关键词: 美国国防高级研究计划局, 死亡之谷, 技术培育, 技术转移, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Valley of Death, Technology Fostering, Technology Transfer

Abstract: “Valley of Death” refers to the huge gap between invention and innovation. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has contributed Internet, Stealth Airplanes, GPS, etc. to the world since it managed to bridge the gap again and again within its more than 50-year history. In light of industry development, bridging the gap needs physical capital, intellectual capital, and social capital, and spans the critical steps like technology fostering and technology transfer. DARPA bridges the “Valley of Death” by taking advantages of its unique political position, abundant capital, and far-sighted strategic thoughts, relying on coordination among the excellent program managers, office managers, and Director, and the total “DARPA Community” fostered by DARPA over years. In recent years, DARPA has adopted a series of new measures like “crowd-sourcing” to shorten the spanning time. In the end, the paper summarizes the keys to DARPA's success.