# Robert Slaughter

> Robert C. ‘Rob’ Slaughter is an Air Force veteran, physicist, software leader, and co-founder and CEO of Defense Unicorns. After helping create Space CAMP and co-founding and directing the Department of Defense's Platform One DevSecOps team, he left active duty and started Defense Unicorns with Jeff McCoy and Andrew Greene in 2021. The company builds open-source, infrastructure-agnostic tools for delivering and updating software in cloud, classified, edge, and air-gapped military environments. In January 2026 it raised a $136 million Series B at a valuation above $1 billion; Slaughter says the larger aim is to make software a strategic deterrent and give operators more control over the technology they take into missions.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO (Culture Executive Officer) at Defense Unicorns
- **Organizations:** Defense Unicorns, DoD Platform One, Space CAMP, United States Air Force, AFWERX, National Space Defense Center, Project Blue
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Space Physics program; commissioned through Air Force ROTC, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Master of Science, Engineering Physics, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, PhD, Engineering Physics, with work spanning nuclear physics and computer vision, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founded and directed DoD Platform One, the department-wide DevSecOps platform team., Created Space CAMP, an Air Force software development incubator focused on space operators., Led an early Air Force predictive-maintenance effort applying AI and machine learning to legacy aircraft data.

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Graduated from Embry-Riddle's Space Physics program, commissioned through ROTC, and began active-duty Air Force service.
- **2010** — Completed an AFIT master's thesis on positron annihilation ratio spectroscopy in the Department of Engineering Physics.
- **2010-2012** — Served as Chief, Future Capabilities Branch at Patrick Air Force Base.
- **2015-2017** — Worked as an Air Force computer vision scientist and led early predictive-maintenance applications of AI and machine learning.
- **2017-2018** — Served as DevOps lead for Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles and the National Space Defense Center.
- **2018-2019** — Created the Air Force software incubator Space CAMP and helped organize rapid, operator-focused software development efforts.
- **2020-2021** — Co-founded and directed DoD Platform One, a department-wide DevSecOps platform team.
- **2021** — Left active duty after roughly 13 years and co-founded Defense Unicorns with Jeff McCoy and Andrew Greene.
- **2024** — Defense Unicorns raised a $35 million Series A led by Ansa Capital.
- **2026** — Defense Unicorns raised a $136 million Series B led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities at a valuation above $1 billion.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and directed DoD Platform One, the department-wide DevSecOps platform team.
- Created Space CAMP, an Air Force software development incubator focused on space operators.
- Led an early Air Force predictive-maintenance effort applying AI and machine learning to legacy aircraft data.
- Co-founded Defense Unicorns and led it through a $136 million Series B at a valuation above $1 billion in 2026.
- Helped move open-source, portable software-delivery tooling into disconnected and classified defense environments.
- Earned graduate degrees in engineering physics from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Appeared on the Fighter Pilot Podcast to discuss updating software on aircraft and delivering capabilities to disconnected battlefields.
- **2026-06** — Discussed UDS Fleet and rapid aircraft software updates in coverage of Air Force open-mission-system modernization.
- **2026-03** — Joined DefenseScoop's CTRL + ALT + DEFENSE podcast after Defense Unicorns reported a 300% year-over-year increase in adoption across military systems.
- **2026-01** — Defense Unicorns announced a $136 million Series B led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities at a valuation above $1 billion.
- **2025-09** — Appeared in a Straight Arrow News interview about legacy military infrastructure, foreign-sourced technology, and airgap-native software delivery.

## Links

- Website: https://defenseunicorns.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertcslaughter
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/RobCSlaughter
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@defense-unicorns
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robcslaughter/

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