One of DOGE’s young engineers now runs a defense technology startup

One of The first member of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is turning to his second gig as founder of a defense technology startup. Ethan Chautran, one of the young engineers who formed the core of the group’s early strike force, is the founder of a new startup called Blitz Industries. The company’s website doesn’t provide any information, but in an email seen by WIRED, Chautran describes Blitz as a “defense company backed by big names.”

While at DOGE, Chautran was part of a team that set up temporary headquarters in the offices of the General Services Administration (GSA) before spreading across the federal government. Chautran, who left Harvard during his final year to join DOGE, has appeared at multiple agencies, including the GSA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Postal Service, the African-American Development Foundation, and the Inter-American Foundation. While Chautran was at the Social Security Administration, DOGE transferred thousands of immigrants to the agency’s “death master file,” effectively sealing their Social Security numbers and thus denying them their right to work or receive government benefits.

Chautran left the federal government in January, according to his LinkedIn, and now resides in Los Angeles. In his bio, Chautran describes himself as a “Harvard engineer, inventor of 4x patents, and published researcher in autonomous systems.” He also writes: “Hiring fast!” In his autobiography.

The System for Award Management (SAM), the U.S. government procurement website where most contractors and awardees are required to register, lists a company called “Blitz Industries, Inc.” It has also recently been registered in the system, and is classified among companies carrying out “research and development in the physical, engineering and life sciences (excluding nanotechnology and biotechnology).” Enrolling in the system is generally a precursor to receiving government contracts, says a source who formerly worked at SAM and spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

The address listed on the filing is in Hawthorne, California, across the street from SpaceX headquarters. WIRED was able to identify a company called “Blitz Industries, Inc.” It was registered in Delaware on February 12, 2026, about a month after Chautran left the federal government. Documents from the Delaware registry indicate an annual tax assessment of $176,986 and 25,000,000 authorized shares. There does not appear to be a registered business entity in California, although the physical address of the office appears to be in that state.

It’s not clear whether Chautran actually has government contracts, and he did not return a phone call requesting an interview about the company.

According to recent reports from the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon is expanding the pool of contractors it is willing to work with, opening the way for smaller, newer companies to access the hundreds of billions of dollars available in the defense budget. Investment funds pumped more than $49.1 billion into defense technology startups in 2025 alone. Powerful venture firm a16z, as part of its US Dynamics exercise, has invested heavily in defense startups. In March 2025, the company published a primer on securing contracts with the Pentagon. Gavin Kliger, another young engineer at DOGE, now serves as chief data officer at the Department of Defense, where he will oversee the agency’s AI strategy.

Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, says that while the U.S. government has the ability to innovate as quickly and as widely as private companies, especially with regard to weapons and military innovation, he has doubts about a company led by a former member of the Defense Department.