The idea for Clearspeed did not begin in Silicon Valley. It emerged from Lt. Col. Alex Martin’s deployments during the Global War on Terror, where insider attacks and the challenge of vetting partner forces exposed dangerous gaps in battlefield security. Alex Martin, the CEO and co-founder of voice analytics company Clearspeed, traces the origins of the company to a deadly insider attack during a deployment with the U.S. Marine Corps. Martin served on active duty from 2004 to 2011 in infantry, reconnaissance, and Force Reconnaissance units, deploying multiple times during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He currently serves in the reserve forces. During one deployment, Martin unexpectedly reunited with one of his closest friends, a Marine officer he had known since The Basic School. The two crossed paths while operating alongside local partner forces during the war. The reunion lasted only minutes. The next day, one of the local partner forces working alongside American troops killed Martin’s friend and another U.S. service member in what military officials classify as a “green-on-blue” insider attack. The attack left Martin questioning how coalition forces screened and trusted local partner personnel during wartime operations. Martin said the event permanently changed the way he thought about trust, security, and battlefield risk.