# Will Roper

> Will Roper is a physicist-turned-defense-strategist who now runs Istari Digital, a Cambridge, Massachusetts startup trying to build an 'engineering metaverse' where machines from satellites to medicines can be designed, tested and certified entirely in software. Before founding Istari in 2022, he was the 13th Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, steering a roughly $40-60 billion annual portfolio, and earlier the founding director of the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office, where he turned a $50 million budget into a $1.5 billion-plus prototype machine that produced drone swarms, hypervelocity guns and fighter-jet AI co-pilots. A Rhodes Scholar with an Oxford doctorate in string theory, he names his ventures after Tolkien wizards and argues America must learn to make hardware behave like software before its rivals do.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Istari Digital
- **Organizations:** Istari Digital, Georgia Tech, McKinsey & Company, U.S. Air Force (former), Strategic Capabilities Office (former), Missile Defense Agency (former), MIT Lincoln Laboratory (former)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. Physics, minor Mathematics (summa cum laude), Georgia Institute of Technology, M.S. Physics (summa cum laude, presidential scholar), Georgia Institute of Technology, DPhil Mathematics, string theory / conformal field theory, University of Oxford (University College)
- **Known for:** Founded and scaled the Strategic Capabilities Office from roughly $50M to more than $1.5B in annual prototype funding, Oversaw Air Force research, development and acquisition spanning roughly $40-60B annually and hundreds of programs, Helped set a record 103-unit Perdix micro-drone swarm demonstration

## Career timeline

- **2006-2012** — Technical staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, attached to the Missile Defense Agency
- **2010-2012** — Acting Ballistic Missile Defense System Architect at the Missile Defense Agency
- **2012-2018** — Founding director of the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO)
- **2018-2021** — 13th Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
- **2022** — Founded Istari Digital; named a Defense Innovation Board member
- **2024** — Istari wins $15M Air Force 'Model One' contract
- **2025** — Istari awarded $8.6M by the Department of the Air Force for 'Industry One'

## Achievements

- Founded and scaled the Strategic Capabilities Office from roughly $50M to more than $1.5B in annual prototype funding
- Oversaw Air Force research, development and acquisition spanning roughly $40-60B annually and hundreds of programs
- Helped set a record 103-unit Perdix micro-drone swarm demonstration
- Created AFVentures and the 'Pitch Bowl' model to fund startups quickly
- Supported SpaceX/ULA competition for National Security Space Launch and hypersonic weapon development
- Rhodes Scholar (2002), Truman Scholar, Coca-Cola Scholar
- Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service
- Authored 'There is No Spoon: The New Digital Acquisition Reality' (2020)

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Argued at a National Defense conference that the U.S. is 'not ready' for rapid battlefield innovation.
- **2025** — Istari Digital awarded $8.6M by the Department of the Air Force for the 'Industry One' effort.
- **2024** — Istari announced a $15M Air Force 'Model One' contract.

## Links

- Website: https://istaridigital.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/williamroper
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/istari_digital

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/will-roper
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-20