The bank, which originally announced plans last year to allocate $10 billion into strategic startups over a decade, is now open to expanding the program well beyond that initial financial commitment. JPMorgan co-President Doug Petno revealed the potential for growth in an interview, highlighting the sheer volume of viable projects seeking funding in the current economic and geopolitical environment.
Todd Combs, the high-profile former Berkshire Hathaway executive who was recruited to lead JPMorgan’s strategic investment group overseeing these startup bets, has hit the ground running since transitioning to the bank. According to Petno, Combs has executed his responsibilities exceptionally well, successfully positioning the institution within several highly promising early-stage companies that align with the bank’s long-term national security and economic resilience goals.
While the vast majority of these early investments remain undisclosed to the public, a couple of prominent stakes clearly illustrate the core mission of the project. As the world navigates a more dangerous and chaotic era of geopolitics defined by ongoing conflicts and shifting trade dynamics, JPMorgan has taken direct equity stakes in defense-related technology startups Hadrian and Castelion.
These strategic pivots have been driven largely by CEO Jamie Dimon, who warned a year ago that the global landscape had entered one of the most perilous periods in decades. Flashpoints such as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, alongside persistent trade frictions with China, have repeatedly threatened the smooth flow of energy supplies and essential components required for American industries and national defense infrastructure.
To address these vulnerabilities, Dimon placed Petno—widely regarded as one of the primary internal candidates possibly in line to succeed him—at the helm of the broader investment project. Meanwhile, Combs, who previously served on JPMorgan’s board of directors, reports directly to the CEO, ensuring direct executive oversight for the ambitious undertaking.
The scope of the security and resiliency initiative extends far beyond heavy manufacturing, defense, and traditional supply chains. The project actively evaluates opportunities across frontier technologies, as well as the rapidly evolving pharmaceutical and health-tech sectors, where supply chain independence and domestic innovation are deemed equally critical.
Petno noted that a multitude of compelling companies have emerged to tackle these systemic vulnerabilities head-on. These early-stage, advanced manufacturing ventures are successfully developing domestic capabilities right here in the United States, thereby reducing a historical reliance on vulnerable overseas trading partners and foreign supply chains.
A prime example of this strategy unfolded in August, when JPMorgan helped lead a massive $1.4 billion funding round for Hadrian. The startup designs and operates automated factories that manufacture high-precision metal parts utilized across the defense, aerospace, and maritime industries. According to the company’s founder, a heavily automated facility run by Hadrian in California utilizes an astonishing ratio of 10 industrial robots for every human employee on the floor.
During that same month, the bank participated in another major funding round, contributing to a $1.0 billion financing effort for Castelion. Founded in late 2002 by a team of former SpaceX engineers, Castelion’s flagship innovation is the development of a relatively low-cost hypersonic missile system known as Blackbeard, designed to bolster American tactical defense capabilities.
Reflecting on the milestone, Combs emphasized the long-term vision guiding the team’s investment strategy. The objective is to identify generational companies and forge lasting partnerships that endure across market cycles. Deploying more than $5 billion in capital over the course of just twelve months demonstrates the sheer volume of exceptional businesses currently building foundational industries that strengthen critical American supply chains, Combs stated.
Risky business?
For JPMorgan Chase, committing billions of dollars in direct equity investments to nascent, unproven startups represents a notable departure from its traditional role as a corporate lender and financial advisor.
Prior to launching the defense and resiliency initiative, the bank had systematically moved away from taking direct equity stakes in early-stage startups, which inherently carry higher risks tied to unproven technologies and market volatility. More than a decade ago, JPMorgan formally spun off its private equity division, One Equity Partners, to distance itself from direct corporate ownership models.
Even as it embraces this new venture-capital approach, JPMorgan maintains its traditional core operations, having financed and facilitated more than $230 billion for various industries that support broader American national interests. That distinct pillar of the overall security and resiliency project—which targets an aggregate mobilization of $1.5 trillion over a ten-year span—is spearheaded by Jay Horine, a former co-head of investment banking.
To execute the initiative, JPMorgan assembled a specialized internal team of approximately three dozen dedicated bankers, who draw upon the expertise and reach of hundreds of colleagues across the entire enterprise. The firm has also expanded the geographic footprint of the initiative to include markets in Europe and Canada, broadening its global scope.
According to Petno, the bank’s specialized bankers are actively mapping out distribution and supply lines for critical products—ranging from military submarines and advanced missiles to commercial aircraft—to pinpoint specific suppliers who may currently lack the capital, infrastructure, or production capacity to meet rapidly rising global demand.
Furthermore, Petno noted that JPMorgan maintains regular, ongoing communications with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce to ensure that the bank’s private sector investments remain closely aligned with the shifting priorities and operational needs of the federal government.
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