The Department of Defense has issued an investment strategy outlining the initial priority areas for the Office of Strategic Capital’s first program activity — the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technologies Initiative — in fiscal year 2024.
The strategy describes how OSC will work to advance private investment in 12 critical industries, including nanomaterials and metamaterials; synthetic biology; open RAN; sensor hardware; assembly, testing and packaging; quantum computing; battery storage; and space-enabled services and equipment, DOD said Friday.
According to the document, OSC will work with the Small Business Administration to extend loan guarantees to licensed funds for investments in critical component tech platforms.
In December 2022, DOD established OSC to help technology developers find the capital they need to bring platforms to the military and national security markets.
“This important investment strategy will leverage America’s core advantages in innovation and free enterprise to strengthen our industrial base and invest in tech areas that are critical for national security,” said Lloyd Austin, secretary of DOD and a three-time Wash100 awardee.