# Brett Granberg

> Brett Granberg is the co-founder and CEO of Vannevar, a Palo Alto defense technology company that builds AI-enabled software and hardware for U.S. and allied national-security missions. A University of Georgia mathematics and economics graduate who later worked at McKinsey, In-Q-Tel and Lilt, Granberg met co-founder Nini Hamrick at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Their first Arabic OCR product drew little interest; listening to repeated requests for Mandarin and Russian capabilities led to Decrypt, a first $25,000 deployment and, eventually, a company reporting $80 million in 2024 annual contract value and a $1.5 billion valuation.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Vannevar
- **Organizations:** Vannevar, In-Q-Tel, McKinsey & Company, Lilt
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics, University of Georgia, MBA program; left to build Vannevar, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Vannevar in 2019 and built it into a defense software and hardware supplier serving U.S. military and allied missions., Led the company from an unsuccessful Arabic OCR concept to Decrypt and a broader portfolio built around collecting and processing hard-to-access data., Helped Vannevar win the Defense Innovation Unit's Real-Time Information and Effects production award with a ceiling of $99 million in 2024.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2016** — Worked at McKinsey & Company, including defense technology strategy work.
- **2016-2018** — Worked at In-Q-Tel on technology investments connected to U.S. intelligence missions.
- **2018** — Began the MBA program at Stanford Graduate School of Business and met Nini Hamrick during their first week.
- **2019** — Co-founded Vannevar with Hamrick and left business school to build the company.
- **2020** — The team shifted from an Arabic OCR prototype toward Mandarin and Russian language mission needs after repeated customer feedback.
- **2021** — Vannevar launched Decrypt and secured an early deployment of about $25,000; the company later raised its Series A.
- **2023** — Vannevar raised a $75 million Series B.
- **2024** — The Defense Innovation Unit moved its Real-Time Information and Effects program to a production award with a $99 million ceiling, selecting Vannevar's integrated tools.
- **2025** — Vannevar reported $80 million in annual contract value, a third profitable year, 2,848% three-year growth and a $1.5 billion valuation.
- **2026** — Vannevar began communicating more openly about its agentic AI and mission-specific defense systems after years of maintaining a low public profile.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Vannevar in 2019 and built it into a defense software and hardware supplier serving U.S. military and allied missions.
- Led the company from an unsuccessful Arabic OCR concept to Decrypt and a broader portfolio built around collecting and processing hard-to-access data.
- Helped Vannevar win the Defense Innovation Unit's Real-Time Information and Effects production award with a ceiling of $99 million in 2024.
- Oversaw growth to a company-reported $80 million in 2024 annual contract value, three consecutive profitable years and a $1.5 billion valuation.
- Authored practical guidance for defense founders, including 'How to Invent Defense Products.'

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Vannevar said it would communicate more openly about its work, describing mission-specific agentic systems for Indo-Pacific deterrence, homeland security and economic competitiveness.
- **2025-09** — Granberg appeared in Vannevar's In The Arena series to discuss the founder journey, strategic product bets and reasoning agents in defense.
- **2025-09** — Vannevar reported deploying agentic AI at Talisman Sabre 25, including more than a dozen AI-powered products supporting daily operations.
- **2025-08** — Vannevar announced its Inc. 5000 recognition and reported 2,848% growth over three years, $80 million in 2024 annual contract value and a third profitable year.
- **2024-11** — The Defense Innovation Unit announced a production award with a $99 million ceiling for the Real-Time Information and Effects program using Vannevar's software and hardware tools.

## Links

- Website: https://www.vannevarlabs.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-granberg/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brett-granberg
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27