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  • March 2020
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SRS and the Defense Innovation Unit: Rethinking Procurement

By: Paul A. Gompers and David Lane
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:18
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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.
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About The Author

Paul A. Gompers

Entrepreneurial Management
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