Brendan McCord

Brendan McCord is an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program, where he focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence and national security. Mr. McCord serves as Head of Machine Learning at Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), where he leads multiple artificial intelligence prototype projects in the Department of Defense, oversees an elite team of engineers in Silicon Valley, and supports the Algorithmic Warfare Cross Functional Team (AWCFT), known as Project Maven.

Prior to DIUx, Mr. McCord led a team of deep learning research scientists and software engineers at a startup backed by investors Bill Gates, In-Q-Tel, and leading venture capital firms. He was advisor to the successful spinout and fundraising of DARPA-backed deep learning research from Draper Laboratory and was an early stage technology venture investor in machine learning and other areas at Lux Capital.

Mr. McCord served in the US Navy as a fast attack submarine officer and completed two Chief of Naval Operations Priority One deployments to the European Command Theater, spending over 600 days underwater. 

Mr. McCord holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School and an SB degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.