Autonomous weapons, decentralized technique, and startup velocity — this isn’t the way forward for protection, it’s the now. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Ethan Thornton, CEO and founding father of Mach Industries, steps onto the AI Stage to speak about how next-gen protection is being constructed from the bottom up with AI at its core.
Contained in the AI arms race — and the founder aiming to rewrite it
Ethan Thornton isn’t your typical protection trade chief. Because the CEO and founding father of Mach Industries, he launched the corporate out of MIT in 2023 with a daring mission: to construct decentralized, next-generation protection applied sciences that may safeguard freedom on a worldwide scale.
Now main one of the crucial formidable startups within the house, Thornton is bringing a contemporary perspective to an trade dominated by legacy gamers. His work blends frontier {hardware}, software program, and autonomy to rethink how nations defend themselves in a quickly altering world.
From startup lab to battlefield impression
Mach Industries is a part of a brand new wave of firms proving that AI-native startups can play a essential position in nationwide protection. This session will unpack what which means in apply — from autonomous methods and edge computing to dual-use applied sciences that blur the traces between business innovation and navy functionality.
Hear from Thornton on navigating funding, regulation, and accountability on the intersection of tech and geopolitics.
AI isn’t simply powering chatbots — it’s redefining world energy
With world tensions rising and funding in protection tech accelerating, this dialog provides an pressing and well timed take a look at how synthetic intelligence is reshaping safety, technique, and sovereignty. Register now to avoid wasting $675 earlier than costs go up subsequent week, and be within the room with 10,000+ startup and VC leaders shaping the subsequent period of innovation.
