Anduril Raises $2.5B at $30.5B Valuation
Defense company Anduril, which specializes in the development of autonomous drones, virtual reality headsets, and other AI-powered technologies for the U.S. military and its allies, announced on June 5th that it had successfully closed an oversubscribed $2.5 billion funding round.
This latest funding round, led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, which contributed $1 billion - the largest investment ever made by the fund - has more than doubled Anduril’s valuation to $30.5 billion.
The successful fundraise represents a significant milestone for the defense technology industry, which has seen substantial growth as the Department of Defense increasingly collaborates with venture capital-funded startups to equip its forces with state-of-the-art technologies amid rising global tensions. The company’s $30.5B valuation now ranks Anduril among the 13 most valuable private companies globally, approaching the market value of established defense contractors that have long dominated the industry, such as Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics.
Founded in 2017 by Silicon Valley veterans including Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and Trae Stephens of Founders Fund, Anduril was one of Silicon Valley’s pioneering defense tech startups. The founders aimed to innovate the defense sector by privatizing the development of new technologies through self-funding, then selling these innovations to the government, rather than relying on taxpayer funds for research and development. The company’s successs has helped pave the way for other emerging deep tech aerospace and defense innovators.
Given escalating geopolitical tensions worldwide, there has been increased momentum to upgrade the equipment and fleets of the U.S. Navy, Army, and Air Force. In recent years, Anduril has secured several highly competitive contracts with the U.S. military, including a program with General Atomics to produce autonomous unmanned aircraft valued at up to $9 billion, and a 10-year contract worth $642.2 million with the U.S. Navy for counter-drone systems.
Earlier this year, Anduril assumed control of Microsoft’s augmented reality headset project, valued at up to $22 billion, to supply approximately 120,000 headsets to the U.S. Army. The company reported doubling its revenue in 2024 to $1 billion.
Executive Chairman Trae Stephens said Thursday that the aim of the latest funding is to address major national security issues. As the startup increases hardware production, they want to strengthen their financial position to invest in manufacturing and production challenges. Accordingly, the company plans to utilize the newly raised capital for acquisitions to expand its Arsenal-1 manufacturing facility in Columbus, Ohio; hire personnel across the U.S., Australia, and Europe; and invest in new product launches.
Anduril announced plans to build a factory called Arsenal-1 following its $1.5 billion funding round last summer (at a $14 billion valuation). The company estimated at that time that the initiative would cost several hundred million dollars and create over 1,500 jobs. Earlier this year, it broadened the scope of the investment. Anduril now plans to spend more than $1 billion on the plant, estimates that it will create more than 4,000 jobs, and produce tens of thousands of defense systems per year.. The factory will be powered by a custom operating system, Arsenal OS, which Anduril states will also be used for product development initiatives. Additionally, Anduril has announced plans to build a second factory called Arsenal-2 at an unspecified date.
Alongside supporting manufacturing initiatives, the new capital will facilitate financing of the company’s product development efforts. Anduril has introduced multiple products since its August funding round. One of the company’s newest systems is a subsea sensor, Seabed Sentry. Capable of operating at depths of more than 1,600 feet, Seabed Sentry utilizes Anduril’s Lattice software to process the data it collects.
Anduril has significantly contributed to making the defense tech industry one of the most attractive sectors for venture capital investment. The latest Series G round was oversubscribed, with high investor demand allowing the startup to have raised 8 to 10 times more than it did, according to Stephens. Crunchbase reported that over $3 billion was invested in defense tech startups in 2024, an 11% increase from the prior year.
Related:
Defense Tech Unicorn Anduril Powers Up With $2.5B At $30.5B Valuation
Anduril to build ‘Arsenal-1′ autonomous weapons plant in central Ohio
Anduril's Palmer Luckey to invest in stealthy stablecoin startup