Defense tech startup Anduril raises $1.5 billion in funding at a $14 billion valuation

US defense tech startup Anduril has secured $1.5 billion in a Series F funding round, making it one of the biggest this year. This new round pushes the company’s valuation to $14 billion.

The funding round was co-led by Founders Fund, which has been involved with Anduril since its seed round in 2017, and Sands Capital, known for participating in major IPOs, including Visa’s in 2008. New major institutional investors including Fidelity Management and Research Company and Baillie Gifford also joined this round.

Anduril said the fresh funds will be used to scale its new software-defined manufacturing platform, “Arsenal,” starting with the Arsenal-1 factory. This facility will expand Anduril’s production space by over five million square feet to manufacture tens of thousands of autonomous military systems annually, employing more than 1,500 people.

Anduril first caught our attention in 2020 when it raised $200 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the company at $1.9 billion—four times its valuation from the previous year.

Founded in 2017 by Brian Schimpf, Palmer Luckey, Joseph Chen, Matt Grimm, and Trae Stephens, Anduril focuses on developing technology for military agencies and border surveillance. The startup aims to support those on the front lines with next-generation tech products. Palmer Luckey, who co-founded the company after being dismissed from Facebook over political controversies, has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump.

Anduril is making waves with its recent advancements in rocket motor manufacturing and the expansion of its manufacturing facilities.

The startup aims to join the ranks of major American defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and General Dynamics. These companies dominate the defense production market, pulling in billions from U.S. Department of Defense contracts. Anduril, however, is positioning itself as a serious contender to these established giants, with recent wins drawing attention.

Earlier this year, Anduril outperformed Lockheed, Northrop, and Boeing in a program to develop and test small unmanned fighter jet prototypes. The company believes it can outpace its competitors by adopting a faster, more agile approach, inspired by Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation.

Unlike tech giants like Microsoft and Google, which have distanced themselves from selling military technologies to the U.S. government, Anduril actively develops AI-powered military technology for the Department of Defense and other military agencies. This approach has not been without controversy.

Anduril’s portfolio includes surveillance towers and drones, along with software designed to automatically monitor areas such as international borders and military base perimeters. The company’s work with federal agencies, particularly its contracts with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for installing towers along the U.S.-Mexico border, has sparked criticism.

“We founded Anduril because we believe there is value in Silicon Valley technology companies partnering with the Department of Defense,” Anduril’s CEO Brian Schimpf said in a statement.

At the core of Anduril’s products is Lattice, an AI software backbone that integrates real-time data from Anduril hardware and third-party systems into a single, autonomous operating picture using sensor fusion, machine learning, and mesh networking.

Here’s a list of Arsenal’s funding rounds since its inception:

Anduril Drone