New Pentagon Office Hopes to Bridge 'Valley of Death'.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

SIMI VALLEY, California --Transitioning promising technology funded by the U.S. military from research projects to programs of record has been a long-time and difficult problem.

When a potentially game-changing technology doesn't get adopted by one of the services or an agency it has entered the so-called "Valley of Death." Startups and small businesses rarely have the capital to continue the product's development and the money taxpayers invested in the projects goes to waste.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III in December established the Office of Strategic Capital, a Defense Department organization that will help small businesses and startups find the capital they need to make it across the valley.

Critical technologies such as advanced materials, next-generation biotechnology and quantum science often require long-term financing to bridge the gap between the laboratory and full-scale production, a Defense Department statement said.

The office will fall under the purview of Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.

The program should not require a lot of funding from Congress, she explained at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California. The idea is to become a matchmaker between the startups and venture capitalists, who will keep...