The next trillion-dollar tech customer is a country - opinion

National security is evolving in a significant way. As the United States refocuses on its own strategic interests and asks allies to contribute more to their defense, countries across the Western alliance must rebuild their capabilities that were previously assumed to be provided by others. This shift has expanded the definition of national security, encompassing not only military aspects like tanks, aircraft, and missiles, but also areas such as energy, computing, critical infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, critical materials, communications, and supply chains.

Governments are now tasked with two objectives: assuming responsibility for more security matters and becoming sovereign over a broader set of technologies and industrial capabilities. However, building all these capabilities internally is often not feasible for many governments. Even the United States, with its vast technical expertise and industrial base, cannot develop every strategic capability at the necessary pace, scale, and quality. Smaller countries face an even greater challenge.

This trend is transforming the relationship between governments and technology companies. In the past, governments served as system architects, coordinating talent, capital, and industrial capacity. However, today, private companies are increasingly building the technology, infrastructure, and operating systems, while governments define strategic requirements, provide capital and incentives, coordinate procurement and regulation, and act as the customer.

Companies like SpaceX, Anduril, Saronic, and General Matter are already exemplifying this model by developing and operating capabilities, while governments provide strategic guidance and support.

This new model, known as Sovereignty-as-a-Service, goes beyond simply providing capabilities. It involves tech companies delivering a comprehensive package that includes technology, physical buildout, integration, customization, training, deployment, and maintenance. Governments may define requirements and capabilities, companies build the infrastructure, and both work together to ensure the capability evolves over time.

The potential market for this model is vast. The 2026 Fortune 500 generated over $21 trillion in revenue, and using a 5% technology-spend benchmark, this equates to over $1 trillion in annual technology budgets. NATO members have committed to spending 5% of GDP, roughly $60 trillion by 2035, on core defense and broader security-related investments. This does not include the rest of the Western-aligned world, particularly major markets in the Gulf and Asia.

The scale of this opportunity is immense. Tier 1 founders are no longer restricted to enterprise technology budgets; they can now build for national budgets measured in trillions. While the United States remains the largest and most attractive individual market, building solely for America leaves a significant portion of this opportunity untapped. The Western alliance and a broader network of aligned sovereign nations are becoming increasingly significant customers.

For Israel, this presents a unique opportunity. The country boasts deep technical and entrepreneurial talent, as well as a government and military that serve as demanding design partners. In recent years, urgent needs in areas such as autonomy, energy, advanced manufacturing, computing, critical materials, and infrastructure have accelerated technology development and deployment.

Companies like Kela, Aitan, OHR, Covenant, Voltify, and Civan are prime examples of Israeli firms that can serve as design partners and proving grounds, while the United States, Europe, the Gulf, and Asia become scale markets.

Ultimately, the goal is not merely to export Israeli technology, but to build companies capable of delivering entire sovereign capabilities. This encompasses technology, infrastructure, integration, training, and deployment. By embracing the Sovereignty-as-a-Service model, Israel can position itself as a leader in providing comprehensive, end-to-end solutions that meet the evolving security requirements of the Western alliance and beyond.