Defense Tech and ‘Physical AI’ Take Center Stage at StrictlyVC Los Angeles
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The Shift Toward Hard Tech in Southern California
The venture capital landscape is currently witnessing a pivot away from pure-play SaaS and toward what many are calling ‘hard tech’—ventures that require significant physical infrastructure, complex engineering, and long-term capital cycles. This trend is set to be the focal point of StrictlyVC Los Angeles 2026, an upcoming gathering of investors and founders scheduled for Thursday, June 18.
The event will be hosted at The Aerospace Corporation Campus in El Segundo, a location that is intentionally symbolic. El Segundo has evolved into a dense hub for the new aerospace and defense sector, bridging the gap between traditional government contracting and the agile, venture-backed startup culture of Silicon Valley.
Redefining the Defense Industrial Base
One of the headline sessions will feature Ethan Thornton, founder of Mach Industries. Thornton’s appearance, titled “Built for a New Era of Defense Technology,” aims to address the structural shift occurring within the U.S. defense apparatus. For decades, the defense industry was characterized by slow procurement cycles and a handful of monolithic prime contractors. However, the current environment—driven by the urgent need for autonomous systems and rapid manufacturing—is allowing a new generation of founders to operate with a speed previously unseen in national security.
The conversation is expected to touch on how autonomy and interconnected manufacturing are not just additive features but fundamental requirements for modern deterrence. Thornton represents a growing cohort of entrepreneurs who view defense not as a stagnant legacy industry, but as a high-growth frontier for technological acceleration.
The Convergence of AI and Robotics
Beyond defense, the event will tackle the transition of artificial intelligence from the screen to the physical world. In a session focused on ‘Physical AI,’ Delian Asparouhov of Founders Fund will join Saif Khawaja of Shinkei Systems to discuss the challenges of deploying AI in tangible environments.
While the last two years have been dominated by Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative software, the industry is now pivoting toward robotics and automation that can interact with the physical world in real-time. This transition is fraught with technical hurdles—specifically the ‘sim-to-real’ gap, where AI models that perform perfectly in simulation struggle with the unpredictable physics of reality. Asparouhov and Khawaja are expected to analyze what is required to move these breakthrough technologies from conceptual prototypes to scalable, real-world deployments.
The Venture Capital Dynamics of Frontier Tech
The gathering comes at a time when venture capital is increasingly scrutinized for its ability to support companies with longer horizons and higher capital expenditures. Unlike software, where a MVP (Minimum Viable Product) can be launched in weeks, physical AI and defense tech require massive upfront investment in hardware and testing facilities.
StrictlyVC’s focus on ‘high-signal conversations’ suggests a move away from the generic hype of the AI bubble and toward the practicalities of scaling complex systems. For the executives and founders attending, the value lies in the proximity to those who understand the specific risk profiles of frontier technology—where the failure of a single hardware component can set a timeline back by months, regardless of how sophisticated the software is.
Further speakers and agenda details are expected to be released as the June date approaches, though the current lineup signals a clear editorial and strategic bet on the industrialization of AI and the revitalization of the American defense sector.
