Defense Technology

How Mark Zuckerberg, Palmer Luckey, Josh Kushner & Scott Wu Think | Jeremy Stern

Oct 4, 2026 · 1:08:11

Colossus editor-in-chief Jeremy Stern joins David Senra to unpack his profiles of Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Palmer Luckey (Anduril), Scott Wu (Cognition) and Josh Kushner (Thrive Capital), arguing Zuckerberg is more competitive than anyone imagines and will never walk away. An Augustus devotee since 15 who refused Yahoo's $1 billion at 21, Zuckerberg has, Stern argues, the distribution and owned infrastructure to win the AI race. The Luckey profile began with a question — was defense tech real or bullshit after October 7th? — and became 15,000 words on a man who backed Trump when it cost him Facebook. Wu stands out as an authentic math genius who won't sell. Kushner's piece grew from his family's Holocaust story and ends with Stern's Russian professor, who taught him people owe their gifts.

Building Defense Technologies to Protect Democracies | Torsten Reil, Helsing

Aug 26, 2026 · 1:23:55

Torsten Reil, co-founder of European defense-tech company Helsing, argues that AI-controlled drones and autonomous fighter jets are making tanks, artillery, and crewed aircraft obsolete, and that future conflicts will be battles of materiel won by whoever can mass-produce weapons. Citing Ukraine, he says drones have cut frontline survival times to minutes, and explains how Helsing's HX-2 strike drone scaled from dozens to a baseline of 1,000 units per month, surging to 3,000. He also reveals that Helsing's Centaur AI flew a Saab Gripen in air combat, leading the company to build the autonomous jet CA1 Europa. Reil discusses founding Helsing in 2021 to protect democracies, Daniel Ek's early 100-million-euro investment, and the talent-density philosophy that shapes his leadership.