What SAIC Ventures Looks for in Israeli Startups

Michael Hauser, Managing Partner of SAIC Ventures and VP of Products, Partnerships & Ventures, joined The CET Sandbox for a candid conversation about how one of the largest defense integrators in the U.S. thinks about working with Israeli startups.

Hauser, who previously led Boeing’s disruptive innovation team and served at HorizonX Ventures, offered a perspective that cuts against the grain of most corporate venture conversations: SAIC leads with collaboration, not capital. “The act of deploying capital comes second for us,” he said. What matters first is go-to-market fit. Whether a startup’s technology can be woven into SAIC’s mission outcomes and delivered to government customers on existing contract vehicles.

For Israeli founders, Hauser’s most pointed advice concerned entity structure, IP ownership, and investor composition. These aren’t risks to manage, he said, they’re “unlocks” that smart founders pre-think before walking in the door. The technology itself is largely assumed. “I take the technology strengths of the Israeli ecosystem as a kind of currency,” he said. “I look for the positioning of the entity to be a great business partner first.”

On the procurement transformation, Hauser offered a useful counterpoint to the “light switch” narrative: the shift is real, but it’s an acceleration of changes already underway, not a sudden reset. Founders who expect everyone to have gotten the memo will be disappointed. Those who approach it with patience will find a path.

Technology areas SAIC is currently focused on: autonomy, signals, space, C2/C5, agentic AI workflows, and federal health tech.