I have several concerns about this project.
Firstly, these guys are ex-defense and ex-security, Co-Founder Mance was the lead programmer at the Missile Defence Agency....
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manceharmon/Secondly, they have a very small team listed on LinkedIn of 6 staff and only one developer based in Canada...
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/10787474/Thirdly, the address on their website is a house
https://www.google.com/maps/place/800+Southern+Hills+Ct,+College+Station,+TX+77845/@30.5620214,-96.2447641,92m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86469aaccc1c6b13:0xc7e4bfcdb685eb9e!8m2!3d30.5621566!4d-96.2446206
Fourthly, the patent should not limit other DAG tech been developed and it is
http://www.swirlds.com/ip/Fifthly, they are focused on paying customers.... with such a small team they are either going to sell this technology to the highest bidder at some point in time or just go down the licensing road which will focus on the largest, established companies. An innovative tech maybe, but widespread adoption is unlikely as it's a closed network.
IOTA, and a dozen other next DAGs, will arise in 2018.
Rod.
I don't believe so much that something like "ex-defense and ex-security" exists, once you are in the defense and security sector that's a no way back. It could be that they have the military in stealth mode behind. This also would explain why they are not making ICOs and seeking money the usual way - with their project they could easily raise up to one billion USD in the cryptospace alone.