The Kármán Line

Hetti Barkworth-Nanton: Turning swords into ploughshares

The Kármán Line

Show Notes

How does Ploughshare turn Ministry of Defence owned R&D into commercial businesses serving wider society? Why has commercialising defence technology historically been "suboptimal," and how is the newly launched Technology and Growth Alliance (TAG) shifting the dial? How can classified innovations be declassified by separating the underlying core technology from its military application? What structural changes are required in UK venture capital to build "bolder, braver" scale-ups capable of navigating defence procurement and space markets?

Join Alice and Jonners as they talk with Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, CEO of Ploughshare, about how to take brilliant defence innovation out of Government labs and apply it to wider commercial markets like healthcare and telecoms. Plus, navigating the rules, regulations and protection rackets. “No, you can’t go speak to the Minister”.

Contributors: Alice Bunn, President of UKspace Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedIn UKspace: Overview | LinkedIn

Jonathan Daves, The Karman Line Jonathan Daves | LinkedIn The Karman Line | LinkedIn

Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE, CEO, Ploughshare Hetti Barkworth-Nanton | LinkedIn Ploughshare | LinkedIn

Key topics covered: Commercialising defence R&D & Ploughshare's mission The Technology and Growth Alliance (TAG) Declassifying top-secret defence tech Reverse dual-use Cultural shifts in academia and corporate defence primes Space and defence tech synergy Defence procurement challenges The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) UK venture capital gaps Funding dual-use scale-ups Purpose-driven leadership & organisational culture Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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