01 · Problem Discovery
We work with mission stakeholders to define operational gaps with clear relevance to national security priorities, particularly within the Indo-Pacific.
Insights
Access
Agency
Venture Studio for National Security
Focused on the Indo-Pacific, we co-found and build new ventures around urgent operational problems. Our model runs end-to-end: from operator-informed problem discovery through build, transition, and sustainment.
Why We Exist
Closing the gap between prototype and fielded capability
National security innovation often stalls between prototype and fielded capability. Operators encounter real operational gaps. Builders develop promising technologies. Capital moves cautiously. Programs of record move deliberately.
Merge exists to close that gap. We align operators, technical builders, and capital from day one, structuring ventures around validated problems and building toward transition pathways from the outset.
We are ownership-driven and formation-focused. We are not a passive investor.
Who We Work With
Founders and technical builders
Mission owners and operators
Capital and venture partners
End-to-end venture formation model
Our model runs from problem discovery to transition and sustainment. The stages are structured early rather than bolted on after a prototype exists.
02 · Venture Formation
We co-found companies with technical builders. Equity and governance are structured at formation, not retrofitted later.
03 · Build & Validation
Ventures develop capabilities alongside problem owners, iterating toward operational relevance and early contracting pathways where appropriate.
04 · Transition & Sustainment
We orient ventures toward durable alignment with programs, mission needs, and long-term viability.
The Team
Paul "Gu$" Garcia
Founder & Managing Partner
A Weapons School graduate and former instructor fighter pilot, Paul flew combat missions in the F/A-18 across Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, and later flew the F-22 with the Hawaii Air National Guard. He served as Officer in Charge of Homeland Defense for the Hawaii and Guam Air Defense Region in support of Operation Noble Eagle.
Since leaving the cockpit, Paul has focused on accelerating technology transition across the Indo-Pacific theater, architecting and delivering capabilities for advanced weapons systems. In prior roles, he supported capability transitions across major modernization efforts within the Department of Defense, including AI-enabled C2 and operational systems initiatives.
He previously founded SigmaBlox, the National Defense Tech Combine, convening warfighters, builders, and decision-makers to accelerate operationally relevant technology transition.
Elise Walker
Principal, Venture Formation
Elise leads venture strategy, investment, and partnerships for Merge Combinator. A TOPGUN graduate and Naval Aviator, she flew the F-35 and F/A-18 as a Weapons and Tactics Instructor, including combat deployments over Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Her operational experience includes strike fighter tactics instruction, large force exercise planning, and joint weapons systems integration.
She works at the intersection of aviation, advanced weapons systems, and AI integration, translating tactical problems into venture formation pathways. Elise also serves as a Senior Tactical Systems Analyst at Tactical Air Support.
Doug Cummings
Principal, Autonomy
Doug leads autonomous system development for Merge Combinator. He brings over seven years of experience delivering AI/ML capabilities across the Department of Defense.
Most recently, Doug was a Senior Program Manager at Anduril Industries, where he led operational delivery efforts and scaled AI-enabled C2 and autonomous systems to Army customers. He previously held leadership roles within the DoD's AI organizations, including the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), Joint AI Center (JAIC), and Project Maven, supporting deployment of AI-enabled platforms across multiple combatant commands.
He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley and a BA from the University of Notre Dame.
Michael Meyer
Principal, Venture Strategy
Michael is a defense technologist and venture strategist focused on accelerating dual-use innovation into government markets. A former U.S. Air Force Veteran, he brings deep experience operating inside the Department of Defense acquisition and logistics enterprise, working closely with operational units, program offices, and industry partners to translate emerging technologies into deployable capabilities.
He specializes in helping early-stage ventures navigate the intersection of venture formation and government demand, guiding companies through SBIR, OT, and contracting pathways to land early government revenue.
At Merge Combinator, Michael helps define venture thesis areas and connects emerging technologies with government-backed opportunities.
Partner with Merge Combinator
We help founders build, field, and scale mission-relevant products.
Merge Combinator partners with exceptional problem solvers across national security and defense technology. We work alongside founders to build, field, and scale mission-relevant products, contributing operator support, strategic access, and venture-building infrastructure in exchange for long-term aligned upside.
No equity required upfront. We get paid when you grow and raise.
Who We Work With
Government stakeholders, mission teams, and innovation organizations across the Indo-Pacific and the broader national security enterprise.
'%3e%3cmetadata%20id='metadata15'%3e%3crdf:RDF%3e%3ccc:Work%20rdf:about=''%3e%3cdc:format%3eimage/svg+xml%3c/dc:format%3e%3cdc:type%20rdf:resource='http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/StillImage'%20/%3e%3cdc:title%3e%3c/dc:title%3e%3c/cc:Work%3e%3c/rdf:RDF%3e%3c/metadata%3e%3csodipodi:namedview%20pagecolor='%23ffffff'%20bordercolor='%23666666'%20borderopacity='1'%20objecttolerance='10'%20gridtolerance='10'%20guidetolerance='10'%20inkscape:pageopacity='0'%20inkscape:pageshadow='2'%20inkscape:window-width='1920'%20inkscape:window-height='1007'%20id='namedview13'%20showgrid='false'%20fit-margin-top='1'%20fit-margin-right='1'%20fit-margin-bottom='1'%20fit-margin-left='1'%20inkscape:zoom='0.45930043'%20inkscape:cx='306.89999'%20inkscape:cy='73'%20inkscape:window-x='0'%20inkscape:window-y='0'%20inkscape:window-maximized='1'%20inkscape:current-layer='b6bdd2b4-52ab-488a-9a30-1e6d1d7dd2d4'%20/%3e%3cdefs%20id='defs4'%3e%3cstyle%20id='style2'%3e.a737459c-e8c7-4afa-8008-f6cfd15ccda2{fill:%23e00;}%3c/style%3e%3c/defs%3e%3cpath%20class='a737459c-e8c7-4afa-8008-f6cfd15ccda2'%20d='m%20128,84%20c%2012.5,0%2030.6,-2.6%2030.6,-17.5%20a%2019.53,19.53%200%200%200%20-0.3,-3.4%20L%20150.9,30.7%20C%20149.2,23.6%20147.7,20.3%20135.2,14.1%20125.5,9.1%20104.4,1%2098.1,1%2092.2,1%2090.5,8.5%2083.6,8.5%2076.9,8.5%2072,2.9%2065.7,2.9%20c%20-6,0%20-9.9,4.1%20-12.9,12.5%200,0%20-8.4,23.7%20-9.5,27.2%20a%206.15,6.15%200%200%200%20-0.2,1.9%20C%2043,53.7%2079.3,83.9%20128,84%20m%2032.5,-11.4%20c%201.7,8.2%201.7,9.1%201.7,10.1%200,14%20-15.7,21.8%20-36.4,21.8%20C%2079,104.5%2038.1,77.1%2038.1,59%20a%2018.35,18.35%200%200%201%201.5,-7.3%20C%2022.8,52.5%201,55.5%201,74.7%201,106.2%2075.6,145%20134.6,145%20c%2045.3,0%2056.7,-20.5%2056.7,-36.7%200,-12.7%20-11,-27.1%20-30.8,-35.7'%20id='path8'%20inkscape:connector-curvature='0'%20style='fill:%23ee0000'%20/%3e%3cpath%20d='m%20160.5,72.6%20c%201.7,8.2%201.7,9.1%201.7,10.1%200,14%20-15.7,21.8%20-36.4,21.8%20C%2079,104.5%2038.1,77.1%2038.1,59%20a%2018.35,18.35%200%200%201%201.5,-7.3%20l%203.7,-9.1%20a%206.15,6.15%200%200%200%20-0.2,1.9%20c%200,9.2%2036.3,39.4%2084.9,39.4%2012.5,0%2030.6,-2.6%2030.6,-17.5%20A%2019.53,19.53%200%200%200%20158.3,63%20Z'%20id='path10'%20inkscape:connector-curvature='0'%20/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Hover to pause
Google, Cloudflare, Red Hat, KForm, and BetaBlox trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Ecosystem
Missionized Tech Residency
What if acquisition professionals had the chance to walk a mile in the shoes of industry?
In partnership with the U.S. Army and Defense Acquisition University, Merge Combinator is placing acquisition professionals at the point of capability creation so they can step outside the system, learn firsthand, and sharpen how the Army buys defense technology.
For six months, residents work inside Merge alongside more than 80 companies building against real national security problems. The residency creates tighter feedback loops between builders, operators, and the acquisition system itself.
That means better-informed decisions, earlier identification of transition opportunities, and a more direct understanding of what is working before a capability is reviewed after the fact.
It is both a professional development opportunity and a practical test of how the Army can deliver outcomes faster while reducing friction between program intent and mission need.
Current Residents, U.S. Army
Camillia King-Stanley
Capability Decision Lead
A contracting and program management leader with sixteen years in government service, Camillia currently serves as Business Lead for the Army's $2 billion Middle Tier Acquisition rapid fielding effort for Long Range Hypersonic capability. Her background spans M-SHORAD, next-generation interceptor development, congressional budget defense, and weapons-system contracting across high-priority Army programs.
Kristen Painter
Mission Portfolio Lead
An Army finance veteran and acquisition professional, Kristen has spent nearly two decades across Army budgeting, resource planning, and program execution. At Merge she brings a fiscal lens to capability transition, helping teams understand color-of-money strategy, SBIR cadence, POM positioning, and the funding realities that determine whether a capability moves forward.
Pete Harlan
Transition Acceleration Lead
Pete works at the intersection of medical countermeasure development, acquisition program management, and market intelligence. His career spans biodefense, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Battelle, the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate, the Defense Logistics Agency, and federal acquisition roles focused on performance metrics, data analysis, and industry engagement.
Dr. Sharma
AI Deployment Lead
Dr. Sharma is an AI/ML professional with more than eight years of experience in applied research and deployment across multi-agent learning, reinforcement learning, generative AI, evaluation, Responsible AI, and scalable machine learning systems. He is currently on developmental assignment as an AI Strategist with Merge Combinator and holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics.
The inaugural cohort includes acquisition professionals from CPE CBRND, CPE Ground, U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal, and the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command.
The Combine
Invitational to Prove it on the Field
The Combine is a platform for transition. It brings together problem owners, builders, and decision-makers around real operational focus areas. Modeled on the discipline and selectivity of the NFL Combine, it is designed to evaluate capability, surface mission-relevant gaps, and identify founders building impactful solutions today.
Operators and problem owners present real world mission needs. Builders demonstrate capability and earn trust. Decision-makers gain insights and first hand inputs alongside mission owners. Learn from each other. In person due diligence. Build teams and solutions.
Merge Combinator finds and resources promising teams, identifying high-signal problem owners, matching serious builders, and accelerating venture creation.
Partner Categories
Government stakeholders & mission teams
Builders, founders, & technical companies
Decision-makers & Investors
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merge a venture capital fund?
No. Merge is a venture studio. We co-found and build companies and take an active role in formation, development, and transition. Capital may be part of the model, but we are not a passive investor.
Do you provide advisory services or incubation?
Our primary focus is co-founding and building venture-backed national security companies. We selectively engage in advisory and partnership work where it directly strengthens venture formation, operator access, or transition pathways. These efforts support the core studio model and are not standalone consulting services.
Who should reach out?
Technical builders ready to co-found, builders with room on their cap table seeking aligned venture partnership, and mission owners with validated operational gaps. All engagement begins through structured access.
Do you work outside the Indo-Pacific?
Our primary focus is Indo-Pacific deterrence. Opportunities outside that scope must directly support national security objectives.
How is Merge different from traditional defense primes?
We build and scale new ventures alongside problem owners. We are not a systems integrator or a services contractor.
Do you publish portfolio companies?
Portfolio companies and partnerships are announced only when approved for public release.
Engage
Structured Access Starts Here
If you are a builder, operator, mission owner, or partner and want to engage with Merge Combinator, start through the access flow so we can route you to the right next step.