Publications
Publications
- March 2020
- HBS Case Collection
SRS and the Defense Innovation Unit: Rethinking Procurement
By: Paul A. Gompers and David Lane
Abstract
SRS and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) follows the process by which SRS, a lean maker of remotely-operated submersible vehicles, navigates the DIU’s acquisition process. Set up in 2015 to speed the U.S. military’s access to promising commercial technologies, the DIU supports U.S. innovation while aiding early-stage ventures in multiple ways: with revenues via prototype agreements, with technology validation for potential investors, and potentially with sizeable production contracts. In 2019, the DIU was looking to augment this effort by investing in pre-prototype startups and commercialization efforts earlier in the technology development cycle, but its limited size and resources begged larger questions of how to build capacity and scale.
Keywords
Procurement; Defense Innovation Unit; Business Startups; Acquisition; Technological Innovation; Investment; Commercialization; United States
Citation
Gompers, Paul A., and David Lane. "SRS and the Defense Innovation Unit: Rethinking Procurement." Harvard Business School Case 220-047, March 2020.