In the high-stakes world of defense tech, audacity is sometimes just as influential as innovation. That’s the story of Steven Simoni, once a payments‑startup founder, now styling himself a “warlord” who has landed in the Pentagon’s orbit with an AI-powered weapon system.
Simoni was not always in the business of defense. In fact, just a few years ago, he and his co‑founder were developing a QR-code system for restaurants, under the startup name Bbot, which they sold to DoorDash for $125 million in 2022.
But global conflicts and rising drone threats seem to have shifted his ambitions. He teamed up with Luke Allen (a fellow ex-military engineer) to found Allen Control Systems (ACS), and their marquee product is provocatively named the Bullfrog: an autonomous AI turret designed to shoot down drones.
Simoni now quips, “The future is Skynet, basically.”
Branding the Armament
What truly distinguishes Simoni from many defense‑tech founders is his flair for spectacle. He’s embraced a persona: lavish tracksuits, provocative statements, podcast appearances, and private parties attended by military officials. He even tells reporters, “I’m a warlord now, bitch!”
His approach is part showmanship, part sales: make noise, build narrative, and command attention. In Washington, D.C., he sought membership in Trump Jr.’s exclusive Executive Branch club, not for prestige, but for connections.
He’s also leveraged media: appearances on Fox News as a drone expert, launching a podcast (The Drone Ultimatum) featuring senior military voices, and mingling with venture capital power brokers.
What does this mean for the Pentagon ?
So far, the signals are real. The U.S. Army is reportedly preparing to award ACS a contract to test the integration of the Bullfrog into existing platforms.
The defense establishment sees in Simoni’s team a willingness to move fast, a contrast to legacy contractors weighed down by bureaucracy and long timelines. In a world where drones are proliferating rapidly, flexible, experimental systems could be a force multiplier.
That said, the prototype testing hasn’t been flawless. During a demonstration with the Army, a Bullfrog-mounted machine gun jammed mid-demo even after it successfully downed one drone. Simoni shrugged it off, calling the weapon system “in its post-adolescent stage.” Still, for the Pentagon, part of the bet is on speed, vision, and adaptability, qualities Simoni seems to have in spades.
Closing Thoughts
Steven Simoni’s leap from payments tech to door-busting defense play is bold, emblematic of the era in which technologists no longer merely build apps, but are trying to create wars. Whether his Bullfrog platform ultimately earns battlefield credibility or is remembered as a flashy gamble remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: he got the Pentagon’s attention.
