security: Galvanic anticipates an "Cambrian explosion" of vulnerability discovery via AI, where attackers can scale code-breaking exponentially, making real-time, automated correlation of disparate security signals the only viable defense.
• Forward-Looking Statements:
  • Steinman predicts the U.S. will likely not mandate security clearances for all top AI employees this year, though he believes they "should."
  • Steinman estimates a ~35% probability of a new trade agreement between the U.S. and China, noting the administration is in no rush.
  • Epirus expects to break a "dam" in 2024-2025 as customer confidence grows, leading to mass orders for next-gen electronic warfare systems.
• Talent Strategy: Galvanic plans to scale its workforce from 15 to a larger team by recruiting from high-growth sectors like Amazon, Google, and Uber, focusing on individuals passionate about the physical consequences of cyber failures.