A Silicon Valley VC Says He Got the IDF Starlink Access Within Days of October 7 Attack

Prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist Shaun Maguire said on a webinar last week that he personally facilitated getting the Israel Defense Forces access to Starlink satellite internet, which is operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, within hours or days of it beginning its military response in Gaza to Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023—far earlier than either Israel, Musk, or SpaceX have publicly acknowledged. The topic was initially broached by Tel Aviv–based venture capitalist Aviv Eyal, who was introducing Maguire at the beginning of the May 14 webinar titled “Why VCs Are Betting On Defense Tech." The webinar was hosted by the Israeli Defense Ministry's “Mafat for Startups,” a defense startup investment program run by its Directorate of Defense Research & Development. It is unclear exactly when Starlink was activated for IDF use, even according to Eyal and Maguire’s recollections. Eyal initially claimed on the webinar that it took Maguire “12 hours, maybe less, to get Starlink switche ... Read full article.