The Drop 2025 - Ripple summaries

Is Dual Use tech Climate-tech 2.0?


Here’s a quick look at what came up in the Ripple. Folks dove into dual-use tech, stuff that fits both energy and defense spaces, and tried to untangle the tough choices investors face.

They covered rules, ethics, business, and real-world stories.

Takeaways:

• Deciding where to draw the line with defense-linked tech is messy.

• Teams need to really think about why founders built their product and if defense fits their main goal.

• It's important to understand the laws and rules around selling in this space.

• Some investors liked setting a revenue limit for defense, not just yes or no.

• People agreed that working with defense isn’t only about risk—energy and impact tech can cross over, but it’s not always simple.

• There’s no one answer for everyone; folks should name and stick to their own line.

• Last, having open talks with backers and setting an exit plan is a smart move.

Bottom line: The Ripple showed that investing in dual-use tech means balancing values, money, and the law—and there’s no perfect map for the journey.

HOSTS

Austin Wood
SET Ventures

Chloe Fu
Sandwater

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