China Has Mass. Can America Catch Up?
China Has Mass. Can America Catch Up?  
Podcast: The Ben & Marc Show
Published On: Mon Sep 29 2025
Description: Ben, Marc, and Erik Torenberg are joined by Brian Schimpf, Cofounder & CEO of Anduril, and Chris Power, Founder & CEO of Hadrian. Together, they dig into America’s defense production gap: why the U.S. can out-innovate but not out-produce—and what it will take to turn that around.They discuss why U.S. war games show we run out of munitions in a week, the myth of “exquisite-only” systems, how to rebuild industrial capacity with software-led automation, financing factories like data centers, and what it takes to create real deterrence in a Taiwan scenario.Timecodes: 0:00  Introduction 0:54  The Myth of Technical Superiority3:31  Erosion of US Manufacturing6:50  Challenges in Rebuilding Industrial Capacity8:31  The Skilled Labor Crisis15:01  Automation and the Future of Manufacturing17:57  Supply Chain Vulnerabilities26:05  Regulatory and Policy Barriers36:49  Financial Engineering vs. Industrial Policy46:15  US vs. China: Strategic Competition46:55  The Taiwan Scenario & War Gaming52:55  Demographics, Economics, and CCP StrategyResources: Find Chris on X: https://x.com/chris_powerFind Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bschimpf/Marc on X: https://x.com/pmarcaMarc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/Ben on X: https://x.com/bhorowitzListen to Us! Apple: https://bit.ly/3SdsfNtSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3SclPOrStay Updated: Find us on X:https://x.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zThe views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: https://a16z.com/disclosures/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.