Open-Source Intelligence, the Data Advantage, and Bazze with Sammy Semwangu

In this episode of The Startup Defense, host Callye Keen speaks with Sammy Semwangu, founder and CEO of Bazze, an intelligence targeting and early warning platform. The conversation dives deep into the strategic shift toward leveraging commercial data for defense and national security operations. Sammy shares his journey from the intelligence and special operations community to founding a startup that challenges how the U.S. government acquires and uses data.

Bazze helps U.S. and allied defense organizations access real-time, unclassified commercial data—ranging from device location to satellite imagery—on a "query in place" basis, bypassing the inefficiencies and high costs of bulk dataset purchases. This allows for 10x efficiency in data discovery, enabling faster and more mission-relevant decision-making.

Callye and Sammy also examine government procurement culture, the pitfalls of rotating talent, and how policy inertia slows progress. Sammy’s startup journey—from his first company to building Bazze into a profitable, venture-backed business—is an inspiring case study in resilience and clarity of mission.

Key Topics

• What Bazze Does
  A data marketplace that enables defense users to access specific commercial datasets 
• Why Commercial Data Matters
  In a world of resource constraints and rising threats, harnessing unclassified commercial data is faster, cheaper, and more scalable than traditional classified workflows
• Government’s Legacy Culture:
  Sammy discusses the government’s “build everything in-house” mindset versus buying commercial solutions, Callye compares it to reinventing the Raspberry Pi for millions of dollars
• The Talent Management Crisis:
  Insightful critique of how the frequent rotation of personnel in government projects kills innovation momentum. Sammy shares a firsthand example from a SBIR Phase II contract where the initiative died as champions PCS’ed (moved) midstream
• Startup vs. Government Life:
  Sammy reflects on the cultural and operational differences between government service and startup life—from expectations and language to performance pressure and team dynamics
• Bazze’s Growth Path:
  With current deployments in the U.S., UK, Australia, and expanding into Northern Europe, Bazze is doubling its team size, hiring in SF, London, Canberra, and D.C., and raising a Series A to scale further.

Quotes

• "Why send a team into the field when you can just buy the data online?" — Sammy Semwangu
• "Progress shouldn't rely on heroic effort." — Sammy Semwangu
• "Startups are like religions—you’re convincing people this is the future and asking them to believe." — Sammy Semwangu

About Sammy Semwangu
Sammy Semwangu is the founder and CEO of Bazze, a platform transforming how government agencies access commercial data for national security applications. With over a decade in intelligence and special operations, Sammy is on a mission to modernize data strategy in defense. He previously worked at Red Owl and co-founded the U.S. Civilian Corps.