Silicon Valley startups backed by Bill Gates and Andreessen Horowitz are using the US-Mexico border to test new surveillance technology


The technologies, the companies have said, are designed to help border patrol agents spot and apprehend people entering the country illegally, as well as identify drug smuggling. Echodyne, a startup backed by Bill Gates, is a Border Patrol contractor and is testing a new generation of radar. Anduril, a startup founded by consumer virtual-reality pioneer and former Facebook executive Palmer Luckey, is testing a suite of surveillance services for CBP. Andreessen Horowitz-backed SkySafe markets surveillance drones and anti-drone technology — it doesn't contract with CBP, but has other contracts with the Pentagon to monitor the border. 

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