Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Mar 24, 2026] Echodyne's Eben Frankenberg on Affordable Electronically Scanned Radars

On today’s Technology Report, Eben Frankenberg, the CEO and cofounder of the innovative radar company Echodyne, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss how the company turned breakthrough meta-material technology into small and affordable electronically scanned radars for military and commercial applications; the birth of the company in 2014 as part of former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures firm to develop foundational technologies key for a future generation of autonomous systems; the company’s commercial business model that in 2022 attracted $135 million from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, UK investment firm Baillie Gifford, Northrop Grumman and others; lessons from recent wars and growth prospects as anti-drone systems are prioritized worldwide, especially those with ITAR free technology; access to capital; how the Pentagon is changing how it does business with innovative companies; and navigating and surviving the Valley of Death.