Finding, Forecasting, and Accelerating Future Tech

In sports, scouts are the key to identifying new talent, whether assessing a highly rated recruit or spotting the diamond in the rough that others may have overlooked. Booz Allen employs a similar mentality when identifying the next “big thing” in technology.

Booz Allen’s Tech Scouting team is hard at work every day answering questions like: Which startups, entrepreneurs, and investors are shaping the landscape in pivotal areas like space, defense, and AI? How will novel technology advance the nation’s security and competitive advantage? And what emerging technologies—underappreciated today—might disrupt federal missions in the future?

Tech scouting is grounded by Booz Allen’s deep understanding of U.S. government technical requirements, which often differ from those in the private sector. The team uses those requirements as a lens while scanning the private sector for new technology. Team members work directly with federal leaders to apply those findings to specific agency and program needs.

Tech scouts conduct market analyses, dissect venture trends, facilitate technology demonstrations, and draft implementation plans—all to jumpstart the journey from industry discovery to innovation.

Dr. Meghan Hauser is the team’s technical lead. With a doctorate in physical chemistry, she focuses on technology strategy and specializes in new computing paradigms, such as microelectronics and semiconductors, quantum information sciences, cryptography, and more.

Meghan’s work with the innovation ecosystem began while pursuing her Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.

After receiving her doctorate, Meghan accepted a job within the private sector where she introduced U.S. government leaders to emerging technologies and entrepreneurs. “I worked with a lot of disruptive companies and realized I loved the defense space—it’s not only incredibly interesting and dynamic but has a powerful mission: to get the best tools and technologies into the hands of warfighters and others tasked with securing our nation,” she says. “As the daughter of a veteran, I can’t think of anything better to do with my career.”

Natalie Kiernan joined the Tech Scouting team from a New York City-based startup specializing in AI market intelligence.

“At Booz Allen, I have been able to explore personal passion projects, like co-authoring a piece on regenerative agriculture and its growing popularity. These opportunities have opened doors to projects and proposal efforts that I would not have had the chance to work on otherwise,” says Natalie.

Jake Mervis has a background in politics, public relations, and international and domestic policy advocacy. Starting his career knocking on doors for political campaigns during college, he eventually transitioned to a policy role that put him in front of lawmakers from the European Union to Singapore.

At Booz Allen, he researches foreign technology development and shares these insights with U.S. defense clients. “Congressional and defense leaders have made clear that, to maintain the West’s technological superiority, the U.S. must support, partner with, and inject capital and tech knowledge into the nation’s partner and allies’ venture-backed defense tech ecosystems. It’s exciting because Booz Allen stands to play an invaluable role in this effort.”   

Connor Swain spearheads Tech Scouting’s engagement with Special Operations Forces clients in Tampa, Florida. He has worked on projects researching emerging trends in wearables, counter-drone technologies, AI-enabled intelligence, and more.

Connor supported Booz Allen’s work at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for several years but jumped at the opportunity to work with the growing Tech Scouting team and pursue his long-term passions. “My family has a history of entrepreneurship, and I’ve always looked up to my grandparents who served in the military,” Connor says. “When I found this role, I felt it was the perfect mix of the two.”

Cara Valencia’s degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering prepared her for her role as Tech Scouting’s AI lead, working for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) and the U.S. Army Small Business Innovation and Research Program (SBIR). “I’ve brought my technical engineering concepts and research skills to the team as I learn more about the market and financial side,” she says. “There’s so much room to grow.”

Cara sees even more learning and growth ahead. “With the rise of generative AI and chatbots, there’s been an exponential growth in AI work and interest,” says Cara. “Our team has more than doubled in size since I joined three years ago, with more incoming requests focused on AI than ever before.”  

Futurist, investigator, prognosticator, communicator, advisor—a Booz Allen tech scout’s job involves many facets and roles. They’re all focused on researching technologies that address the federal government’s mission challenges and suggesting solutions that agencies can integrate into their operations.

“We leverage our technical and business acumen to make informed and impartial recommendations from the emerging technology landscape,” says Meghan.

“There’s so much happening in tech right now—our goal is to cut through the noise,” says Connor. “The U.S. private sector is home to the best technology in the world, and we all benefit if we can get that technology to make our government and military more efficient and effective."

“So much of what we do involves staying informed and reading for multiple hours a day,” says Jake, citing sources from across the Department of Defense, civil and intelligence agencies, industry, academia, think tanks, news reports, and even within Booz Allen.

“All of us are nerds who like to really get into the details of things, whether it's tech or policy-related,” says Cara.

Tech scouting reports are often technology deep dives with company and technology recommendations delivered to top stakeholders within the Department of Defense. Clients include Air Force Research Labs, CDAO, Special Operations groups, and the Defense Health Agency. These deliverables address some of the most pressing questions in government today: How can clean tech help government leaders meet mandates to go green? What does the intelligence community need to know about an adversarial nation’s commercial tech market? How can the federal workforce use AI to free up their workflow on a daily basis?

Increasingly, clients lean on Booz Allen’s Tech Scouting team for education and guidance on how seemingly far-away technologies in other industries could apply to federal missions. “A lot of our research is dedicated to showing government leaders not only which technologies are being developed and used in the private sector,” explains Natalie, “but also how such technologies can support their mission needs.” Facilitating tech demonstrations is key to educating clients and exposing startups to federal client missions, challenges, and requirements.

Within Booz Allen, the team works across the defense, national security, and civil businesses to keep leaders informed on tech advancement trends. Whether it’s through extensive emerging technology reports, curated technology and company recommendations that contribute to investment decisions, or deciphering technology demos, the team supports Booz Allen’s path towards innovation and excellence.

For Meghan, who started her career in Silicon Valley, the team’s value-add is the unique perspective it provides to the U.S. government. “Our team was founded in San Francisco nearly a decade ago with the singular goal to bring the best tech from that area into our clients’ missions. That perspective of hunting for disruptive technology is engrained in our DNA.

“The beauty of our team is the eclectic mix of experiences, interests, and specialties,” Meghan says. “We give people the freedom to be intellectually curious and think outside the box—and those are the instances where I believe our work really shines.”

Booz Allen’s Tech Scouting team is a place where diverse backgrounds and perspectives are unified by an unwavering passion for technology. This melting pot of expertise is applied to problem solving for the nation’s most complex challenges. “I believe innovative solutions to any problem, no matter how complex, can always be found,” Meghan says.