It's the battle of startups vs. space invaders

If space invasion came today, these startups say we wouldn’t quite be ready—but we’re getting closer.   [view entire message](   Silicon Valley invades near-space with satellites and high altitude balloons Nearly nine decades after the Hindenburg disaster, some speculate we’re entering the Second Age of the Balloon. Put another way, we’re in the midst of a new Sputnik moment—an event that makes people collectively realize they need to do something. “As all these objects fall, a new space race is rising,” [Vox]( proclaimed. Last week a large high altitude balloon floated across the U.S. before being shot down in dramatic style by a US F-22 Raptor jet off the South Carolina coast. The balloon was about 200 feet tall—comparable to the Statue of Liberty—about with a jetliner size payload, according to official reports. In the past couple weeks, American fighter jets shot down three other high-altitude objects that Beijing claimed were weather balloons, too. The incidents led U.S. officials to enhance radars and atmospheric trackers to more closely scrutinize the nation’s airspace. They also put a spotlight on often-secretive and growing part of the economy: defense tech. [Find opportunities at top defense companies]( [Now is the time to hire top talent →]( Tech recruiters: use your benefits to your advantage Employee benefits are a key part of any company's culture. 2020 showcased a large shift in preferred benefits for 9 to 5 employees, with an emphasis on flexibility and remote work. Now that we're entering 2023, what are the top benefits employees are interested in? How can you stay competitive in the recruiter market if you can't compete on compensation? From remote work options to healthcare benefits, there are plenty of ways to make your company stand out. [How to use benefits to attract top talent in 2023]( Dive Deeper Why the balloon and UFO affairs are a Sputnik moment ([Vox]( A Rising Awareness That Balloons Are Everywhere in Our Skies ([New York Times]( Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering, forcing startup to pause operations ([CNBC]( Startups Thrive With Contracts Via Defense Innovation Office ([Bloomberg]( Ballooning space industry At the same time the world was focused on the Chinese balloon crossing U.S. airspace, a large unidentified object flew over Colombia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. Those countries opted to let it to float away after ruling out espionage. It turns out, that’s the case with tens of thousands of balloons that float into near space every year. The National Weather Service alone launches around 60k high-flying balloons each year. The Pentagon spent nearly $4B over the past two years on its own high altitude balloons, according to [Politico](. Why the interest in such old-school tech? “They’re cheap, easy to transport, can be fielded in large numbers and are payload agnostic,” industry expert George Howell wrote. [5 top altitude balloon & satellite companies hiring now]( Startups are near-space invaders Tucson, Arizona-based [World View]( a stratospheric ballooning company, last month announced plans to go public via SPAC merger. The company develops a “stratollite” that provides high-res imagery for extended periods. (The company also offer space tourism.) Colorado-based [Urban Sky]( is creating what it claims as the first ever reusable stratospheric balloon. Called “micro-balloons,” they’re the size of a VW bus and can hover in near space to collect data over urban areas. Company founder [Jared Leidich]( has some chops in this arena, having designed the space suit used in the world record space dive in 2014 via a balloon at nearly 136k feet. [Near Space Labs]( invites people to “[step inside a new way of thinking about all things geospatial imaging]( The company's high-altitude balloons that carry a small, autonomous robot called Swifty to capture the world around them at 60k to 85k feet in the air. The company says it’s done zero carbon emissions and recently [launched]( a program to make its high-resolution Earth imagery available to universities and nonprofits for free. Headwinds in Mexico Last month Mexico issued a statement that it plans to “prohibit and, where appropriate, stop experimentation practices with solar geoengineering in the country” to stop plans by U.S. startup [Make Sunsets]( to release reflective weather balloons into the skies. The plan was for the balloons, filled with helium and a small amount of sulfur dioxide, to float high into the stratosphere and burst, dispersing sulfur dioxide particles to reflect back sunlight and (theoretically, at least) cool the Earth. Though, there’s plenty of [speculation]( it was a publicity stunt. New inspiration These high-profile incidents inspired the founder of [Enigma Labs]( to create a repository to help catalog, score and crowdsource sightings (also called “unidentified aerial phenomena”) and incidents worldwide. Tweet of the Week Trending in Tech Unmanned drone swarms The U.S. is working with startups to develop [autonomous military vehicles](. Swarms of autonomous drones developed by the U.S. military and others could blanket future war zones. The military is also investing in shooting down drone swarms. Los Angeles-based [Epirus]( raised a $200M Series C last year to develop a counter-electronics system called The Leonidas, billed as the world’s most powerful software-defined high-power microwave (HPM) system. The company won a U.S. Army contract to zap down [unmanned drone swarms](. A more mature startup, Anduril, won a [$1B contract]( from U.S. Special Operations Command to lead its counter-drone systems integration work. It’s a lot cheaper solution than fighter jets, experts say. Though, there are critics of such autonomous machines, especially on the battlefield. A global campaign called [Stop Killer Robots]( seeks to ban lethal autonomous weapons, arguing they’re deeply unethical because they give machines control over life-and-death decisions and could disproportionately harm marginalized communities through algorithmic biases. [Air system startups hiring now]( What we're reading - Companies save billions of dollars by giving employees fake "manager" titles, study shows ([CBS News]( - Why you shouldn’t trust AI search engines ([MIT Technology Review]( - GitHub is laying off 10% of staff and cutting down office space ([Fortune]( - Tonal seeks fundraising valuing it at $500M, down from $1.9B, as home fitness industry struggles ([Fortune]( Companies in the news St. Petersburg, Fla.-based [Spatial Networks]( a geospatial data collection and analysis platform, raised a $42M Series A led by Kayne Partners and Kennet Partners to advance AI-powered geospatial data intelligence solutions for field-intensive industries such as utilities, construction, environmental services, and engineering. Philadelphia-based Asylon Robotics, an automated air and ground security robotics company, raised an unspecified investment round from Veteran Ventures to strengthen its defense portfolio. Tel Aviv, Israel-based Earth & Beyond Ventures, early-stage venture firm launched a $125M fund to back Israeli deeptech with dual purpose space and terrestrial applications. ✓ Startups hiring now Secureframe Helping companies build trust and stay secure [14 open roles]( Huntress Breach Detection as a Service [12 open roles](Breach%20Detection%20as%20a%20Service) Prelude Active Security Intelligence [6 open roles](   Help us spread the word: we'll pay you [$200]( for every friend you get hired through Wellfound! [Refer & Earn]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Wellfound Weekly 228 Park Ave S, PMB 40533 New York, NY 10003 [Unsubscribe]( | [Update preferences](