August 19th, 2026
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August 19th, 2026
Washington, DC
about the series

For the first time, Demand Signal will convene senior leaders from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to share the mission priorities, operational challenges, and emerging capability requirements shaping the agency’s future.

This inaugural forum will bring together DIA decision-makers, buyers, and operational leaders with a curated group of technology founders, investors, and industry partners. The program will offer a rare public window into what the agency needs, where critical capability gaps remain, and how innovators can work with DIA to move new technologies from promise to deployment.

The event will be a focused conversation designed to send a clear demand signal directly from the mission to the market in order to help America’s builders understand where they can make a difference for the agency.

Attendance is limited and curated.

SPEAKERS
Vice Admiral Seiko Okano

Principal Military Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition

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schedule
August 19, 2026
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PT
Opening Session
8:30am - Registration Opens & Networking (30 min)
9:05am - Welcome Remarks and Announcements (10 min)
Vice Admiral Seiko Okano
Principal Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN(RD&A))
PART I: The Department of the Navy’s Demand Signal
9:15am - PAE Aviation: Delivering Speed, Relevance, and Scale (15 min)
9:30am - PAE RAS: Scaling Robotics and Autonomous Systems (15 min)
9:45am - PAE Marine: Advancing Contested Logistics, Ground Systems, and Expeditionary Warfare (15 mins)
10:00am – Cross-PAE Discussion: The Navy’s Hardest Operational Problems (50 mins)
Lunch Break
11:00am – Working Lunch // Conversations (60 min)
Informal working lunch
PART II: The Builders and Investors’ Response
12:00pm – Conversation with Erin Price-Wright, Partner at a16z (30 min)
12:30pm – Roundtable Discussion: Scaling Autonomous Systems for Contested Maritime Environments (50 min)
Facilitator: Morgan Hitzig
General Partner, Overmatch Ventures
1:20pm – Coffee Break // Transition (10 mins)
Brief refreshment break
1:30pm – Roundtable Discussion: The Connective Tissue: Building for the Kill Web (50 min)
Facilitator: Morgan Hitzig
General Partner, Overmatch Ventures
2:20pm – Closing Remarks (10 min)
Brian MacCarthy
Founder & Managing Partner, Booz Allen Ventures
2:30pm – Reception & Networking (90 min)
Happy hour cocktails and hors d'oeuvres
co-hosts
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