Tech article
Even mid-sprint to a secret flight, the Navy’s tech chief has a pitch for investors
Publisher description: Navy CTO Justin Fanelli talks co-investing alongside VCs instead of funding early research himself, recent buys like a $562 million autonomous refueling deal, and the Navy's updated wish list — from AI to quantum — for where founders should be building next.
TechCrunch | Sep 19, 2026 | Connie Loizos
Automated excerpt
Justin Fanelli, the Department of Navy’s chief technology officer, has spent the last three and a half years trying to make the U. S. How much money the Navy actually puts to work each year depends on what counts as spending, Fanelli said. “We spend in the like $150 billion range every year,” he said, though he was careful to separate that number — total Navy purchasing — from something narrower, like direct equity investment. As for recent purchases, Fanelli rattled off a handful.
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